Keep the "change"

I typically am NOT a political activist... but when it comes to big government and wanting MORE of what we make... I just have to put the word out there... EDUCATE YOURSELVES

Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election:

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
28%

CLINTON
24%

How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
39.6%

CLINTON
39.6%

How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama or Clinton become president. The experts predict that "Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit."

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA
(reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750

CLINTON
(reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750

How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty straight forward.

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN
0%
(No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA
keep the inheritance tax

CLINTON
keep the inheritance tax

How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY BOTH CLINTON AND OBAMA
* New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet
* New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)
* New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)
* New taxes on retirement accounts
and last but not least....
* New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

Can you afford Clinton or Obama? I can't!

The Bird Feeder

My mom sent me this... I like it. :)


I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it is, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table --
everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the
bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be.... quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see. Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English. Corn Flakes now come in a
bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder. If you agree, pass it on; if not, continue cleaning up the poop!

Rain delays

Woke up this morning to a beautiful day... light rain, light clouds. I'm one of those people that truly the rain doesn't put a damper on my day. Granted, if I were some die hard jogger that would cross country in any weather, I'm sure this would be my less-than-ideal jogging conditions but since you and I both know THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.... this was a great day. I made the some scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast. Josh ate his whole-grain toast with all fruit strawberry preserves and drank his 1% milk with pleasure... Drew was less than pleased with breakfast as he only likes ham in slices (these were cubes) and he doesn't eat eggs. He did, however, devour a piece of toast as he loves strawberry preserves. He also sucked down an entire cup of a kid's version of "ensure". He calls them his "milkshakes." He gets enough calories and lots of vitamins so hey... I'll pick my battles when I feel up to the fight.... fighting over food isn't worth it. I did demand 3 bites (because he is 3 years old) and he gave me that.

So, loaded Josh up and away we went to sit in the line. Out the door at 7:44 for what should be a 2-3 minute drive to school. When it's raining... ok, I made it to the front of the school at 8:10. :) Yep, nearly THIRTY MINUTES to go one point five miles. In FREAKING SANE. They need some moron in orange directing traffic or a better system. Thank God they don't count kids tardy on days like this. Hell, I never remember MY mom waiting in some line to drop me off... people must think their kids are so dad-gummed sweet that if they get a drop of rain on them they're goign to melt in a puddle right there. Crazy!

So get home and start my chat session with my good friend Lisa... she sold her house in FOUR DAYS! I'm so sad they're leaving... she's truly one of the real, down-to-earth and loving, genuine friends I've made since moving here. She's leaving... I want to leave too! waah! I want to take my toys and go home!

I took Drew to swimming lessons at Emler. While I'm sitting in the observation area, the other moms are in there chatting about. One woman's phone repeatedly rings and she interrupts her conversations over and over and over and over again for all these calls. And, while she's talking, she doesn't remove herself from the area... she sits, speaks loudly in front of all the other people... and then puts THAT person on hold (call waiting) to answer someone calling on ANOTHER line. I swear call waiting is my LEAST desirable "modern convenience" because I think it makes people downright rude. If you're on the phone with someone... you get the "hold on, someone's calling on the other line" so you sit and hold thinking...??? what they're coming back to talk to you? No, they click over, answer the phone and tell THEM to hold on... they click back over to you and tell you they have to take the call and let you go... to talk to the other person... ??? so your less important than the other person or you've bored them enough that they feel the need to carry on with someone else. :) I just don't get it. It's just rude. if you're conversing with an individual... finish your conversation and get off the phone and just phone the other person back? How hard is that? Moreover, if you're engaged in a group conversation and your phone rings and you feel the need to take it, excuse yourself and take it where you're not interrupting everyone ELSE's conversation about the trials and tribulations of getting your eyebrows waxed and interviewing the principal of the public school you're thinking of putting your children (yes, that was one of the conversations... Oh Mi God for sure!) UGH... I just feel like a) there is a COMPLETE lack of respect... we are lazy... we are rude... (ok.. I saw "we" as a human race). My practice is that I certainly will let the callers on the other line go to my voice mail because the person with whom I am conversing gets all of my attention at that moment. That's just respect. OK... off of my soapbox...

As far as Drew's lessons, he's doing okay (I mean, he's only been there three times, I can't expect him to start going for the gold yet, right?) They're working today with having him put his face in the water -- he doesn't care for that too much... like she pulls his hands and he kicks and she wants him to put his face in the water and hold his breath... but he kind of panicks and started to look like he was ABOUT to cry... saw me and I was clapping and saying "good job" and so he stopped the drama and tried to concentrate more. Isn't it so weird that if it were mommy there with him, he'd probably have just flipped out but since it's someone else... he actually WILL try.

We finished the lesson and I was drying him off. He got his cookie and we headed to the car. I said, "You know you're going to have to work on putting your head in the water." He replied, "I no want to." I said, "In order to come back to swimming lessons you will have to try to." Stoically, "I don't want to come back." (Ha ha... little $hit!) And I said, we'll there goes your summer, no more Griffin's pool, no more Austin's pool, no swimming every day with mommy... going to be kinda boring for Mr. Drew. And he smiled and said, "I come back and stick my face in water." :) Ha ha! :)

Mark one up for mommy.

Tuesday Tuesday

It's a boring Tuesday today. I took Drew to school and hung around helping take pictures of the children/teachers that I've missed on all my other photo shoot days. The photo presentation needs to be finished for this coming Tuesday's Spring Sing so I HAD to get 'em. I came home and cleaned up a bit and worked on some Scout stuff. Made lots of important phone calls (bwa ha ha ha) and then caught up with my friend Wanda. Do you ever talk to someone that is just a fresh breath of air? That is so her. She told me SHE is moving away too. :( Can I have a pity party? That's two rockin cool chicks moving away... well, thank GOD for the internet and e-mail! :) She's an urban-ite and suburbia is killing her spirit... I'm not so much an urbanite but I'm definitely sick of suburbia... and the Stepford Wives that fill it. I think I, too, am ready to bail on this facade. The fake BOTHER ME. Just BE REAL! UGH... Life isn't about where you live... it isn't about what you drive or "who" you wear... it's about WHO YOU ARE... and when you're so busy trying to blend in with everyone else... no wonder no one stands out in a place like this. She said that in not so many words...but in essence, it was the same... and man, that's SO THE TRUTH!

I went to a Room Mom's meeting at Josh's school... we had a meeting scheduled to actually talk about nothing. There was no plan, no agenda. Just basically - -this is when the party is...and... do what you want. Pshaw! Don't waste my time in anything that could have easily been covered in a two line e-mail.

And the whole "corporate sponsorship" of schools PISSES ME OFF. These are GOVERNMENTAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS... but they are having the parents' rights auctioned off to the highest bidder. Coca Cola ... if you bring in another product for a school function to distriute to children and it is NOT a Coca Cola product... the school can get fined? What kind of crock of $hit is that? If you're going to ASK parents to spend their money to bring things in... haven't you ever heard that BEGGERS CANT BE CHOOSERS? And, besides, how would they know? do they have Dr. Pepper sensors on the doors? Supposedly another local intermediate school was fined for having non-coca cola products at a school function. I want to know how this crap is possible! It's freakin INSANE! It completely pisses me off. (can you tell?)

Then we're told that you can't supply the kids with sidewalk chalk to use outside during the party because the principal believes that it encourages grafitti? Freakin GRAFITTI? What crack pipe is SHE SMOKING? Ugh.. good Lord the public school system is CONTINUALLY going to crap... it's riduclous... it's irritating... it's discouraging. Am I truly the only person that feels this way?

Rock on, Josh!

I made a jaunt to the Scout Store today to pick up the supplies to distribute to my boys this weekend at the crossover campout. :) (I can't wait!) I stopped by the store to pick up the goodies to make stuffed shells florentine and an authentic Caesar salad... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

I picked Josh up from school after his math club and they had their farewell party. We went home and I started working on a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Tonight is Josh's guitar recital... He's only been in lessons for 3 months so it seemed a bit soon for me but I'm all for anything that will give him some confidence... and let him show off. :)

Tonight is ALSO the night my den is supposed to do the flag ceremony at the final PTA meeting of the school year. I only had 3 boys able to attend so I frantically started searching for another den to step in and help. Luckily, we had 3 more willing to assist and it went over without a hitch. (Whew!)

Dad came for dinner and it was yum-o. We loaded up and headed for the Boy's Ranch where he takes lessons. It was a PACKED HOUSE man! PACKED! UGH.

They started off with a trio... then went to Josh's quartet class... then a very accomplished kiddo that I'm sure has been doing it for years... then another group.. then another solo and then my Cub Scout Luke and his dad... (awesome job... they played Wipe Out)... waaay cool! Josh did a FANTASTIC job and was very smooth! :)

So, I got a RARE glimpse of this child smiling (he wouldn't smile before, during or after his performances but would to other children). After he was done he would pop his knuckles on his cheek -- very bizarre behavior... he admitted he was nervous... I think I'll need to find another way to help him cope with stagefright because his antics reminded me of Lenny on Laverne and Shirley when he'd bite the palm of his hand. LOL

I got a few group shots... here are two of Josh... and then the obligatory self portrait of me and Josh at the conclusion. :) (I've concluded that is the only viable way I will end up in my photo albums -- if I'm taking my own pictures)

Happy Mother's Day

We woke up and ate breakfast and got ready for church. We went to North Richland Hills Baptist to see Jeff Berry perform their worship service. He moved from Abilene to Nashville, TN and still travels around the country performing. Very talented guy. Volume was a little loud for my preference but hey, I guess I'm just getting old.

The church itself was very large. It's like it's own little compound... the worship sanctuary is small but you'd expect it to be like 3 times the size it was based on what it looks like outside.

The minister started and I really thought it was going to be a good sermon -- honoring mothers on Mother's Day and the thing turned into this rambling monologue about why you shouldn't drink... how it's sinful... but he doesnt' look down upon people that do... "but he and his church shall serve the Lord" and he talked about women shouldn't be gossips (like we're the only ones) and how we shouldn't adorn ourselves sensually... but his rant on alcohol... it was BIZARRE... he started to break down at some point... getting all emotional ... it was just... weird. In my book, I'll chock that one up to just ... weird. Again, in this situation, I'm like...??? surely I'm not the only one wondering if he didn't practice what he preached that morning b/c that sermon was about as fluid as a brick! Crazy talk.

Home to change and then head to the madness at the Fort Worth Zoo. Josh took some cute pictures here are a couple.



turtle butt ha ha








And he took this one too -- but what it makes me think of is Cartman from South Park -- where he says "Screw you guys, I'm going home."



Drew's CHEESE smile:


I don't know who took this pic of Josh b/c I certainly don't remember him hanging upside down. :)










Once the little man started showing it was time for a nap, we headed home so he could rest/relax.

Then it was on to dinner... mmmm... mmmmm.... mmmmm... steaks! It was delicious! My hats off to Ed for taking care of us women! :)

I always want to get a picture together with both my boys but by the time they were sitting long enough to get a picture with each grandmother... they didn't have time for me. :*( (waaaah)

Josh wanted to take pictures of me and Drew... this is all I got from that (Josh doesn't know how to stand still and I am so anal retentive that I delete blurry photos.



I asked Josh to come to me so I could get someone to take a photo of us... and THIS is what I got for that request:





Yeah, Happy Freakin Mother's Day to me huh? LOL

I got a photo of me and my mom


and my mom and the boys


and Josh wanted to take this one... dang I look OLD... UGH

Test your "Global Warming" IQ

:) Take this test... just 10 questions... there may be some surprises in store!

http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/GlobWarmTest/start.html

Camp out in the backyard

Josh's best friend Austin slept over and they camped out in the back yard... had a great time! :)









Austin will be moving to Tennessee soon...and we will be left with no one on the block for him to play with. There is one boy, Sam, but I just don't think they get along well at all -- personality conflicts perhaps. And, the rest of the street (besides the 2 year old next door) are girls. :( At least he's getting to the age where he can ride his bike to their houses.

Josh is handling it okay but he's really sad. First his friend Matt moved away and now Austin... I'm ready for us to move away too...

National Scrapbook Day

I was busy all weekend (except for the food poisoning episode Saturday night -- UGH) SCRAPPING! I got a lot done and thought I'd share some of it with yous guys. I was more focused on getting BACK into scrapping than creating my time intensive masterpieces. :) Though I do have some great ideas for those to come!

Created a card for a challenge -- for Josh's teacher


A Mother's Day card


Made this quick and silly LO of Drew. Journaled the story on the back about how this was his first fun dip for going potty in the toilet all by himself.


Made this silly LO for Josh... journaling reads: Reason #589 why you don't wear a candy necklace around a dog with a spring in her butt.


Made some note cards with painted chipboard



Made this LO about my trip to New York City in 2003 when I was pregnant with Drew



I did this card for a sketch challenge


I did this LO for a challenge as well -- it's the boys 2 years ago in the bluebonnets (this one is my favorite)

The Best Juice EVER!

I took Drew to Arby's today for lunch. He wanted his usual "barbie sammich, dish eyes, barbie ketchup, chocolate milk" Ha ha... did you catch that? He is SUCH a freakin hoot with his crazy pronounciation of everything. I was reading the menu and saw that they had fruit punch and asked him if he'd like that in lieu of his usual chocolate milk. He was so excited to get it. We went through the line, paid, got our goods and started to drive away and he was so tired and whiney complaining about being thirsty so I pulled over to give him his juice box. He was SO ecstatic!



We got to the corner and he started labeling off the fruit on the front of the box asking "what in it"... I said, you tell me. So he looks at this box of fruit juice...



And after telling me the letters on the top... he says grape, cherry, french fryes.

and I BUSTED OUT LAUGHING... FRENCH FRIES?! then after looking at the box... sho nuff... those pineapple tidbits look JUST LIKE french fries! Ha ha... Yum!

Raising prices AGAIN?

Can you believe they're raising the price of stamps AGAIN?!

09/14/75 .10
12/31/75 .13
05/29/78 .15
03/22/81 .18
02/14/85 .22
04/03/88 .29
01/01/95 .32
01/10/99 .33
01/07/01 .34
06/30/02 .37
01/08/06 .39
05/14/07 .41
05/12/08 .42

Yep... the postage rate goes up again in a few days... SO... get to the post office and get those stamps with the liberty bell.... you won't have to pay for any 1 cent stamps to add onto your other stamps to make them worthy.

Who is to Blame?

My mom sent me this and darnit... I completely agree 100%


Let's see if I understand how the world works lately.

If a man cuts his finger off while slicing salami at work, he blames the restaurant.

If you smoke three packs a day for 40 years and die of lung cancer, your family blames the tobacco company.

If your neighbor crashes into a tree while driving home drunk, he blames the bartender.

If your grandchildren are brats without manners, you blame television.

If your friend is shot by a deranged madman, you blame the gun manufacturer.

And if a crazed person breaks into the cockpit and tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet, and the passengers kill him instead, the mother of the crazed deceased blames the airline.

I must have lived too long to understand the world as it is anymore. So, if I die while my old, wrinkled ass is parked in front of this computer, I want all of you to blame Bill Gates.

A Meeting at the Park

I held my den meeting at a local park this evening and we had a nature scavenger hunt with cameras. :) It was kinda fun. Here are some of the shots from the meeting!