Dad

I know Rylie Jo's second birthday is 26 days away because today is the second anniversary of Dad's passing away.  He died in his sleep.  At the time, Mom was in the hospital due to comlications from her chemo and I was in Toledo hospital due to complications from the pregnancy.  What a strange time.  I can barely remember things, and it comes to me as a dream, kind of blurry around the edges. 

                     

So I made this for my dad.  May he rest in peace that it seemed he couldn't find here on earth.

May God bless you Dad.  Love, Jill

*Is the graphic showing up for anyone else?  It shows here on my computer, yet it doesn't show up on the ol' mans computer.  That's kind of spooky.

                  

As I say on my  Web Page, these are tips that have been emailed to me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I have not tried all of them and cannot guarantee their effectiveness.  If you do try one and it works, or if you have another one that works for you, let me know.    

Stuck-On Food in Pots, Pans, and Crockpots: Fill the pan with water and place a fabric softener sheet in the water. Allow the pan to soak overnight. The food will wipe right out!

Of course, you still need to wash it with soap and water afterwards.  Unless you want your next meal to be "static free", lol.

Gotta run, have a great day.  HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Monday Menu Idea

Swiss And Chicken Casserole Recipe (from Kraft)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Makes: 6 servings, about 1 cup each

 

4 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey

2 cups croutons

1 - 1/2 cups Kraft Shredded Swiss Cheese

1 cup sliced celery

2/3 cup Miracle Whip or Miracle Whip Light Dressing

<FONTFACE="COURIER size="4" New?>1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup chopped onion

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients.

SPOON into 2-qt. casserole.

BAKE 40 min. or until heated through.

Heat up some veggies, make some rolls or heat up a loaf of fresh (unsliced) bread from the bakery. 

 

For Dessert try this recipe that my mom gave me yesterday.  Sounds yummy.

Bake a dark chocolate cake as directed.  When done, remove from the oven, poke holes in cake with the end of a large wooden spoon.

Pour one can of condensed milk over the cake.   Pour one jar of caramel ice cream topping over cake.

Let cool.  When ready to serve top with Cool Whip.  Sprinkle crushed Heath candy bar over top.

Now, I have a bit of a problem here and don't know if anyone can help me.  I've been working on this little "cookbook", just something to give to the kids.  It was on my computer when I upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP.  Yeah, so now when I go to try to get in it...it says something about not being able to open those documents.  Apparently they since they were written with the 98 version, that isn't compatible with the XP.  Any ideas?

Well here's (lifting my cup of green tea) to a peaceful week for all of us! HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Friday funny~AO-hel-L

Thank you Sascha for the following email!

WOMEN'S ASS-SIZE STUDY

There is a new study out about women and how they feel about their asses!  I thought the results were pretty interesting:

85% of women think their ass is too fat...

10% of women think their ass is too skinny...

The other 5% say that they don't care, they love him, he's a good man, and they would have married him anyway.

So what percentage are you?  I take the fifth!  LOL

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I want to thank AO-hel-L for making it more difficult for me to make an entry in my journal.  This is what is going on.  AO-hel-L is not recognizing me when I sign on.  Oh I get on just fine, I can read my mail and all that.  However, when I go to one of my journals I have no "edit" buttons.  So I have to go to "add a comment", sign in and then cancel out of the comment section to be able to get to my "edit" buttons. 

Same thing if I go to one of your private journals.  It brings up a little box and I have to sign in with my screen name and password.  I think it has to do with this demn 9.0 securtiy edition.  I am thinking I may just delete it and go back to 8.0.  Or perhaps it is time to just delete AO-hel-L completly.  I am tired of paying for a service that is jacked up so often.

I think...I would hope...that if I just went to AIM I can still keep my screen name and hopefully my journal would still be there.  Maybe time for another call to AO-hel-L today.  Grrrr, just got off the phone with them a few hours ago.  Took me forever to get to a real live person, and by that time I was clenching my phone so hard, if it had been a person I would have been charged with assault, lol.

Then when I got there they didn't know anything about that particular problem.  When I addressed the other problem...AO-hel-L not letting me download the virus protection...and went there to try again, it miraculously allowed me to download it.  By the way, I don't like this new thing.  I much preferred the old McAffee virus protection that I had on my Windows 98 SE. 

Oh yeah, this all got jacked up when I put XP on my computer.  I love the XP, but now AO-hel-L is all jacked up. 

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Well, that is the current "joy" in my world.  I hope you all are having a much better day.  Happy Friday and HUGS!

~Jill Marie

JillAnneMarie [9:53 A.M.]: Well, thank you AO-hell. Once again I have no edit buttons on my journal. So I am going to try this IM-ing my journal thing. Do I just type the whole thing and then send it? What the heck, let's give it a try.
These are home health/beauty remedies that have been emailed to me or that I found on the Internet.  I have not tried them all and do NOT guarantee the effectiveness of them.  If you try one and it works, or if you have one that works for you, please email me.  Thanks.   
 
Fatigue

Take a glass of grapefruit and lemon juice in equal parts to dispel fatigue and general tiredness after a day's work.
I guess that's it since I'm not sure how well this is working. Have a good one. HUG! ~Jill Marie

Tuesday cleaning tip~A yummy-liscious honey!

Good Morning!  It's time for another Tuesday...

            

As I say on my  Web Page, these are tips that have been emailed to me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I have not tried all of them and cannot guarantee their effectiveness.  If you do try one and it works, or if you have another one that works for you, let me know.    

Stickers, Decals, and Glue: To remove them from furniture, glass, plastic, etc. saturate with vegetable oil and rub off.      

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This is a little tag I worked on yesterday.  Isn't Matt just yummy?  I love his laid back attitude and the way he fills out a pair of Levi's isn't bad either.  I do believe I am in love!  What a gorgeous man.

                                             

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!  HUGS!  

~Jill Marie

Menu idea

Good Morning!  I must admit today I am feeling a bit "splendiflorous", lol.  Must be the size 8 jeans on my bum today.  Samantha, my 17 year old, tells me that I got a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch jeans.  Apparently that is what all the kids are wearing these days, lol.  They are the second pair that I got, the ones that were 50% off, so they were only $6.49. 

Of course, the name brand tags are all cut off, like I care about tags.  The only tag I care about is the one that says...did I tell ya this yet?  SIZE 8!  LMBO...sorry, it's just been so long since I've seen that number on anything of mine. 

Alrighty back on track here.  It is Monday which means it is time for a dinner menu idea.  How about a cheap and easy roast?

CHEAP ROAST

"Cheap" Round Bone or Blade Cut Roast

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Aluminum foil, wide heavy duty

Preheat oven to 350degrees. Tear off about 2 1/2 to 3 feet of foil. Fold in half. Lay roast in iddle of foil. Spread both soups over roast. Wrap and seal so juices won't drip out. (I also set the foil package on top of a cookie sheet or in a large rectangular pan.  Just in case of any dripage)  Cook 3 hours at 350degrees. Be careful when you unwrap foil, so juices don't spill. Great because the cleanup is so easy!

This recipe makes its own gravy.  Serve with mashed potatoes a veggie and hot rolls.

For dessert, how about something with Oreo's?  Yeah, I am craving chocolate this week.  Don't worry I've got my little bag of sugar free goodies in my drawer.

OREO DECADENCE BARS

25 Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed (about 2 1/2 cups crumbs), divided

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup peanuts, chopped

3/4 cup miniature marshmallows

2 squares white baking chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350degrees. Sprinkle 2 cups of the crumbs onto bottom of well-greased 9-inch square baking pan. Pour condensed milk evenly over crumbs.

Bake 25 minutes; sprinkle with peanuts, marshmallows, chopped chocolate and remaining crumbs. Continue baking 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate is melted and marshmallows just begin to brown. Cool completely in pan.

Oh mah gosh!  I think I need to stop writing about food now.  I really need to do this after I eat breakfast, lol.

Have a great week everyone! 

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

I love shopping for smaller clothes!

                               

Yea!  I didn't realize how much 20 pounds is until I went shopping today.  I went to Value City and they had buy one pair of jeans and get another pair for 50% off.  Yipee!  I got 2 pairs of jeans for about $22, and one of them was a pair of American Eagle jeans (msrp $54)!

Do ya know how great it feels to put on a pair of size 8's and have them fit?  Especially when the last pair of jeans I bought was a size 13, lol.  I am practically giddy.  I feel good about myself for the first time in a very long time.  Yea ME!  LOL

I don't want to misrepresent anything, so I have to tell you that the picture above is NOT me, lol.  That little girl is probably a size 1. 

Have a great night everyone!  HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Saturday silliness

Yeah, I had to delete it.  I thought it was funny when I posted it, but then I got to thinking and I felt a bit like the troll...ewwww!  I don't want to go there.  So sorry, the initial entry was deleted. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Trolls

Today is not so much funny as it is stupid irony.  The fact that someone will go online just to attack other people for no real reason and hurt other people, or cause them to quit writing in their journal is what I would call "stupid irony".  I hate it!  It is just plain senseless and cruel. 

I was not going to address anything about this, however some of the writers of journals that I read have been attacked and I feel the need to address the issue of Internet trolls and let our friends know that we all realize what is written at "that" journal is pure B.S. and that we support our friends.  We are here for you.

In actuality this whole nastiness reminds me of those mean and ugly bullies in the schoolyard.  The only reason they pick on people is because it gives them a momentary false feeling of superiority.  How sick and childish is that?  I almost feel pity for them when I realize what an enormous inferiority complex they must have.  Yes, pity.  Imagine how unhappy this poor person must be in their own life to randomly start attacking people that they don't even know.

Have I seen the "journal"?  Yes, I went there once and it seemed more like thoughtless, cruel, and jealous blathering than anything else.  I thought for a mere second of leaving a comment, but it occurred to me that is exactly what this person is looking for.  They just want attention any way they can get it.

Having people come and read their twisted attacks on other people and leaving comments only fuels their fire.  I would bet they even get a rush when they read the comments and plan their next verbal assault.  So while I am disgusted with the little game they are playing, I will not give them the pleasure of leaving a comment about them or anything they write about in their journal.

Instead I want to share with you what I learned about Internet trolls.  There are several definitions and pages on the Internet about them.  Disgusting little creatures that they are. 

Here is one definition of an Internet Troll:  2. n. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, “Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.” Compare kook. That comes from this page, Troll.

Another interesting read on Internet Trolls is this page at Wikipedia.

Please, if you have seen the journal or left a comment, do me a favor and DON'T go back.  I realize it is a bit like driving past a 15 car pile up and not looking...but at least if you feel the need to go and read, DON'T leave a comment.  You are only feeding a nasty little troll, and the more you feed it, the longer it will hang around.

  So my daily OM for today seemed to be a bit appropriate and I wanted to share it with you.  

February 17, 2006
Sound Of Stillness
Noise As A Distraction

Our lives are typically filled with noise. There are the noises from the outside world that we cannot control, and there are the noises we allow into our lives. These noises, from seemingly innocuous sources like the television and radio, can actually help us avoid dealing with uncomfortable thoughts and emotions. However, using noise as a distraction hurts more than it helps because you are numbing yourself to what may be internally bubbling up to the surface for you to look at and heal. Distracting yourself with talk-radio, television, or other background noises can also prevent you from finding closure to issues that haunt you.

Noise as a distraction can affect us in many ways. It can help you stay numb to emotions that you don't want to feel, allow you to avoid dealing with problems, distract you from having to think, and make it easier for you to forget reality. Drowning out the thoughts and emotions you find uncomfortable or overwhelming can complicate your issues because it allows them to fester. By tuning out noise and relishing silence, you create the space to experience and express what you are hiding. It is only then that self-exploration can begin in earnest and you can stare down frightening issues. In silence, it becomes easier to let your strongest feelings come forth, deal with them, and find new ways of resolving your problems.

When you go within without the veil of noise to shield you from yourself, you'll be able to figure out what you need to heal. Embracing silence and introspection allows you to work through your thoughts and emotions and transmute them. Free of the need for noise, you can accept your pain, anger, and frustration as they come up and turn them into opportunities to evolve.

I want to close today by offering my support and friendship to those who have been so viciously attacked for no apparent reason.  Don't let jealousy, inferiority, bullies or nasty little trolls stop you from writing in your journals. 

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Home health remedies

     

These are home health/beauty remedies that have been emailed to me or that I found on the Internet.  I have not tried them all and do NOT guarantee the effectiveness of them.  If you try one and it works, or if you have one that works for you, please email me.  Thanks.   

  Facial cleanser

• Mix 2 Tbls. cornstarch, 2 Tbls. glycerin, and 1/2 cup water until smooth. Heat in a small pan placed in a water bath inside another pan. Heat until thick and clear; it will have the consistency of pudding. Do not boil. Cool completely, Use in place of soap to cleanse your skin. (If mixture is too thick, you may thin it by adding a little water, 1 Tbls. at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.)

 

Be sure to keep your skin well moisturized too.  Especially in the dry winter months. 

Have a great day!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

 

Happy Valentines Day to all of my wonderful friends, old and new.  You all mean the world to me, more than I could ever express with mere words. 

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As I say on my Web page, these are tips that have been emailed to me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I have not tried all of them and cannot guarantee their effectiveness.  If you do try one and it works, or if you have another one that works for you, let me know.

Stains in Plastic Storage Containers: Use a baking soda paste (baking soda and water) and rub into the stain. You can then rinse with vinegar (optional) and wash normally. Another method is to place container outside on a nice sunny day and the sun actually bleaches the stain out. To avoid stains in the first place, spray container with cooking spray before putting things in it that stain i.e. spaghetti sauce.

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A few updates here.  Things I keep meaning to mention and, obviously, keep forgetting.  Since we put out the "tainted" treats for Fat Freddy, we have not seen any evidence of his presence. 

I am hoping that he just got frustrated with the fact that we kept chasing him around the house and he just packed his bags and left.  Otherwise, where he is, and in what "condition" kind of makes my stomach turn.  But I haven't smelled anything, so I think he moved in with one of the neighbors.   :D

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Oh, I did make the Oreo cake this past weekend.  Big hit!  It was delicious!  Yes, I went off my Low-carbs and had a sliver of a slice, and then a few bites of what Rylie didn't finish (can't waste food!), and another sliver the next day.  It was yummy! 

Even after going off my diet this weekend, and even having 2-3 cappucino's over the weekend, I did NOT gain any weight.  I am back on track now, and maybe going off will help me get past the plateau. 

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I tried to get Rylie started potty training yesterday.  The first time I sat her down on it, I gave her a cup of juice and she tinkled.  Woohooo!  Big applause, she was so happy too.  I thought "whew, maybe this won't be as hard as it was with David."

The next time I sat her down, she sat for a total of 5 seconds, stood up clapped for herself and took off running bare butt through the house.  Then she found her boots and put those on, she thought she was too cute.  Which she was, but it would be just my luck that she would pee in her snow boots, ya know?  LOL

We will attempt to potty train again today.  I wish my cooking timer worked.  That was what I ended up using with David that worked.  I would set it for every 15 minutes, or so, and when it went off we would go in and he would sit on the potty.  If he sat he got two M&M's, if he peed he got a few more.  Yeah, I know it's bribery, but you use what works.

He was finally trained in about 3 days, of course, he was almost 3.  But he was my first one, and he was just real adamant about not wanting anything to do with it at first.  Rylie may not be ready for it yet either, but I figure we may as well try.

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I wish you all a very wonderful and loving Valentines day!  Love to ya'll. 

Hugs!

~Jill Marie

Menu Idea

Good Morning! 

I wanted to get on here quick before my "lord and master" (which comes in the form of a 2 year old terror, Rylie Jo) wakes up and takes over my day, lol.  Actually I think her father may be Spider Man, I swear this child can actually climb walls and make me want to, lol.

Okay, so today's menu idea is for Beef and Noodles served with mashed potatoes, your choice of veggies, some rolls and ahhh, how about "Dump cake"?  If you haven't heard of Dump cake before you will like this one.

Okay, first...

BEEF NOODLE CASSEROLE

1/2 of a 1 lb. pkg. egg noodles, uncooked

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 (10 3/4 oz) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen peas and carrots, thawed

1 1/2 cup milk

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

1 cup (4oz) shredder cheddar cheese

Cook noodles as pkg. directs; drain. In dutch oven, over medium heat, brown ground beef; pour off fat. Add peppers and onion; cook and stir till tender. Stir in noodles, then remaining ingredients, except cheese. Cook and stir till heated through; top with cheese. Serve immediatly. Refrigerate leftovers.

For added crunch, add 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained.

Make you mashed potatoes, boxed if ya want...I prefer real potatoes.  Open a can of veggies or a bag of frozen and heat it up.  Heat up the rolls.  And your dinner is ready.

Now for Dump cake you will need:

1can cherry pie filling (or whatever flavor you prefer)

1 can crushed pineapple

1 box of yellow or white cake mix

1 stick (1/4 cup) of butter or margarine

Do NOT prepare the cake mix according to the box directions!  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour (dump) the pie filling into the bottom of a 9x11 pan.  Top with (dump) the pineapple filling, spread across the pie filling (don't mix them).  Top with (dump) the DRY cake mix, spread across the top of the pineapple filling.  Now slice your stick of margarine and place the pieces randomly across the top of the cake mix.  

Place pan in 350 degree oven and bake for approx. 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown.

I know it sounds strange, but my kids loves this cake.  The really great thing is that it is so easy that kids of practically any age can help make this.

Some people have compared it to cherry cobbler.  I do know that it is great served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...Mmmmmmm!

  

Well have a great day!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie 

Bubbles, candles and some wine...

It's Sunday night.  Tomorrow morning another week begins.  So tonight I suggest you fill a tub full of warm water and bubbles, pour a glass of wine (or sparkling cider), light a few candles and take at least 15 minutes of "me" time.  Just sit, relax and sip.  Doesn't that sound absolutely wonderful? 

You deserve it.  Now go do it! 

*Thanks for the graphic Brittany, I love it.  I just finally got around to using it, but it is one of my favorites.

Enjoy your "me" time.

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Just saturday stuff

Okay, first of all let me remind ya'll there are only 7 days left till the 2006 Nascar season kicks off with the Daytona 500.  Wheeeeeeee!  You can learn a little more about the Daytona track here:

Click here: Daytona International Speedway - Homepage

You can learn more about Kasey Kahne (my favorite driver) by going here:

FOXSports.com - KaseyKahne.com     

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Today I made a batch of chicken wings, a few snacks and that Oreo cake (quite yummy by the way), and we were going to sit here and watch the Bud pole shootout tonight.  It was rained out, so we will watch it tomorrow at 4pm, if the weather co-operates.       

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Alrighty, next we begin to think about Valentines day.  Okay, okay...we women think about it.  The men think "oh chit" at 5:15pm when they are driving home from work on February 14th and hear something about it being Valentines day on a radio commercial. 

If your one of the lucky ones, your husband/boyfriend doesn't forget it before the commercial is over.  Perhaps he will stop and buy you some roses. 

Which is the perfect segway for this article that I found at HGTV.  

Bouquet Bits
12 Fun, Romantic Facts About Roses

by Rose Kennedy, special to HGTV.com

What is it about a beautiful, romantic bouquet of roses that brings out the accountant in all of us? Hardly anyone can remember the precise amount of the national debt, but at least 92 percent of women can remember the last time they received flowers, and some 56 percent of those blooms would be roses. No matter if you'll be giving or hope to be receiving, here are a dozen freshly picked facts and figures about rose bouquets you can count on:

180 million: estimated number of roses produced for the floral industry for Valentine's Day 2005

64: percentage of fresh roses purchased that are red, followed by pink (11 percent), mixed colors (10 percent), peach or salmon (5 percent), yellow (4 percent), white (3 percent) and other (3 percent)

74: percentage of roses bought by men

32: of rose purchases made by women, the percentage sent to their mothers

24: of rose purchases made by women, the percentage sent to husband or significant other, followed by purchases made for themselves (22 percent) and daughter (16 percent) or friend (14 percent)

20: years that Joe DiMaggio sent six red roses to the crypt of his deceased former wife, Marilyn Monroe, three times each week

3-5: blooms that are sacrificed on a rose bush to allow a single long-stem rose to grow.

6: roses in a bouquet to symbolize infatuation

3: roses in a bouquet to symbolize a couple and their shared love for a traditional one-month anniversary gift

20 - 60: minutes to submerge whole droopy roses underwater in a sink or bathtub (after trimming about an inch from the stems) in the hopes of reviving them

80: degrees F, the highest temperature roses should ever be displayed at; they'll last longest in a cool area

121: years since Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers was first published in 1885, specifying the meaning of deep red roses to be "bashful shame," white roses "I am worthy of you," red rosebuds "pure and lovely," and yellow "decrease of love" or "jealousy"! Today the yellow rose indicates friendship, joy and caring, and the red is a universal symbol of passionate love.\

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On my google "I'm feeling lucky" search, I typed in Valentines and this is the return I got...kids domain, it lloks like it has some fun things for kids to do.

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Have a good-night.

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

   

Happy Birthday Christopher!

14 years ago today, my third child, Christopher Ryan was born.  It was an emergency c-section because of my high blood pressure.  He was a beautiful baby boy.  I love you Chris!

(The graphic is curtesy of Vernae.  It's cool, isn't it?)

It's hard to believe he is already 14.  Sheesh, David graduated high school 2 months after Rylie was born, Samantha graduates next year, Chris is a mere 4 years away from being of age, and Rylie turns 2 in another month.  I don't think I am going to be able to carry off saying I am 29 much longer.  Maybe next year I will finally turn 30, lol.

I can't remember if I put this recipe up here already or not, but it is the cake I am making for this weekend.  I may go off my diet for a day to have a 2 or 3 bites of this cake.  The recipe comes from Kraft.

Chocolate Covered OREO® Cookie Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix

4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate

1/4 cup butter, cut up

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

12 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely crushed

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package in 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Cool in pans 5 min. Invert onto wire rack; remove pans. Cool completely.

MELT chocolate in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 to 2 min. or until chocolate is melted, stirring after 30 sec. Blend in butter. Set aside to slightly thicken, about 5 min.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and crushed cookies. Place 1 of the cake layers on serving plate, top-side down. Spread top of layer evenly with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining cake layer, top-side up. Spoon glaze over top of cake.

KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS

Size It Up

Enjoy a serving of this indulgent cake on occasion, but keep portion size in mind. One cake makes enough for 16 servings.

Have a great day!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

AOL is trying to sell us out again

Okay, I was able to resolve myself to living with the trashy, blinking advertisements put on my journal.  However, I will not be able to put up with this crap.  Please read the following email I received today.

"Dear AOL user,

The very existence of online organizing and the free Internet as we know it are under attack by America Online. We need to fight back quickly.

AOL just announced what amounts to an "email tax." AOL would sell access to your inbox to giant corporations—allowing them to bypass spam filters and get messages directly into your inbox with a special high-priority designation. AOL says this fee will help deter spam, but it will actually help companies spam you more efficiently—and it'll lock out online organizing groups that can't afford to pay the price.

Can you sign this emergency petition to America Online and forward it to your friends—especially those who use AOL or care about keeping the Internet free?

Petition statement: "AOL, don't auction off access to my inbox to giant corporations, while leaving my friends, family, and favorite causes wondering if their emails to me are being delivered at all. The right way to deal with spam is to put more control in the hands of users and to keep email free."

AOL is not used to massive citizen outrage. When thousands of AOL users sign a petition, AOL will begin to understand they face a huge customer rebellion. Everyone who signs this petition will be sent information on how to contact AOL directly as well as future steps that can be taken until AOL drops its new policy.

The big loser would be customers—whose email from non-paying senders would increasingly be marked as spam and go undelivered. AOL pretends nothing would change for senders who don't pay, saying their emails will still be "accepted." But this is an empty promise since "accepting" non-paid emails means many will be thrown into the black hole of a spam filter or "stripped of images and Web links" to the point of being unreadable, as reported in the NewYork Times.1

Another loser would be democracy on the Internet—which has thrived as regular citizens have been empowered to organize online, participate in civic life, and communicate with each other for free. If an "email tax" existed when MoveOn began, we never would have gotten off the ground. 

Under AOL's proposed pay-to-send system, online organizing all across the political spectrum will suffer. Issue groups, charities, and other non-profits with large email lists will have to pay thousands of dollars for every email message sent. And AOL would get two paydays: one when you pay for your account and another when you're emailed by companies that bought priority access to your inbox. 

Can you sign this emergency petition to America Online and forward it to your AOL friends?"

Take action here:  Move On AOL Petition

I went and signed it.  I hope others do too.

Have a good afternoon.

~Jill Marie

Thursday is health tip day

Sheesh, I take one week off and I forget my entire routine.  Thursday is my day for health tips, not Tuesday.  Well, I am getting myself back on track and doing another home remedy today.  Sorry about that.

       

These are home health remedies that have been emailed to me or that I found on the Internet.  I have not tried them all and do NOT guarantee the effectiveness of them.  If you try one and it works, or if you have one that works for you, please email me.  Thanks.              

Dry Skin

• Combine 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup warm water, 1 Tbs. vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup baking soda in a blender or food processor until you have a smooth paste. Pour this paste under the running water while drawing the bath. Very soothing to dry, itchy skin.
• To relieve dry patches, massage in vegetable shortening like Crisco.  Sounds gross, but it is emollient rich and full of vitamins and replenishing oils.  It is also preservative and fragrance free.

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Anyone wanna pool their pennies with me and see if we can come up with the $18.6 million to buy our own fantasy island?  It is completely undeveloped though.  Cripes, for that kind of money you think it would at least have a bath and a half, lol.

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Another good place to go for recipes and toreceive coupons (to print out) via e-mail, is the Nestle site.  The send me links to check out recipes and to print out coupons.  Check it out if you like to bake, or just want some new ideas or coupons.

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Have a fantastical (lol) Thursday!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

 

Low-carb Update~Recipe

                      

Well that about say's it all.  Except that I will not let this little road block hinder my efforts.  I will continue to count my carbs and I have also begun counting my calories too.  I want to make sure that even though I am not eating too many carbs, I am not taking in more calories than I should.  So far, it's all good.

Generally, I think I would get discouraged that even though I am making the effort needed and not losing weight.  However, I think I need to give my body a little bit of time to get used to the fact that it is not being gorged with sugars any longer.  I also need to include more of a cardiovascular workout.

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Now, even though I am not able to eat alot of foods, I still continue to fix things for the family.  I pre-cook most of my foods for the week, so all I have to do is heat something up for myself after I cook their meal.

This is a recipe that I thought sounded good.  I got it from Better Homes and Garden. 

Baked Cavatelli

Ingredients

7  ounces dried cavatelli or wagon wheel macaroni

12  ounces uncooked Italian sausage links, sliced 1/2 inch thick, or lean ground beef

3/4  cup chopped onion (1 medium)

2  cloves garlic, minced

1  26-ounce jar pasta sauce

1  cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

1/4  teaspoon black pepper  

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside.

2. In a large skillet cook the sausage, onion, and garlic until sausage is brown; remove from skillet. Drain.

3. In a large bowl stir together pasta sauce, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and the pepper. Add the cooked pasta and the drained sausage mixture. Stir gently to combine. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart casserole.*

4. Bake, covered, in a 375¿ oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until nearly heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake about 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Makes 5 to 6 servings.

Have a great evening everyone!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Tuesday health tip

As I say on my Web page, these are tips that have been emailed to me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I have not tried all of them and cannot guarantee their effectiveness.  If you do try one and it works, or if you have another one that works for you, let me know.    

Smelly Feet: Soak feet in strong tea for 20 minutes every day until the smell disappears. To prepare your footbath, brew two tea bags in 2 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes and pour the tea into a basin containing two liters of cool water.    

 Smelly Shoes: Simply fill a tube sock with kitty litter, baking soda, or tea leaves; tie the end closed; and place the filled socks in the shoes when you're not wearing them. These sachets can be used over and over in any kind of shoe.     

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This is information that I recently received in an email and I thought would be useful to all of us.

    STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and only tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital (at 6:00 PM, Ingrid passed away.)  She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ - had they known how to identify the signs of a stoke perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.  

It only takes a minute to read this--

Recognizing a Stroke

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient within 3 hours which are tough.

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps.  Read and Learn!  Sometimes symptoms of a stroke is difficult to identify.  Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.

2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently, i.e., "It is sunny out today.")     If he or she has trouble with any of  these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions.  They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February.  Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.  

BE A FRIEND AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS AS  POSSIBLE, you could save their lives.

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Have a wonderful day!    

HUGS!    

~Jill Marie

Oops!

Oops!  I usually make an entry early every morning.  However, this morning I was busy cleaning out my kitchen cabinet where I keep my cookbooks and baking supplies.  I also scrubbed the kitchen floor, vacuumed the living room and did some general cleaning.

I also was working on my new journal for my graphics.  I named it Coloring Inside The Lines since I kind of feel like a kindergartner trying to color inside of the lines.  This graphic stuff is real addicting.  But what a blast!  LOL

I will definately be back on schedule tomorrow with a Tuesday tips entry.  Have a good evening!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

Faith

Well I did the hottest man in country music...not like that!  Get your mind out of the gutter.  I did his "graphic" the other day.  So today I worked on two graphics for his wife, Faith.  Snag 'em if ya like them!

I got the 3 pictures and couldn't decide which to use, so I went ahead and did the two different, but similar, graphics.  This is just too much fun, and way too addicting, lol.

I hope ya all had a peaceful Sunday.  See ya later!

HUGS!

~Jill Marie

I find this particular young man absolutely Y-U-M-M-Y!!!! 

 Yep, that is my driver. I am a redneck woman, and I love my Nascar, lol.  Well, I'm not fanatical about it, I won't die if I don't see the race.  But Sundays usually find me watching the race.

And yes, I made the graphic.  Not too bad.  I've been having fun with it, and soon I will have an animated one uploaded on here.  It involves a particular Hot male country singer that I would love to have an opportunity to spank, lol.

Here is another one I finished this past week.

  I found the saying on Jessica's journal.  I really liked it and asked if I could snag it from her journal.  I am also using Image shack for storage now.  I am afraid that I am getting pretty close to max, and not sure what I want to delete yet.

Hee-hee, funny how my intials spell out a word.  Anyone elses intials spell a word?  Come on, share it with us.  Umm, without realizing it, I gave one of my children the intials CRP...umm, yeah, I just wasn't thinking when I named him.

Have a good weekend.  HUGS!

~Jill Marie   

There we go!  I got my honey all uploaded.  Now see what I mean?  Don't ya just wanna spank that bad boy?  LOL