Saturday, January 31, 2009

Obama to Host Democrats, Republicans at White House Super Bowl Party
President Obama is set to host a group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers at a Super Bowl party Sunday at the White House.
(you can read more on foxnews.com)




hmmmm...i am wondering if this is going to cost us another 150 million dollars?
My daughter was telling me about this story and I thought it was AWESOME!!! This is what winning is all about!!!!

Good Sport Sprinter gives Olympic silver medal to man who beat him but was disqualified
By
DAVID HOGARTY


American sprinter Shawn Crawford finished fourth in the finals of the Beijing Olympics 200m sprinting event, but was awarded the silver medal when it was determined that the 2nd and 3rd place finishers behind gold medalist Usain Bolt strayed from their lanes during the event. It was a medal that hung too heavy around Crawford's neck, so he gave his medal to the disqualified second place finisher Churandy Martina.
Crawford won gold at the 2004 Olympics and figured that honor among athletes was more important than having a shiny piece of metal attached to a ribbon.
“I’m like, if a guy is 10 meters in front of me, I don’t care if he stayed in the middle of his lane,” Crawford told The Associated Press on Friday after finishing third in the 60 at the Millrose Games. “He was going to beat me anyway. He didn’t impede in anybody’s race.”
Martina filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it was rejected due to a lack of timeliness--ironic for an athlete focused solely on physical speed.
That didn't matter to Crawford, who left the Olympic silver medal at Martina's hotel when they competed in a track meet after the Beijing Games. “Me being an athlete, I know how he feels, so I feel like it was to me to give it up to him.”
First Published: Jan 31, 2009 6:13 PM CST
Weekly Wrapup # 25: Everyone Have Fun Tonight!
January 26, 2009 by weeklywrapup

In the past week have you played ant games? no...i don't believe so...
What were they? ????
Do you often play games? yes (and according to my boss every day!!)!!!!
What are your favourite types? (Board, card, video, other)
Anything that involves laughter and people!!
What is your all time favourite game?
hmmmm...i do like "footsies"...teeehehehehehe
Have you ever set/broken any game records?
*sigh* no
Are there any games which are a family tradition? We use to play Scooby Clue on New Years Eve

Friday, January 30, 2009

friday fill-in



1. I'd really like to go out for a great dinner and movie with hunny bunny right now.

2. CRUD is the word you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe.

3. Possession is a 10 letter word.

4. I LOVE Captain Jack Sparrow.

5. Marshmallows and fire go together like hunny bunny and me.

6. I love the reality tv keeps going on and on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a hot bubble bath and a good book, tomorrow my plans include getting a pooper scooper (puppies...need i say more!) and Sunday, I want to watch the Steelers win the Super Bowl!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Tuesday...my list day!!! wahoo!!!

* do some laundry (3-5 loads would be awesome!!)
* get baby girls box mailed off
* get the defected necklace mailed off
* pick up pictures from Sams
* order some more pictures
* work on MY SPACE (I KNOW!!!! SICK!!)
* start my 365 book
* start getting ornaments off trees (I know!!! it is January!! SICK!!)

Monday, January 26, 2009

Here are some pictures of the babies first baths....
Ripley loving the warm water...

Ripley...all clean and pretty!


Mr. Snuggles letting me wash his dirty little feet (oops..paws)....


Mr. Snuggles all warm and "snugly".










Manic Monday #152

What gives you hope? My Savior.

How often do you get your haircut? Once every two years....teeeehehehehe (it use to be once every 10 years...)

Describe your worst haircut. hmmmmmm....i think it was when i was real young and wanted bangs (I did them myself.....EEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!)

What's your most treasured piece of jewelry? A pair of earrings. Why? My oldest baby girl bought them when she was in kindergarten and I did not wear earrings. She was so happy when she gave them to me (she picked them out herself). I wore them once and they now sit on a shelf in me bedroom.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Some Christmas Pictures...Boo was in a Christmas Parade this year...









And...here we go!

1. Oh, I am so multi personality right now!
2. I love what they can bring but I often despise most changes, big and little.
3. During that time of the month, I become horrible horrible horrible and bloated to boot.
4. The new President; are you kidding me???
5. Right now I'd like to be on a 3 week vacation in Europe.
6. My DVR is my favorite gadget.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some rest without the puppies, tomorrow my plans include reading and getting a salad made and Sunday, I want to squeeze every moment out of it because the next say if Monday!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009


What do you want to teach your (Current, future, or fictional) children.

I want happiness and passion for my two daughters. I want them to find their soul mates and have long and passionate lives together. I want them to wake up each day doing what they want to do not what they feel they have to do. I want them to have an incredible relationship with God. I want them to be successful at whatever they decide to pursue in life. I want them to love themselves and laugh every day. I want them to have a close relationship with each other as well as with me and daddy. I want them to always speak what they feel and NEVER take any type of abuse from anyone. I want them to have the courage to say yes when needed and no when necessary. I want them to dance...dance...dance...and yes if the mood strikes dance in the grocery aisle (mom does it and it is fun!). I want them to have joy deep within and find goodness in the world. I want them to have a few good friends and always make time for themselves (life can get selfish and leave us in the background). I want them to "taste" each moment in life and always end the day "full"!!!!!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Manic Monday #151


What do you do to make yourself feel better when you are sick? I take sleepy tylenol and knock myself out for hours at a time...and then take a hot shower!!!

What is the most amazing weather you've ever seen? Hawaii!!! Beautiful!!!

Do you listen to music or talk radio in the car? MUSIC!!!!
Happy Birthday!!

We were so honored when we were able to visit the historical sites surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. (his place of birth, the church he preached at, the last place he was alive, where he is buried). This speech was given the night before he was assasined (April 3, 1968). Gigi did parts of this speech for a Speech meet one year and it was beautiful (there were tears in some eyes...sniff...sniff). It is a wonderful speech...




Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy in his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate say something good about you. And Ralph is the best friend that I have in the world.
I'm delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world.
As you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" — I would take my mental flight by Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality.
But I wouldn't stop there. I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and esthetic life of man. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even go by the way that the man for whom I'm named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his ninety-five theses on the door at the church in Wittenberg.
But I wouldn't stop there. I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating president by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the early thirties, and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation. And come with an eloquent cry that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
But I wouldn't stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a away that men, in some strange way, are responding — something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same — "We want to be free."
And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demand didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.
That is where we are today. And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I'm happy that He's allowed me to be in Memphis.
I can remember, I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph has said, so often, scratching where they didn't itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world.
And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God's children. And that we don't have to live like we are forced to live.
Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the salves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.
Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers were on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that.
Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be. And force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: we know it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do, I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round." Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water.
That couldn't stop us. And we just went on before the dogs and we would look at them; and we'd go on before the water hoses and we would look at it, and we'd just go on singing "Over my head I see freedom in the air." And then we would be thrown in the paddy wagons, and sometimes we were stacked in there like sardines in a can. And they would throw us in, and old Bull would say, "Take them off," and they did; and we would just go in the paddy wagon singing, "We Shall Overcome." And every now and then we'd get in the jail, and we'd see the jailers looking through the windows being moved by our prayers, and being moved by our words and our songs. And there was a power there which Bull Connor couldn't adjust to; and so we ended up transforming Bull into a steer, and we won our struggle in Birmingham.
Now we've got to go on to Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us Monday. Now about injunctions: We have an injunction and we're going into court tomorrow morning to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.
We need all of you. And you know what's beautiful tome, is to see all of these ministers of the Gospel. It's a marvelous picture. Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and say, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Somehow, the preacher must say with Jesus, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor."
And I want to commend the preachers, under the leadership of these noble men: James Lawson, one who has been in this struggle for many years; he's been to jail for struggling; but he's still going on, fighting for the rights of his people. Rev. Ralph Jackson, Billy Kiles; I could just go right on down the list, but time will not permit. But I want to thank them all. And I want you to thank them, because so often, preachers aren't concerned about anything but themselves. And I'm always happy to see a relevant ministry.
It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preachers must talk about the New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.
Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now, we are poor people, individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively, that means all of us together, collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could name the others, the Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to pool it.
We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles, we don't need any Molotov cocktails, we just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you."
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy—what is the other bread?—Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying, they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right.
But not only that, we've got to strengthen black institutions. I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank—we want a "bank-in" movement in Memphis. So go by the savings and loan association. I'm not asking you something we don't do ourselves at SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We're just telling you to follow what we're doing. Put your money there. You have six or seven black insurance companies in Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an "insurance-in."
Now these are some practical things we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you to follow through here.
Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together.
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus; and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters in life. At points, he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew, and through this, throw him off base. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But with him, administering first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother. Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to church meetings—an ecclesiastical gathering—and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem, or down to Jericho, rather to organize a "Jericho Road Improvement Association." That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.
But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that these men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as a setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles, or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"
That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question.
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.
You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther King?"
And I was looking down writing, and I said yes. And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's punctured, you drown in your own blood—that's the end of you.
It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states, and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I've forgotten what the letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I'll never forget it. It said simply, "Dear Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School." She said, "While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze."
And I want to say tonight, I want to say that I am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream. And taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, been in Memphis to see the community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze.
And they were telling me, now it doesn't matter now. It really doesn't matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us, the pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night."
And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sunday Stealing: The Cannon Fodder Meme

1. Is there someone you'd like to be kissing right now? ...yes...my hunny bunny
2. When you're being extremely quiet, what does it mean? ...i am observing
3. What are you listening to right now?...Boo telling Ripley NO! and the Eagles game...
4. Are you a big fan of thunderstorms? ...not really
5. Do you believe in perfect? ...yes
6. Are you a jealous person? ...yes
7. What was the first thing you thought this morning? ...pee
8. What do you think about when you are falling asleep? ...my "to do" list for tomorrow
9. Are you satisfied with what you have in life? ...yes and no
10. Do people ever think that you're either older or younger than you actually are? ...younger (smile)
11. Do you think men truly understand women? ...no
12. How about women understanding men? ...no
13. Did anybody ever call you handsome or beautiful? ...yes
14. What is one fact about the last person that called you? ...she is my mother
15. Other than your current one, what’s the longest relationship you have had? ...this is the one and only one!!!!!
I was reading about today being Pooh's birthday and found it was not his birthday but instead his creator was born on January 18nth. I found this interesting article on http://www.just-pooh.com/milne.html...

Alan Alexander Milne was born on the 18th of January 1882 in Hampstead, London. He was the youngest of three sons born to John Vine Milne and Sarah Maria Heginbotham. His father was a schoolmaster at the Henley House where Alan did get his first education. He continued his education at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1903. Milne's first literary efforts were published in the humorous magazine Punch, where, in 1906 Milne started to work as Assistant Editor. In 1913 Milne married Dorothy de Selincourt, the God-daughter of Punch editor, Owen Seaman.
With the out break of the First World War, Milne joined the army as a signaling officer in February 1915, despite being a pacifist. He was sent to France in the Spring of 1916 but he left the front lines later that year suffering from fever. After his recovery he was placed in charge of a signalling company at Fort Southwick until his discharge from the army in February 1919. After leaving the army, Milne resigned his post at Punch and concentrated on writing plays. In 1923 his first children's poem 'Vespers' was published in Vanity Fair. The poem featured his son Christopher Robin.
In 1924, after the success of 'Vespers' Milne published a book of children's poems entitled 'When We Were Very Young', with drawings by Punch illustrator, Ernest Shepard. This book includes a poem about a Teddy Bear who "however hard he tries grows tubby without exercise". This was Pooh's first unofficial appearance in A.A. Milne's writing. 'When We Were Very Young' proved to be an instant success and sold over 50,000 copies within eight weeks.
It was not until 1925 that Pooh officially came into being. Milne's contribution for the Christmas Eve issue of the Evening News was a bedtime story that he had made up for his son about adventures he had with his Teddy Bear who was known as Winnie the Pooh. It was also at this time that the Milne family moved to the cottage at Cotchford Farm in Sussex which later provided the setting for the Pooh books.
This bedtime story formed the first chapter of Milnes next book entitled 'Winnie-the-Pooh' (1926). This book was followed by the verses 'Now We are Six' (1927), and 'The House at Pooh Corner' (1928). In an attempt to shield his son from the publicity generated by the success of the Pooh stories, Milne announced that 'The House at Pooh Corner' would be his last Christopher Robin book.
Interestingly, Milne didn't write the Pooh stories and poems for children but instead intended them for the child within us. He also never read the stories and poems to his son Christopher, preferring rather to amuse him with the works of P.G. Wodehouse, one of Milne's favourite authors. Although Milne went on to write other plays and novels, these Pooh stories remain his best known work. For many years Milne himself resented the fact t
hat his literary fame was based on children's books, not on his other work. Today, his plays are rarely performed in the professional theatre, although amateur productions are playing in almost every English-speaking country throughout the world.
In 1952, Milne underwent an operation of the brain, which left him an invalid. He survived the operation and returned to his home at Cotchford Farm in Sussex, where he spent the rest of his life reading and in country pursuits. After a long illness, he died on 31st January, 1956.

week of jan 18.2009: Finish the Sentences

1. I wish I could.....have 12 more hours in a day!!
2. My biggest fear is....not enjoying each day I am alive!
3. I hate to.....be around negative people
4. I love....my family!!!
5. Today I will....get some of my "to do" list done...
6. Yesterday I .....had fun with the puppies, scrapping and spending time with my family.
7. My hair is....short, curly and black!
8. I will never...say never....

Saturday, January 17, 2009

All Aboard the Meme Express – Saturday, January 17, 2009
Happy Birthday to Benjamin Franklin!




Benjamin Franklin
By Jean-Baptiste Breuze
1777

Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father, author (Poor Richard’s Almanack), scientist and diplomat, was born on January 17, 1706. Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal eyeglasses, the lightning rod and the Franklin wood stove.

Benjamin Franklin was noted for his quotable statements of wit and wisdom. Here are a seven examples:

“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”

“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”

“A penny saved is a penny earned.”

“A place for everything, everything in its place.”

“Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.”

“Beware the hobby that eats.”

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

Today’s Meme Express prompt is wit and wisdom.
Pick one of the quotations from Benjamin Franklin (printed above) as your blogging prompt for today. Or, create your own.
“Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.” I believe it is ok to be angry...infact my Dad use to say "anger gets the blood flowing" and sometimes that is not bad. I think anger and passion have a fine line between them for me. Many times my anger will have some type of belief/passion involved...really! However, I do not think anger should rule your life nor do I believe you should "act out of anger". You can always find the reason for anger (even if there is no reason there is a reason...dig and I think you will find something...hint: transfer of emotion is a big one) but it is never going to be a "good" reason...yes you may be able to justify the anger but is it really worth justifying? hmmmmmm....

What words of wit or wisdom have stuck with you through the years?
As funny as this sounds one saying that has stuck with me since high school is..."What's love got to do with it?"
Who spoke or wrote these witty words?
teeeehehehehehe...Tina Turner sang the song!

Friday, January 16, 2009

FRIDAY FILL-INS

And...here we go!

1. Enough with the LIES.
2. 'REAL' HONESTY causes me to be conflicted.
3. I've been craving COKE (the type you drink!!).
4. MR. SNUGGLES makes me laugh.
5. I wish I could go to PARIS next week.
6. GIGI has been on my mind lately.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to SHOPPING, tomorrow my plans include HAVING A 'BREAKFAST DATE' WITH HUNNY BUNNY and Sunday, I want to GO TO CHURCH AND PRAISE HIM!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wow!!! It is amazing how fast a week can go...it flies by!! It is already Thursday! It has been a good week...I was able to go grocery shopping, do laundry, make meals every night but tonight (meeting night), go to bible study, plan a fun "anniversary" for one of my agents, plan a "birthday" for another agent, read, exercise, catch up on some DVR shows and enjoy the puppies, use my 30% off Archivers coupon. Wow...having said that makes me feel better...but why, oh, why do I want to focus on the things I did NOT do??? Hmmmmmm...I am sooooo like that and it is not good. Something I need to look at (I think it is that administrator in me....)!!

Some midweek random thoughts...

* Missing Gigi and wondering what she is doing? Is she happy? Is she enjoying herself? Is God moving in her? I sure pray so....

* Ann...I pray she is safe and at peace. She is so far away. I am amazed at these two ladies...they are young and have opted to follow what they feel God wants for them. At 18!!! Wow!!! At 18 I was getting drunk and having fun in college...caring for noone but me. Wow!!! These are 2 amazing young girls.

* *sigh* I am not sure what I should be doing for God. I know I am to pray and I am working on that but there has to be more..... I have an idea but hmmmmmm.... I am so unsure. I hate thinking of failing but at the same time I was thinking the other day...You just need to go forward...if it fails it will not be because you did not try and that is what counts....hmmmmmm....

* God...He is amazing but why oh why does he require us to be obedient? hmmmmmmm....interesting thought. NO I am not saying it is wrong of Him to require it I jusy wonder why....*sigh*

* He is merciful...and I am so thankful!!!

* Wow!!! are we in a recession? If so why is that innaguration costing millions??? Familes are starving and we are going to spend that much on this? Wow!!! I thought demorcrats were for the people and their best interest??? Is spending this kind of money in the best interest of "the people" or is it in the best interest of "THE PEOPLE"????

* i need to take a picture for today...hmmmmmmmmm

Monday, January 12, 2009

update on the puppies!!! ...they are driving us crazy (especially my daughter who has to watch them all day!!). Yes, they are cute and lovable but WOW!!! they are sooooo much work and the time...WOW!!! the time is huge!!! We actually sigh (yes...SIGH!!!) when we have "nap" time!!! WOW!!! Love them...YES!!! Enjoying them...YES!!! 2 puppies again...NO!!!!!!!!!
MANIC MONDAY

If you were to name the most creative outlet that you have, what would it be? My love of making "kodak" memories!!!

What spot in your body would you say is the center of your emotional being? Easy....My Heart!!!

What do you think is the secret to a tranquil soul? A relationship with Jesus!!!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday Stealing Meme

1. What is the bravest thing that you feel you've ever done physically? Give birth to 2 beautiful daughters!

2. What is the bravest thing that you feel you've ever done emotionally? Say yes to my hunny bunny!!

3. What one talent do you wish you had that you don't? Singing

4. If you had that talent what would you be doing with it? Sing and make millions! teehehehehe!

5. We all have our reasons for blogging but what would be your ultimate goal for your blog or as a blogger? To have a place to express myself and my life...

6. What advice would you give a new blogger? Have fun and don't take it to serious!

7. Who are you three favorite blogs to visit (Yes, you can have ties and name more than three.) I have so many I love to visit (just check my lists!!)

8. You can trade lives with any one person for a month. Who would it be and why? Wow!!! Maybe one of my daughters so I could understand their world a little better...

9. There's a fire and your family is safe but you have the chance to save any one item from your house. What would it be and why? My pictures (all of them!)

10. You have the chance to go back in time and warn yourself before making a bad choice. What choice would it be and what would you tell yourself? I would like to "enjoy" my girls more when they were little and record their baby years. Enjoy them, I would tell myself because they grow up sooo fast!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Gigi and the puppies




It's funny how much this song describes areas in my life....it also reminds me so much of my baby girl. It is amazing how twenty something years can separate two people but they could still be growing and possibly experiencing some of the same things. Amazing! I have been singing this song all week and when I hear it on the radio my heart immediately goes to an incredible girl in Oklahoma and I smile (love you baby girl...and yes there is peace at the end of the chaos!!)...

Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) lyrics

It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

[Chorus]Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...


[Chorus]


Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out

Wednesday, January 7, 2009


i thought i would look for some meme's and found a few new ones!! wahoo!!! It has been so "heavy" in my world lately I wanted something fun!! Work is crazy (end of year reviews and death...), hunny bunny's world is crazy so it affects my world (I would not have it any other way!), new puppies, baby girl and ...life!!! I am sooo hoping this is not what is to come in 2009! If it is I see myself having to make time for me or I will go nuts!!! I will say this..the one constant is God!! and I soooo need a constant right now! I am so happy to know He is there and though I may not always reach for Him I KNOW He is there and it helps sooo much!!!! My one constant!!! He does not change and His world is not rocked by craziness!!! I am so thankful for that!
Meme Express (I just found this and it looks fun!! teehehehe)

dirty laundry.

Do you like doing laundry? Nope!!!!!
What tips for laundry can you offer? Buy new clothes...it keeps you out of the laundry room!!
What is your favorite detergent? TIDE!!!
Do you always do laundry on a certain day of the week? It is done throughout the week....
What is in the bottom of your laundry basket right now? an very old bra (daughters) and Sea Monkeys (don't ask!!).
What does the expression, “laundering money,” really mean? Taking money that does not belong to you...ILLEGAL!!! shame..shame...
What other meanings might the phrase, “dirty laundry,” evoke? Telling your (or someone else's) secrets to everyone in ear shot!! Like dirty panties...something we do not want to encounter!!!











I WANT (another new one i found...)

What do you want to do this weekend?
* I want to get my Christmas decorations put away.
* I want to finish at least one book.
* I want to NOT have hunny bunny go to OK.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Ten things I want to do in 2009

* get a grip on how much Coke I drink which means more water!!
* continue to be involved with family...remember birthdays, anniversaries...
* plan a Family reunion!
* organize my scrap area
* get healthy!
* Get involved in Church more
* continue to work on my marriage
* complete the picture a day project
* start "cooking" and "baking" more
* train our puppies to be obedient and potty trained!

Tuesday and with a new year I would like to get back to my "lists" so here it goes....


* get the Christmas decorations down and put away

* start a list for Scrapbooking challenges

* finish reviews (work)

* attend mid week service (church)

* read some

* get ready for Mr. Snuggles to come home

* laundry (3-4 loads)

* send 2-3 cards this week

* work on uploading pictures and getting some ready for printing
* exercises 3-4 times