Cowabunga!

I’d like to introduce you to my neighbors. Hahaha…just kidding. Well, almost. I happened to be outside the other day when my neighbor and his friend were outside talking. I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing. They seriously sounded like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I was floored and almost started cracking up right there. I think the worst part is that the guy is Asian…how often do you picture an Asian guy talking like that?! I SO don’t buy into all the California stereotypes so this was really funny!

Bath Time

Did I tell you that I lost taking my own showers? Oh, yeah…I have to take my showers with No-No now. She won’t take baths anymore and hasn’t for a month or two. So…I lost my only sanctuary I had left. LOL It’s actually better though, she hates having her hair washed now too. She would get up and try to run out of her little bathtub. I wish I had one of those walk in tubs. They are SO much safer to use. I wish my grandma had one too. Heck, I wish I had one too! LOL I’m really short and never can lie down in the tub anyway. I just sink and float down into it. Good thing I can swim. LOL!!!!!

Oh Deer...

So, I know there was always the saying that Chinese restaurants served dog instead of chicken or beef or something. I also know that the saying has a bit of truth to it…they eat dogs in China. Anyway, this took it a bit further for me…keep in mind…I’m Chinese. LOL!

A restaurant in Hamburg, NY was closed down for having a dead deer in its kitchen. Someone called the health department and an inspector arrived and found the animal still being butchered in the kitchen. They have no idea how it died but state laws prevent such a thing from happening. They don’t believe that any part of it was served to customers. That is SO gross. I know people eat deer…I don’t…but that should be a choice. Hopefully no one was served any of this meat that could have very well been road kill. OMG that is just too gross.

Peeves

Here's my peeve for the day...I really hate when I go out and I see almost every woman that is in view wearing some designer purse. This includes teenagers. I just don't get it. Okay, yeah I do but not all of it. I mean, WHY is it SO necessary to HAVE to have a designer bag?! Every time I turn around, someone has a Gucci, LV, or Dior. Now, don't get me wrong...I'd like to have one of each of those too but isn't it funny that you see these people with this bag but they can't afford anything else? I think the worst I saw was this lady with one of those funky new strollers that costs $800 and looks like some kind of messed up high chair on wheels and her TWO Guccis. The small duffle she was wearing and the diaper bag. DIAPER BAG! WHY?! Is she going to keep carrying it around after they don't need it anymore? I really pray that many of these bags are fakes. Like how TONS of people buy replica watches. That is really big too. When I was little, my dad even bought me a "Frolex". LOL I didn't know why he was giving it to me. It's nice to have nice things but really...do we have to have it all?!

Holiday Crime

Armed robberies are on the rise again around here. It’s SO scary how desperate people get when times are bad. I know things are more than awful here for us but I would never put other people at risk to feed my kids…which I doubt those people are doing. I’ve found other ways to make some extra cash from home…as many as I have to do to it.

We have a city here we call “the city of the dead” because it is populated my cemeteries and there are more dead people than live ones. A lady was arrested last week for going through all of the graves and pulling off any copper, bronze, or metal that was on the tombstones and even the gates and piping form the buildings. Two guys were caught trying to pry apart the bronze gates of one cemetery. I tell you…the things people will do. As hard as they are working on taking off metal bits, they could be sitting here like me instead. Geesh.

Giving Back

Something I always look out for are companies that do charitable work within their communities and abroad. I feel better knowing that I support and/or shop at places like this. Sometimes we don’t hear about many of them because they aren’t highly recognized companies. For example…Cydcor is a great company that I’ve never heard of until today. I still need to look into them a bit more, but like Target and some other big companies, they create volunteer programs within the company and give back. I think that’s fabulous! Once a company becomes successful, they should be giving back. Here's what I just read about them...

Cydcor Launches Neighborhood Leaders Volunteer Program

Leading global provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams makes it easy for sales offices to give back to their communities through new program

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (October 22, 2008) – Cydcor, the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams, has introduced its Neighborhood Leaders Program, a new internal program available to Cydcor’s network of sales offices. The program is designed to assist sales offices in supporting their communities through charity and volunteer work.

Cydcor’s network of nearly 200 independent sales offices located across the United States and Canada will be given financial sponsorships and encouraged to donate their time and talent to non-profit, charitable organizations in their communities. Each independent office is eligible to take advantage of Cydcor’s Neighborhood Leaders Program once annually.

“We’re proud of this new program, and Cydcor wants to support the efforts of current and new sales offices,” said Cydcor President Jim Majeski, “Cydcor believes it’s imperative to not only support the communities in which we live and work, but also to support those communities in which the sales offices thrive.”

In addition to the Neighborhood Leaders Program, earlier this year, Cydcor launched a Volunteer Day benefit for its own team members in which people are paid eight hours annually for time they spend supporting a charitable organization of their choice.

“Cydcor is dedicated to supporting team members and sales office charitable ventures and igniting interest in volunteerism, whether it’s financial or a donation of time,” said Jim Majeski, President of Cydcor. “Our goal is that this philanthropic spirit will continue to be instilled in our team members and becomes ingrained in our culture. It is simply the right thing to do.” About Cydcor, Inc. Cydcor, Inc., is the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams to a diverse client base of companies in a range of industries, including telecommunications, office products, retail energy and financial services. Cydcor works with a network of independently owned corporate licensee (ICL) sales offices providing clients with access to nearly 3,000 sales professionals and 200 offices in North America. The privately held company is based in Westlake Village, California.

For more information about cydcor, log on to www.cydcor.com.

Sneak Peek...Black Friday!

Speaking of shopping…Woo Hoo! Black Friday is coming up! I’m SO excited!!! I’ve never been out after Thanksgiving to see this all for myself and am really looking forward to it this year. Normally we would have a family dinner with my uncle, his family, and my grandma but the last couple of years they’ve had lunch with her and we’ve had her for dinner. Yeah, can you tell we don’t get along? It’s fine though, we hate going to their house anyway. LOL!!! So that means, this year I’m going out and sitting in line in the cold…unless I don’t see anything worth doing that for. So far Sears, Harbor Freight, and Ace Hardware have announced their Black Friday deals. Big Lots did have its ad leaked but they quickly took care of that by sending out copyright notices to anyone posting it. :op Not a great idea for PR. Toys R Us came out with their Big Book last Sunday, so Yes-Yes is going through it marking down everything he wants in there. I’m waiting for the electronics like everyone else and their mother. LOL! I REALLY want to get a laptop by the end of this year so I’m determined. I will get one too. Hahaha It’s a good thing we aren’t in Reno because dh would have me sitting outside of Cabela’s or some other giant sporting goods store in the snow!

Buying Gifts

Okay, Christmas shopping officially has begun…and I have NO idea what to get anybody. I am SO not good at gift giving. LOL I always like to be creative and give something kind of unique but it is getting harder and harder to do every year. One person the stumps me is my grandma. What do I get her? The last few years it was a new sweater. LOL she can always use new clothes. I’m thinking along with some kind of clothing, I’ll give her a copy of Martin at the Sands. She loves Dean Martin and this one has all her favorite songs on it...plus it's a good price. :o) The only problem would be that she can’t play the darn thing. Hmmmm…maybe I’ll record it into something more user friendly for her.

Animal Antics

We have been having a ton of animals running through our backyard everyday. Yes, I’m still feeding the squirrel we call “Bushy”. It’s really funny because when I call him the crows come too. We can have as many as 2-3 squirrels, 2-3 blue-jays, and 6-10 crows in the yard all at once. The cats go absolutely crazy seeing all the activity out there. I feel bad that I don’t let them out to chase them but then that would kind of defeat my purpose, wouldn’t it? At night we’ve been having a raccoon walking through but I haven’t been able to snap a pic for you yet. Every time he (or she) comes through our backyard light goes on and it startles me when I’m near the back door. It’s really hard to see it because our outdoor lighting is really the pits, so every time I go to grab the camera, I lose sight of it. I think I’m becoming obsessed. LOL!

Broccoli Casserole Recipe

I LOVE broccoli! I'm still not too sure why people hate it so much. Being Asian, I've never really had casseroles (especially veggie ones) much but this one is a must. It's my favorite thing to make for the holidays. I'm sure everyone's had this one by now but I thought I'd put it up just in case. Talk about easy!

2 pkgs chopped broccoli, semi-cooked
1/2 stick butter
1 package of salad crutons
3/4-1 1/2c shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper

Mix cream of mushroom soup and cheese; pour over broccoli and mix gently. Put in a 1 1/2 qt casserole dish. Crush crutons. Melt butter and mix with crrutons and put on top of mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Learning New ABC's

You may know that Yes-Yes has a learning disability. We haven’t ever been able to get him diagnosed but a friend of mine and I compared our children (LOL) and he comes out very similar to her son. He is considered a highly functioning slight Autistic, or something along those lines. It really makes me think about what might be “wrong” with Yes-Yes. I know he has memory issues and some comprehension stuff going on but I never really thought of him as Autistic. This has been such a rapidly growing epidemic that it’s great to have the Autism Support Network. There’s tons of information and it’s nice to be able to talk to other people about what might be happening and what you can do. More research really needs to be done…and soon! Here's some interesting stuff I found...

Autism Support Network Launches, Offers Free Online Support Community

Thousands around the world already connecting, sharing guidance and help

October 21, 2008. Autism Support Network today announced the launch of its free online support community available at www.AutismSupportNetwork.com. The online service – rapidly growing with already thousands of members around the world – connects families and individuals touched by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with each other, provides support and insight, and acts as a resource guide for treatments, strategies and therapies.

Key features of the community include matching those members seeking similar support with one another, the ability to create appointments virtually or in actual locations between members, community groups for open sharing of information, user blogs, chat and capabilities for members to host and share personal photos and documents. The Autism Support Network also includes resource listings across the United States, Canada, England and India.

"Parents frequently feel paralyzed and isolated when they discover their child has autism. Those adults who have autism themselves also frequently find it difficult to engage socially with others for support," said Brian Field, co-founder of Autism Support Network. "Whether you’re a parent whose child has autism, a medical practitioner or someone with autism, our global community was created to facilitate an exchange of ideas, help and interactive discussion. Those dealing with ASD needn't have to 're-invent the wheel' – they can find others here that have likely experienced what they’re going through and can help provide personal guidance."

Today 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism, with a new case diagnosed every 20 minutes and is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States today. More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined. Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.

###
Media Inquiries:
Pam McCarthy
info@AutismSupportNetwork.com
Autism Support Network
Box 1525 Fairfield, CT 06825
Tel: (203) 404-4929
Fax: (203) 404-4969
www.AutismSupportNetwork.com

2008

You know, I have to say I feel really bad for Barack Obama. There’s so much stuff going on around about him being a terrorist it’s kind of sad. I really can’t believe the people that think he’s of Arab decent. Hel-lo?! He’s half black and half white. How many times does he have to say it?

See, this makes me worry about our voting process. I’m not saying vote for Obama or McCain, I’m speaking in general. There are some people in this country that don’t always educate themselves and then they register to vote and don’t know what they’re voting for. They just become sheep and follow the herd. I admit I don’t know everything but come on, at least know why you aren’t voting for the “other guy” and why you’re not voting for this proposition but the other one. I read a comment on a news website where a person commented that every year they would write into the local paper and urge people to register to vote and become part of the process. After some time this person realized that there were so many people not making decisions based on educated knowledge that they don’t write in anymore because they don’t know for sure whether they want people like that helping to make decisions for this country. I think I have to agree. Would you want people making decisions based ONLY on what is shown on TV? How about people only voting for something because they think they’re “supposed” to and not because they actually believe it? I’m no politician but I actually take the time to read each proposition to make the decision I think to be best.

A Gift From Mom

Could you imagine giving birth to your own grandchildren? I think that would be an awesome gift! A 56 year old woman in Ohio just delivered healthy triplets by cesarean after having been implanted with the embryos about 8 months ago. Her daughter and her husband had been on a waiting list for adoption when she decided to offer herself as a potential surrogate. That is just too cool. I personally would be a bit nervous since she is a bit older but if everything worked out to be okay, then I would have gone for it too. I don’t think I would have ever used a surrogate because of the emotional risks that involve everyone but in this case, I think I would have been okay. Talk about motherly love!

Need Some Ideas

I'm on my way out to go do a bit of shopping and started to think...I don't have any idea what to get my step-dad for Christmas. I have never really been able to figure out what to get him. he's a typical guy and likes grilling, eating, fishing, and golf. Maybe there's a few other things but not much. LOL I have gotten him something for each of those things over the last few years. One year I was lucky enough to get him a six month subscription to the chip of the month club. That was cool. I got him a golf net one year but it was the "wrong" one and instead of taking it back he's let it sit in the garage totally unused. That's nice isn't it? *end sarcasm* I was thinking about gettin him Callaway golf clubs but I don't know anything about those things and I'm sure it is out of my budget. *sigh* Anyone have any good ideas?

A Stinky Situation

Is your deodorant worth $50,000? I highly doubt mine is. This guy in Florida was stealing deodorant spray and when he was confronted and asked to put it back, the guy pulled out a gun and took off. Assuming the gun was real, police closed off the school and apartment building near by. They eventually found the guy, his deodorant, and his BB gun and arrested him. He is now being held on $50,000 bail. Hmmmm…you know, I think I may have just taken another shower than deal with all of that craziness. LOL

DWI

I’m always amazed at to how many celebrities seem to be going into california drug rehab centers. It seems like there is a new one almost once a week. I think that it is a good thing that they are looking for help instead of endangering their lives and other people’s lives since they always seem to drive under the influence. That’s usually how the rest of us find out that they are in trouble again. I wish that they didn’t have to go in more than once though. Maybe if they would stay in long enough the first time and really commit to it, they wouldn’t have to keep going back over and over again.

Gas Guzzling

Okay, how much is gas where you are? Here I think it’s finally getting down to around $3.45 or so. It’s too bad we don’t all live in Lyons, WI! There is a gas station owner who changed his gas prices and forgot to put in the $3 and instead only ended up entering 59 cents. Apparently, people did notice his mistake and told a ton of other people. This poor man didn’t notice what he had done and is now looking at a loss of close to $4,000. Incredibly he had changed the price around noon on a Saturday and noticed by 7am the next day and by then it was too late. At least 50-75 people took advantage of him and his indicator light came on letting him know he was down to 200 gallons of fuel left. One teenager was kind enough to feel bad when he noticed his full tank only cost him $10. He talked to his dad about it and was urged to pay the remaining balance, which he did. It is too bad there aren’t enough people like that. The owner must really be kicking himself in the pants.

Finishing What I Started

I have been thinking of going back to school. Here’s a little secret about me…I’m a high school drop out. Yup, that’s right. I never finished high school. I haven’t yet even finished my GED. I still have two more tests to take to get it done. It hasn’t ever been hard finding a job, so that’s good. I’ve been able to get lots of experience doing a range of jobs.

Lately though, I’ve been thinking and I’m still pretty young and have a LONG ways to go till retirement. What am I going to do? I’m not going to be a wahm forever am I? How am I going to retire if I have no pension? Yeah, I do feel old thinking such thoughts, but it’s never too early, right? I know that right now is not a good time but someday I need to finish my GED and at least get a BA in something and possibly a Masters. See, this has always been my problem…a BA in what? I can’t say for certain what exactly what I want to do. I haven’t really ever found anything that I would wan to do the rest of my life. So, I thought maybe I should start my own business…but that does not solve my problem at all. There’s still no pension. LOL!!! I did find this great site that has a listing for jobs for graduates. It’s kind of like an online career center. They have lots of graduate jobs and careers information that are in Europe which may be ideal since I’m not sure if we are going to live here our whole lives. Things are really different over there but I’m getting quite fed up with the way this country is going. I’ll probably change my mind once the election is over, so don’t quote me just yet. I’ll wait and see what happens.

Nitey-Nitey

So, I’ve been really good this week and have tried to get as much sleep as possible. I’m guessing that because I’m actually ready to go to bed earlier, it may be making me not want to sleep. I’ll sit in bed for over an hour and have to get up before my body resists the whole thing altogether. LOL Ususally by the time I’m falling asleep, No-No has totally rolled over me and is lying flat on my back. I always seem to be fighting for the bed. Dh is always hogging up the whole thing like there’s not enough room. If I’m really lucky, I’ll get covered by both of their bodies. LOL! I end up sleeping on the edge of my bed partially lying on the baby’s crib. The best part is that I actually can fall asleep faster that way than being in my own spot.

A Long Battle

My mom keeps yelling at me to get my skin looked at by a dermatologist. I have been breaking out really badly since I was a teenager and it never really subsided. It can be very painful if my skin really explodes. Sometimes the breakout will hit a nerve area and I’ll even get painful shocks. It’s no fun. There’s this doctor named Martin Sands who keeps his practice up to date by trying out all the latest techniques. I’m thinking of giving him a call or reading up more from his website. There got to be something to help my skin without taking some weird pills that are going to hurt my body.

One of Those Days...Again

I think I'm being "tested". LOL Today is just not going smoothly and it's really starting to wear me thin. You know, one of THOSE days.

If there's anything that can go wrong, it can today and if there's anything that will push me to my limits, it will be today. I think it all started this morning when I was having a LONG working time to myself. Everything was going very peacefully, although I was totally pooped from being up all night, and then my mom came down and started in on me. from there it's been downhill.

It's going to be the kind of day that makes you wanna get in the bathtub, with a glass of something, read, listen to music...something like that. Just a quiet time to yourself and then go to bed. That sounds good already and it's only 1:45pm right now. LOL!

Choo-Choo

We’ve had a lot of problems with trains lately. About a month ago, a person was struck and killed by a train right near our house. Then a few weeks later, a huge truck was slammed into on the tracks. Years ago we had a ton of people committing suicide on the train tracks. It was awful. I can’t remember what exactly was going on back then but I’m sure it had something to do with money. It’s almost always money. But yeah, it was really bad. I hope that doesn’t start happening again.

Everyone always got stuck on the trains because someone got hit and the whole system would be backed up. Sometimes it was for hours and you never knew if it would be when you were on it. I got stuck once on my way to work and even knowing that this was happening all the time, the jerk that became my manager wasn’t understanding at all. I was stuck at the stop before mine and I got off really quick to call him from the pay phone. I had to hurry because we didn’t know how long we’d be stuck there and didn’t want to get left behind. I told him that someone ‘did it again’ and we were stranded and didn’t know how long it would be. Do you know what that jerk said to me?! He goes, well, you’re late. Duh. Then he says can’t you find another way to get here? I was like WTF?! Are you serious?! After trying to go over it again and tell him that it wasn’t in my control, I even had to resort to offering to walk like 3 miles to work but then I might be later than if I waited for the train to get going again. He reluctantly said “no” and then was all pissed off when I got into work. God, that guy was the biggest asshole I’ve ever worked with. That’s another post though. LOL

Out Again?!

My step-dad has a doctor appointment today and I think I may have to go with him. See, his doctor is located in San Francisco’s Japantown and I LOVE shopping there. Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t be buying anything but I don’t really. I’ll look around see all the shops and what they’re new “toys” are and I always have to go to the shop that has all of the anime merchandise. They carry everything I can think of and it’s the coolest looking stuff. Yes-Yes loves that store and is always asking when we can go back. Yup, I think I’m going out again today. LOL

Your Full Potential

How long would you like to live? I haven’t really been able to answer this question yet. For a long time, I wasn’t sure that I would be around even this long. Well, if you really plan on trying to live until you’re at least 100 here are some helpful tips.

There are tons of theories of what to do, not to do, eat, and not to eat but some findings have shown that drinking at least two cups of tea, whether green or black, has dramatically decreased the possibility of heart disease and strokes. Stick with honey or lemon in your tea, as milk may dilute the effects of the antioxidants.

Do eat at least 1 cup of blueberries everyday. Hmmm…now this one always had me stumped. Where am I supposed to keep that many cups of blueberries?! I could freeze them but our freezer isn’t big enough to hold enough for six people. In any event, if you do find a way to get in a cup or more of berries a day, they have significantly increased your memory abilities. Do not drink soda. Yeah, we all know this one but how many people really listen? Not only is the sweeteners and sugars bad for you and possibly make the rest of your diet a sweet one and cause you to become obese, even down to the additive that make the drinks a caramel color it’s bad. That additive may also pose health risks as many other additives have come to be known.

There’s one more possible factor that I had never heard about. If your mother gave birth to you when she was under 25 you may have been born a healthier child and live longer due to that. So, what’s going to happen to the newer generations since so many people have waited to have children as late as their forties?! The fact is that (unlike me) SO many couples have waited to get their lives totally set before adding children or even finding that it was hard and were not able to conceive until a lot later. How long will their children live? Will they have more health problems due to the late births? I guess only time will tell.

Christmas Bust

I was SO excited that this year everything seemed to be going well for us and we may have been able to afford some decent pressies for everyone. Boy, was I wrong or what?! This year seems to have busted just like years before it. Not to mention that the time always seems to fly and I don’t have enough of it to prepare. I feel really bad because I wanted to get dh something really great since he’s been the one working. Oh well, I guess he’ll have to do without the reel he wanted and I won’t be getting any Perpetual Diamonds anytime soon. LOL! It’s too bad too, because they’re having a great sale on a lot of their products. ..like that great Rolex that I had picked out ;o)

Quick Memo...

Heads up to all you peeps that love give-a-ways...I've got my first one in the works and the details will be posted soon. Make sure you subscribe to find out when the big drop is! I'll see you back shortly :o)

I <3 My "Friends"

Speaking of friends…some how I get all the “weird” friends and I’m not really sure why. They aren’t very supportive and they end up being quite self absorbed. I had one REALLY good friend that dumped me last year. We had been best friend for like 13 years and she was there for the birth of both of my kids. She had a strange relationship with my dh but other than that it was fine. She even lived with me when we were teenagers because her dad kicked her out. She also ran away a lot too but I was there for every awful thing. Some of my stuff she lost or got it stolen but I forgave her. So one day last year all of a sudden she decides to never call me back. Dd was very young so I didn’t realize for a long time that she hadn’t called me back since each day was a blur. Once I figured it out, I tried to talk to her and find out what the problem was but no response. Ugh. I just don’t understand. We were like sisters so all she had to do was tell me there was an issue and we could have either delt with it or she could have just said I’m sorry I can’t talk to you anymore. Did she do that? NO. So I’m sittin here wondering wth went wrong and what did I do. Talk about childish. We are grown people after all.

The other friend I’m talking about is just as strange. (And no I don’t worry about her reading this because she doesn’t care enough to) I’ve known her almost my whole life and we’ve been best friends since middle school. She is always SO absorbed with either herself or her current boyfriend of the time that she doesn’t call me hardly ever. She’ll get off the phone with me to go spend time with him and they live together! Or even worse, she’ll sit and talk to him or her parents while she’s on the phone with me! She won’t even say hold on she’ll just start talking to them and I have to figure out what’s going on. I hardly ever speak to her and that’s what she does. UGH. It’s SO rude. I’ve tried to tell her more or less to stop but it didn’t matter. She’s too self absorbed. Frankly, I don’t even want to go to her wedding which is supposedly next year or something.

I have been there for every one of my friends at all hours of the day all my life and most of them have treated me like crap. I just really don’t get it. I always thought that you set the example of how you would like to be treated by treating others in that way but it sure has backfired on me. LOL None of them have been that supportive of anything that I do and my family is worse so it makes it crappier for me. I’ve made new friends online that are way better than people I’ve known for so long. Gee, what does that say about my “real life” friends? You guys suck. LOL!!!

Zombie Love

My friend emailed me this cute music video of zombies fighting over a girl and I’d thought I’d share it here. It's pretty cute. ‘Tis the season. LOL I think they may be a relatively new band from the UK. They’re music is pretty good. It’s more like the 80’s pop stuff that I grew up with. I loved that music…and everything else about the 80’s. ;o) I could swear that at the end is the castle they used in the Secret Garden movie too.
Watch Music Video

I'm Hungry...

WOW! Now that’s what I call a burger! Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA has a burger on its menu called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser and it is a whopping 15 lb. So far, only one man was able to actually eat this whole thing and that wasn’t until just recently. It took 21 year old Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to polish this thing off. He has said that after the third hour, things started to get tough. I could only imagine! This burger consists of a bun, 15lb patty, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers, and a cup each of mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and relish. This all brings the total weight to 20.2 lbs. Since he was able to finish the burger off under the five hour time limit, Brad won $400 and three T-shirts…not to mention a huge gut full of beef.

Gift Buying

Okay, I’m trying really hard to figure out what to get my mom for Christmas. I always have the hardest time ever with her gift because she’s SO incredibly picky. I’ve gotten her things before and she’ll give me that look. You know which one…the one that says, wth were you thinking?! LOL Yup, she has no shame about it. She even got upset with my step-dad on Valentine’s Day because her gave her the “wrong” chocolates. Ugh, I don’t know. Anyway, I was thinking more along the lines of stationary and stuff this year. She’s always liked pens and things so maybe I’ll get her that. I found a great selection of Cross Pens from Giftpens.com and there’s other things there that she would like too. Hmmmm…maybe I will go with that idea.

Can Your Fish Vote?

God, why do people do this crap? You know, the people that use their pet’s names for stuff? A voter registration form was sent out to a dead goldfish of all things in Chicago. The family apparently used the fish’s name when they added a second phone line to their home. Why would you do that at all?! I really just don’t get it. The fish was then sent voter material because it was on a list that was purchased of non registered voters. They say that they try to weed out obvious pet names but apparently Princess wasn’t one of them. I can’t imagine how many actually get through. And, since this is such a high stakes election, you know some people will be out there to fraud the system. I mean look at what happened the last time. People were lied to and sent away. What kind of country is this?!

Investments?

Do you know everything you need to know about your investments? I have never done anything, so I really have no idea what all this stuff is. Sorry, I’m financially stupid. I have a general idea about things but when it gets into IRAs and other things, I’m totally lost. I’ve always wondered how venture capitalists start out and stuff like that. Maybe I should ask Martin Sands who knows all about it. Their company website has a lot of good information but being the way I am, I have a really hard time reading that stuff. It all seems to be a whole new language to me. LOL

Cheap Shopping

One of the things I love doing when I’m out shopping is going to 99 cent stores. I even thought of trying to open one once. LOL! See, I don’t rule anything out. I think my favorite of all is this store we have called Ichiban. It is a Japanese store with tons of everything from dishes to those mini erasers shaped like food. Those are SO cute. I’m a total sucker for stationary stuff. They do have lots of Japanese snack food there too and usually they are cheaper than in a different store. The last time I was there I picked up these really cute chopsticks for No-No. Hopefully she will end up using them someday…the right way. LOL I can just imagine her running around and trying to stab people with them. That would be fun…not.

Take Me Away!

I’ve never been out of the US and it kinda stinks. I have no idea what Europe is like and I have two relatives there. LOL They keep saying that we should go visit but I’m not sure I could stay with my aunt and cousins…they drive me nuts. And, I don’t think No-No is old enough to handle a trip like that…or any trip at all. I would really love to go there though. I’m so fascinated with all the history and stuff. I’d really like to go to Budapest too. I found a neat site that has apartments on it for an accommodation Budapest. It seems very reasonable. You can book your reservation right there and they have other services to help you out too. *sigh* It sounds SO great. God, I really want to get away from here for a little while.

You Have What?!

Have you ever heard of “environmental illness”? Supposedly it’s an ailment that causes your body to go completely haywire and react painfully to everyday things in life. There is a big debate about this and other supposed illnesses, saying that they are more psychological and not a true physical disability. There is a woman who lives in PA that spends ten hours of her day in a shed that her husband built for her that they call “the bubble”. Could you imagine? Ten hours a day. This thing was constructed with aluminum, porcelain, and foil. Inside there is a toilet, cabinets, a box spring with the coils exposed, and a ton of organic cotton blankets to pad it I suppose. The couple has been ordered to take down this thing because it has violated zoning laws and may even bring down the surrounding property values. Apparently it is so unstable that it may collapse. They have illegally hooked up electricity, water, and sewer to this shed and was turned in for not having the proper permits taken care of. Well, regardless, they should have taken the proper measures since the wife is spending just about her whole day in there. I really couldn’t imagine living like that. There’s got to be a better way…don’t you think?!

Winter Skin is Coming For Me

With winter coming up, I’m always looking for new ultra hydrating lotions and potions. It’s hard to find just the right thing and I would definitely pay more for something that worked better than a drugstore brand. Actually, any skin care that works at that. I get dry patches everywhere once the air gets dry. It’s awful. I found this line by Dr. Lark that uses a great ingredient from the ocean and helps to keep your skin healthy and supple. I think I’m going to have to try it.

Movie Marathons

So apparently there will be a Pirates of the Caribbean 4 movie coming soon. Hmmm…I really don’t know about this. Okay admittedly, this family does own all three of the movies and I do have to say that the first one was probably the worst. That long fighting scene made my friend and I want to go running for our money back. Shamefully, I have now seen each of them over ten times due to dh and Yes-Yes’s obsession to play out every movie we buy so that I may never enjoy them again.

Rumor has it that Tim Burton may possibly direct the next one, so hopefully it will be better than them all. He has a sense of dark fantasy like no other…not that all of his movies are good ones. But I have to say that he and Johnny Depp are probably one of the best teams I’ve seen. The whole idea to a fourth movie was speculation and rumor until it was reported that Johnny signed a deal for the movie and is reported to be paid $59.2 million for the continued portrayal of Captian Jack Sparrow. It is also possible that Orlando Bloom may not be playing Will Turner who has recently become the new Davy Jones. I personally would like to see Keira Knightly not so upfront anymore. The role as Elizabeth really needs some freshening up for sure. Never the less, I would be happy to see Johnny Depp running around like the fruity pirate he loves to play. Who knew a flamin, dirty pirate could be such a hottie…I guess it really doesn’t matter what Johnny does, he’ll always be sexy. LOL!!!

The Poor Diet

I’m really not good at eating the right portions…I keep gaining weight and it sucks big time. Since the baby came, my schedules are so mixed up all the time and never the same, so I never eat at the same times. One of my friends had surgery and says that it’s really wonderful because she can’t binge eat anymore. She’s only able to eat about a ½ cup of food each time. I think she had her lap band houston though. It may have been cheaper there. Here it is really expensive. Maybe it will help that we can’t really afford a lot of food anymore. LOL

I'm It!!!

I’ve been tagged! Twice! Angie’s Junk Drawer and The Geek’s Girl were kind enough ( thanks guys ;o) ) to pass this meme to me. So I have to post 8 random facts about me and then choose 8 people to pass this along to.

The rules are:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.



Okay, here are my 8 things…

1. I never wake up at the same time of day for more than 3 days in a row
2. I love to garden but kill many plants.
3. My Girl Scout troop leader was the meanest person I knew at the time and I had to deal with her until I was about 12.
4. I can’t stand when people make slurping noises when they eat or chew with their mouths open.
5. I am quite unlucky and it shows…although I always try to stay positive.
6. I’ve had over 20 dwarf hamsters all at once. Boy that was something.
7. For one of my birthday dinners, I chose to have pizza and Chinese food.
8. One of my most favorite food in the whole world is dim-sum. YUM!!!


Whoo Hoo! I’m sure you’re SO glad to know those things. LOL!!! And know the 8 lucky people I’m tagging (drawn completely at random)…


Secola‘s Space

Lipgloss N" Pinups

Work from Home Options

Coodas Corner

Fat Girl Goes Fit

My Name is Not “Mom”

Blog About it

Flipping Adentures

Business Ideas

After I’ve scanned a whole spectrum of jobs to do from home, I had figured out that a great one is doing design and possibly starting your own “printing” gig. Many people do this kind of thing for promotional items as well as business signs. Custom T-shirts is a VERY big business and there are now web sites that offer to promote your products and print them for you. All you have to do is upload your images. Not bad for a small fee per sale.

Sex on the Beach

Sorry, not the drink...we're talking culture clash. Two people that were visiting Dubai, were taken to court for having sex on a Dubai beach after attending an all-you-can-drink champagne brunch. Okay, not that it is permissible to do that here but they have been charged and sentenced 3 months in jail and ordered to pay a $350 fine before being deported after their jail terms. What were they convicted of? Sex outside of marriage, public indecency, and drunkenness. That’s kind of hard to see after Dubai does sell itself as a type of “Las Vegas” in the middle of such a strictly regulated area. Couples local or foreign are not allowed to hold hands or show any display of affection in public, so it does pose as quite an interesting contrast and conflict. The couple has said they will appeal this decision. Hopefully they’ve learned a good lesson…always read up on where you’re going.

Buggin Out

When I was younger I had tons of friends that had VW bugs. They bought all of the old ones they could find and would then sup them up by painting them or buying new parts since they were cheap enough. One guy used to brag to everyone about his vw turbocharger like he was so cool…too bad everyone else had them too. LOL Then the dumb guys would crash them and buy another one. I don’t know about the male mentality sometimes.

Meanies

I encountered some random acts of nastiness the other day. Really…I just don’t get it. One person isn’t happy with something another person did to be helpful and all hell has to break loose. Ugh! I hate people. Here’s the best part…this person can’t do anything for themselves and never had anything helpful to say…EVER. Talk about moocher! Then they had to go and start name calling or in this case I guess you could say it was implying. People really just can’t be throwing around anything related to Nazi. That’s just as bad as saying something racial to me. One of my best friends is Jewish and I’ve always hated anything that refers to the ugliness from the past. So anyway, yeah…this person goes around implying something about the helpful person and then says they never said anything to that effect at all. Come on! All of this over something the unhelpful person didn’t have to do in the first place! All they had to do was say they didn’t understand and try to clear up the problem or as I said later, they didn’t have to do anything at all. *sigh* I really just do not understand what the problem was.

Another Great Tip

If anyone’s looking for some great web hosting I found a really good place to look on this web hosting blog. There are tons of deals on it that aren’t on the company web sites and lots of helpful discussion and stuff. Along with all of the package information, there are plenty of honest reviews so that you know what you’ll be getting into. All this is really great to have in one spot. When I tried comparing sites a while back, it was almost impossible to keep myself organized and I got confused quite quickly. I didn’t have anyone to ask questions to either, so it really was a hard way to make a decision. Now, of course, I know lots of people using lots of different hosts and they have different ways of finding them. I really wish I knew about this site back then, it would have saved me a ton of work. Of course, I wish I had the friends I have now also. LOL They alone, have saved me a lot of work but I had to do so much on my own. It really helps to network with others. I found out so many things I didn’t know and they pass down all their knowledge to me. :o) See, having friends is nice. LOL I really wouldn't have thought that blogs would ever be such a big thing.

Mmmmmm...Muffins!

Since it’s fall and my favorite thing in the whole world is pumpkin muffins, I thought I’d share all my favorite recipes on my blogs. I just found this one and am in love! Can you guess what I’ll be doing later today? LOL Oven, here I come! Oh, maybe it would help to go to the store first. :o)



Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins presented by Beaufort House Victorian Bed & Breakfast Inn

1 cup pumpkin
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or 1/2 cup raisins

Filling Ingredients:1 8-oz. package of cream cheese1/2 cup sugar2 tablespoons unbleached flour1 egg1/4 cup sour cream1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl. Set aside while making muffin mix. Works easier if you refrigerate while preparing muffin batter. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper baking cups.
Beat pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients, except walnuts, just until flour is moistened. Fold in walnuts.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Fill a piping bag with the cream cheese mixture, and using a wide tip, push the piping tip into the muffin batter. Gently squeeze the cream cheese mixture out of the piping bag. Then lift the piping bag out and repeat for all 24 muffins. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Wanted: Spa Day

I need to get away so badly! I’m up to my ears in stress right now. My skin is breaking out like there’s no tomorrow and parts of my body won’t relax. I really don’t know how to calm down right now. Ugh! I wanted to go to this med spa atlanta but duh, I can’t it’s too far away. They do really great work on things like skin resurfacing…what I’d really like to have done. I wish I could have my “old” skin back. Wow, that sounds weird doesn’t it?! LOL All the massages and things sound so good too. Well, I’ll just have to settle for some Epsom salts in the tub and the baby running all over my back. LOL

Goodbye $

Well, I just found out that I no longer qualify for unemployment benefits. Geesh! What a system we have. I can’t believe how little the government is willing to do to help out the people that live here. Of course, I just barely disqualified for the extended benefits that they finally decided to put in place. Had they had done this a long time ago, when they were supposed to, I would have qualified. Ugh.

Now, I don’t want to hear any comments about how people abuse the system or that you think I may be doing it too. Unemployed people are not always lazy and just looking for a handout. We work hard and when things go wrong, we should be entitled to something to get us through. As it was, I wasn’t getting enough to feed the family for a week, so I guess it’s not that big of a loss but it was something. I wish I had a plan B. LOL

Finding "The One"

So many of my guy friends can’t seem to get decent girls to date. They think that the best places to pick up women are either the bars/clubs or at a laundromat. LOL It is SO funny to hear what they say after they leave. Most of the girls they meet are drunk or just a bit crazy. They keep asking me to find girls for them but I really don’t hang out in that scene anymore so I’m really no help. Maybe I should just find a guide for them to follow. LOL!

Old Friends

Okay, someone please tell me why you always have to see people when you’re not “looking your best”?! I finally got out of the house yesterday and went shopping with the family. I ran into my old boss, again, a former boss from forever ago, and a really old friend that I reconnected with a couple of months ago. OMG I felt like such an ass when I saw her. She had a baby less than a year ago and she looks like nothing ever happened to her. She was all made up and beautiful…not to mention skinny, and here I am all dumpy, frumpy, and fat. She kept saying “oh you look great” I almost screamed at her that it really was not necessary to lie. LOL After seeing her I lost my ravenous appetite, being that I didn’t eat all day, and didn’t want to eat dinner either. I just felt so gross. My face is all broken out and looking at her did not help me to forget it. I swear she almost looked like she jumped right out of a magazine. I think it’s time to get back on the Pilates. LMAO

TV Upgrade

With everything changing in TV soon, we’ve thought about buying new TVs or subscribing to a service…no, we don’t have cable. LOL We aren’t sure which is the best way to go right now since we can’t really afford either but I figure that a service may be a better bet. We did get those coupons for the upgrade boxes but even those aren’t guaranteed to work out. Dh is already looking for a plasma wholesaler to get a new TV. LOL! Talk about wishful thinking.

OMG!!! What is That?!

Okay…Ewwww. What is this thing?! LOL! I was looking for designs to create templates with on photobucket and came across this thing. It’s like a gigantic grub or something. Why on earth would you want to actually hold this thing?! It's HUGE! It’s so gross. But I do have to say that it’s so fascinating that I couldn’t stop looking at it. LMAO!

Learning a New Route

I remember that when I was in fifth grade, there was a really cool trip to go to Washington D.C. It was one of those educational trips. Why am I remembering this now? LOL Because my aunt, who is a teacher in Germany, just sent me this site about educational travel services. She was wondering if our schools still do this kind of thing but I can’t recall if they are. Her colleagues said that Hemisphere Educational Travel is one of the best companies for schools to use. There are all kinds of neat and fun packages to choose from. They even have international travel packages which I think is really cool. I wasn’t able to go on my trip because we never had the money but I really want to make sure that Yes-Yes has every opportunity he can. Even if that means we go without some things.

When Child Stars Go Wrong

I don’t know why it took me so long to hear about this, but the more I read the “funnier” it gets! My mom mentioned to us last night that there was an ex-Power Ranger on trial for murder. With Yes-Yes being the ever going fanatic, we had to check it out right away. Turns out that he (Skylar Deleon) was not a Power Ranger but had a one time, non-speaking role in the Mighty Morphin series. His trial is just beginning for the murders of a Southern California couple as he was trying to steal their yacht he supposedly wanted to buy. His now former wife has already been sentenced for her role in it for two life sentences without the possibility of parole. There were like one or two more people but I don’t know what’s gone on in their cases.

So anyway, this guy Skylar Deleon…he’s a weird one. He was born to a drug dealing father and became an actor around fourteen. He couldn’t remember lines at all so it didn’t last long. He boasts that he was a star on Power Rangers but we know that’s not true. So, this guy went to jail to await trial. At some point in time he was also charged with attempting to hire another inmate to have his father and cousin killed and has also been charged with killing someone else. The last thing I know of that this crazy guy did was try to cut off his penis while he was in a mental ward wing of the Santa Ana Jail. He was treated, sewn back together, and put back in prison. Good God. What is wrong with this guy?! I hope he doesn’t think he’s going to get off on insanity pleas. I think it’s a little late for that. Anyway, we were very relieved to know that it’s not really a former Power Ranger after all.

My New Obsession...Blindness

One of our favorite movies right now is I am Legend. It’s the coolest movie about a man, played by Will Smith, who is trying to find a cure to an incredibly contagious disease that turns people into zombie like creatures. These creatures feed on what’s left of normal living beings. It’s SO cool! I love this kind of stuff.

So, my friend who’s into the same type of thing told me I HAVE to see Blindness based on the book by the Nobel Prize winning author Jose Saramago. The movie just opened on October 3rd. I can’t wait to see it!!! I just watched trailers for it and it looks like an awesome film! It stars Danny Glover, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo to name a few.

I also found out that there’s a whole other world to Blindness. After doing some searching, there are tons of people from all over who are playing a “real life” game based on this. It’s kind of like Masquerade the vampire game. These people take on roles and get strange phone calls, messages, and packages. OMG Too Cool!!!! If I wasn’t such an easy freaked out person, I would definitely want to play. I’m going to have to tell my friend about it, I bet she’d play. I can live vicariously through her. LOL I’ve got to send her the link to the forum on the game. If you want to join in go to i am blind. I swear this is too cool! You won’t be disappointed. Even though I’m to chicken to play, I’ll still be checking out what’s going on. LOL! I am so going to see this movie asap!

More Layoffs

Well, this is just great. United announced today that it will be laying off another 414 mechanics from the San Francisco location. Guess where my step-dad works. You guessed it…SFO. I think he has enough seniority to stay in but for how much linger? He’s been able to survive all of the lay-offs so far, which is a lot of them, but I don’t think it can go on forever. I just hope people realize that all these lay-offs and HUGE pay cuts have let go employees that have been with the company for over 15 years. My step-dad is around 20 years so it’s getting really close to him. We’ve been trying to get him to leave the company anyway but now the package deal to leave is almost to no benefit. I think it was around $1500 in pay and lifetime stand-by flying. Whoo hoo. You can’t even get on a plane anymore whether you have a ticket or not. Ugh. I hate them for treating their people this way.

How To...

My mom really wants to freshen up our house but doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s an old house so it needs a whole lot of everything. We have always wanted to submit pictures of it to decorating shows and stuff to try to get a free makeover and some help in how to decorate. LOL My mom just got a lowes coupon so we actually may be able to afford to get something. Curtains maybe? LOL Where do you look for ideas?

Finally

Well, they finally have found Steve Fossett…most of his plane anyway. The recovery team did find some human remains but not much. The Chicago millionaire has been missing for around a year and has already been declared deceased but nothing ever was found. I’m really glad that they did find him. This will help bring some closure to his family although it’s not the result anyone wanted. Apparently, the crash was very violent and worse that it landed in the mountains surrounding Mammoth Lakes. Even if he were to have survived the crash, he wouldn’t have been able to reach help in time. It was lucky that a hiker found his id cards a short time ago and was able to lead teams back to the site.

Fore!

My step-dad really needs a vacation. He would love a Las Vegas Golf trip. I wish I could give it to him for Christmas. Too bad we don’t have the money right now. He has all these information things put together for Royal Links Golf Club, Desert Pines Golf Club, and Bali Hai Golf Club. He really would like to go to Desert Pines out of all of them because they have everything he’s looking for. But really he’d love to go to all three since he can get great tee times and there are no extra fees for canceling and stuff like that. That’s one heck of a trip! Maybe he can get together with a bunch of his friends that he plays golf with and try to plan a trip so they can split the expenses. That would be more than ideal. LOL

Ewww Gross!

OMG! This is SO gross. Three cities surrounding mine have been fined collectively over spilling over 6 million gallons of raw sewage into the streets, creeks, and SF Bay. Ewwwww. One of these cities is home to many very wealthy and some famous people. Can you imagine what they must be thinking? LOL I mean, really…people don’t walk out of their house on a rainy day and think hmmm…am I stepping in raw sewage? Evidently the sewage lines that run through all three cities have had numerous blockages causing them to over flow up into the streets, creeks, and San Francisco Bay! That does why locals don’t swim in there…we all know how contaminated it really is. That really is so gross! I can’t believe that with all the fee hikes in our water and sewage around here, that they wouldn’t clear these kinds of things. That’s nasty.

Extra-Extra!!!

Looking for extra money? I know I am! I was on my usual search for jobs when I realized I could be a movie extra. LOL! No, I’m not kidding. I am actually going to call Talent6. Did you know that you can make like $100-$300 per day?! Hey, I’m in. I’ve always wanted to do something like this. Some of my friends did it once in San Francisco for a movie and make some pretty good money. All you do is be one of the people walking down the street, riding in a car, standing there, or anything else you can think of that doesn’t require talking. LOL Pretty cool, huh? I’m not sure if I would be able to bring No-No with me unless they had a part for people with kids, so I may not be able to do it. I think it would be a ton of fun though. Maybe you would even see some big named movie stars! You could even tell people that you’re famous. LOL Even if I don’t get chosen based on my availability, I would be happy to have the chance to get in and maybe get called for something later on. If you want to try to get onto a show or movie, the number is (800) 493-9047. I thought I’d post it here in case anyone wants it. It’s really easy money so I don’t think many people can pass it up.

Why?

I can't even begin to say anything about this one...In Fort Myers FL, a 29 year old man is in jail for threatening his girlfriend and firing a weapon inside of an occupied residence.

This guy and his girl, went out to the bars and came home drunk. He wanted to have sex but she didn’t and wanted to go to bed. Well, this jerk went and shot himself in the arm twice, went in and threatened his girlfriend, and then fell hitting the oven and knocking himself unconscious.

What an idiot! I mean, really. What the hell was going through his head?! Anything?

New Jewelry...Coming Soon

I’m starting to finally come up with a lot of really neat jewelry designs. I hope to make them and have them posted on here soon. I’m not sure whether I want them to be silver or gold yet though. Most of the designs include freshwater orient pearls. I may resting them...not sure yet. I really love those. I found a great place to buy them too since I can’t buy at actual wholesale prices yet. Any time I find a great it’s the best part of my day. LOL

What Are You?

All my life I’ve been mistaken for Filipino. The funny part is that it’s by Filipinos! LOL That’s always the first thing out of their mouths before they even say hello to me or my mom. And ever time, after we reply that we aren’t, they say oh, you look Filipino. This has gotten really tiring and at one point I even started saying I was.

It’s funny how we are all categorized as Asian but yet there is a huge separation that most people aren’t aware of. We can be separated by heritage and birth origin. So, even though I’m Chinese, being Cantonese separates me from the Mandarins and since I was born in America I’m considered an A.B.C. or American born Chinese. There is a flip term but I won’t go there since it’s really not all that nice sounding. LOL If you’re Asian you know what it is.

There are lots of times that non-Asian people are discriminated against by Asians and may not even be aware of it. I have it happen to me a lot too just because I’m an American. It’s really interesting…how people react to one another. It just goes to show that it is not just a black and white issue it’s just not addressed as readily. I still wait for the day that we are all just human.

In the Hole

I feel so bad for all the people that are going to end up filing for bankruptcy. I may be one of them. My friend in New York is having a really hard time and may need to do that. I told her to find out about New York debt consolidation. She may have a better chance if she does that than file bankruptcy. There is this really great attorney out there named Richard S. Feinsilver. He specializes in bankruptcy and all the options that people have. There is a ton of helpful information on his web site that I passed along to her. I’d really hate to see her lose her home and everything else along with messing up her credit if that doesn’t have to happen

Workers Needed...

It’s not often that you hear of smart criminals, right? Well…in Monroe WA, a man put out a craigslist ad for a landscaping position. The respondents of this ad were to wear a long sleeved blue shirt, a yellow safety vest, eye protection, and a ventilator mask. These people were supposed to wait for a project manager to show up and if he wasn’t there when they arrived, they were to wait for him. Did I also mention that they were to wait near a Bank of America? Yeah, you see where this is going. LOL Some time after a bunch of people in this get up were waiting, a man wearing the same outfit robbed an armored truck outside the bank. He eluded police once he entered a near by creek. One of the people that was waiting for the false manager said that after a time, they all started talking and wondering if anyone was going to show and if it was possibly a TV show hoax. Who knew they’d be decoys instead. The FBI has started investigating this saying that it is definitely not a run of the mill case. They haven’t caught anyone yet and have no leads to any information from submitting the cragslist ad. There was an older movie that had roughly the same scenario to help deter attention from a crime. When asked, an FBI agent said that it probably wasn’t a necessary part of the crime and that it most likely didn’t help the criminal out. Oh yeah? Sounds like someone doesn’t want to admit that they aren’t getting anywhere to me LOL!

One Pair Left

I’m in such need of new jeans! I only have one pair and they are not fitting as well as they used to. They slide down and start sagging, then I look like I have “muffin top”! I’m heavier than I used to be but I’m really not that fat. LOL It is SO hard for me to find new jeans. Not only are Cheap Jeans hard to find, I’m short and not proportioned to fit teen clothes anymore. I can’t always wear petite clothes because they start looking “old lady” if you don’t look in the right places, which are normally really expensive. I really wish I could wear all the designer jeans because they are so cute but I would have to cut so much of the bottoms off that I would be losing like $100! That’s just crazy, so I stick to looking for discount clothes. It’s not always that hard…but it is hard to try to buy things online. I really love this one site and right now they are having a sale on all denim for just $13.80! The only problem is that I have to order a whole bunch, try them on, and then return all the ones that don’t fit. I guess it is easier that way for me though because it is really hard getting out with No-No. She won’t let me do anything at all and I find myself running through where ever it is we are. Ugh. I do miss being able to do things on a whim. LOL

Strong Families

Wow! I got to watch a bit of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition last night, thanks to No-No. That show is probably one of the best shows ever made. They helped out the Akers, a family of five living in Michigan and built them a fantastic new house. Well, okay…all the houses they build are fantastic. LOL Anyway, this family is two parents and three children and all but the mom have some sort of illness. Can you imagine? I can’t at all. The dad and the son both have Crones disease, a gastrointestinal disease that can be horribly painful, and the two daughters both have SMA, spinal muscular atrophy, which disables them from ever walking. SMA is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of two and one in forty people carry the gene that causes it. All of the children are so incredibly bright and full of life despite whatever ails them. The parents are the same way and have done such a truly fantastic job is setting them on the right paths with true family values.

It is SO refreshing to see people come through life in the face of devastation and shine. Rarely do you see actual “families” anymore. People go through life blindly and you hardly ever see the true bonds of family shine out of them. When I was pregnant with No-No, my triple screen came back positive for possible Down’s syndrome. I had to have an amniocentesis and we met with a genetic counselor. One of the questions she asked was if the results came back positive, would keep the baby. Honestly, we couldn’t answer. I’d like to think that I am the type of person who has the strength to face something like that for my children but I really don’t know if I am. You really begin to question who and what you are when you’re faced with things like that. I know that if that had happened, I would definitely turn outwards for support and soak in the strength of others doing the same thing. Even without having the same circumstances, I already look at these families with hope that we are not becoming the nation that it appears to be now and there still are truly inspirational people out there.

Embraced

I’m really not a “touchy feely” person and get weirded out when people run up and hug me. Here’s a good story to keep you from getting too personal.

A 21 year old Iowan man was arrested for public intoxication and assault on a peace officer on Saturday for hugging a police officer. He decided that this guy looked like he needed a hug and gave him one. The officer didn’t want a hug and told him to “get away”. Geesh…talk about grumpy. He told the guy to put his hands behind his back (during the hug I guess) and he didn’t so the cop arrested him.

That’s pretty messed up if you ask me. Maybe he really did need that hug. LOL

Destructive Daughter

Did I mention that No-No BROKE my favorite pair of glasses? OMG I was furious. My mom was supposed to be watching her and didn’t. I came back from what I was doing and she says to me “she broke your eyeglasses”. I was like “what?!” It took me a minute for it to sink in. The booger baby actually took off one of the arms…out of the socket thingy! I couldn’t believe it. I tried to glue the thing back in but it wouldn’t fit properly. UGH. Those were my favorite frames yet…Italian of course. LOL I always seem to pick out the most expensive designer glasses without knowing it. So, now I’m stuck with these ugly plastic things that I bought for the house. Just in case I drop them or No-No breaks them. Ahem. Yeah, she got the wrong ones. I am desperately searching out a new pair of fabulous frames at a much lower price than I had paid. I actually found a pair (the ones above) that are very similar to a pair of really cute Valentino eyeglasses that I had a couple of years ago. Those were more destroyed than what No-No had done. I won’t go into it…that’s a whole other story. LOL And, they are really cheap! Woo Hoo!

A Better Company for Me

You know how I’ve been looking for a more professional web solutions company? I was just sent another really cool one form a friend of mine who knows I’ve been on this hunt forever. 352 Media serves all sorts of customers and even works with really big companies. They do a lot of Gainesville web design but will do just about anything for anybody. I know it’s probably out of my price range but it would be worth a shot for them to take a look at my stuff and see if they would give me an opinion. Right? I hope that they will…I’m really running on empty. Most of the companies that I’ve contacted say I’m too “small” or never responded. Ugh.

The Need for Weed

The government in Sri Lanka wants to grow its own marijuana. Apparently over there, their practices of Ayurveda, or traditional medicine, have depleted their supply of pot and they can’t get it fast enough. Currently they are getting a supply from the numerous pot raids there. After frying the weed in ghee, or clarified butter, they use it for treating everything from pain to the loss of appetite from AIDS similar as they do here.

The medicinal purposes of pot have been controversial for a really long time. Here in California, we passed a proposition years ago but get hung up in it all the time since it conflicts with federal laws. Our pot clubs are always raided and closed and the “farms” are constantly destroyed. I do feel like this was a great idea but really needs some improvement to actually help people. You can’t win when others want to abuse it either.

In the Food Business

I used to work for a local business that was in the food industry. It was fun but they were mean. LOL Anyway, when I was there, I worked about five different positions ranging from hostess to clerical. It was a very nice change having so many different jobs. The only problem I had been with their inventory system. There wasn’t one. lol Some one would walk through the freezers and refrigerators and write things on a clipboard. That would be fine but it wasn’t done regularly and no one ever checked it. So I had asked them about getting a restaurant supply chain software but they didn’t want anything like that. I guess they would have rather thrown all the stuff out or ran out instead. This way of doing things is so much better, I couldn’t believe they didn’t want to use it. Oh, well it’s their loss.

Hello Kitty

If you know me you’ll know that I LOVE Sanrio stuff. Who doesn’t love Hello Kitty? While I was surfing, I found THE cutest Hello Kitty thing yet, normally I like some of the other characters-Kuromi is my current fav. Can you believe that these are flowers? They did such a great job in shaping Hello Kitty and Daniel. This is too cute. I wish they had this here so dh could buy me some. LOL! Leave it to the Japanese to make something this cute.

It's Not Me This Time

Why does everyone seem to be having car problems?! Ugh. My bf was just telling me that on her dad’s last trip to So. Cali, his car broke down. He had been in a bad accident earlier this year and now this. She had to drive down there and get him and the closest place they could take the car was a yorba linda auto body shop. They had to stay down there because the car only had minor stuff wrong and it was ready the next day. So, that’s good but it was still a big ordeal since gas is so expensive.