TGIF!

Good Morning and Happy Happy Friday!  I've been listening to this stuff about the car bomb that was found in London.  The car was filled with gas, a detonator and nails to fly out as scrapnel when the car exploded.  How crazy is this?  The story is here> Official: Diffused Bomb in Central London Would Have Caused Significant Damage

Even more crazy is that the people who do these kind of things (usually) use religion as an excuse for killing innocent people.  Huh?!  That is just plain idiotic!  What kind of religion or "God" asks you to maim and kill people?  Excuse me, but I am not interested in any religion that is based on hatred, maiming and killing. 

Personally, I prefer a loving and just God.  I prefer a God that tells us to love one another.  I prefer a God that ask's alot of us, but is also forgiving and understanding of our human flaws. 

For example, in most Christian based countries when a woman is attacked and raped, she is given medical care and plenty of understanding & sympathy for her ordeal and suffering by those who love her.  In some of these other countries and religions the woman is held responsible for a man attacking her.  She is usually killed by her own familyfor being raped!!!  Then the family is not punished for killing her.  It is acceptable behaviour!  How freaking ridiculous is that? 

They think that she brought shame to the family by "allowing" herself to be raped!  No doubt if she fought off her attacker and ended up harming or killing him, she would probably also be killed.  It seems to me to just be an extreme form of control by the male population over females.  Just like the way they believe that female children shouldn't be educated.  Control...that's all it is about.  There is no way that any of that could be justified with so-called religion.

Just my personal opinion.

Here are a few other items in the news that I found interesting.  First, did y'all read about the prosecuting attorney dropping charges against all the pedophiles caught in the Dateline sting in Murphy, Texas?  OhMahGod!  And so many of the neighbors in the area were upset that this sting was even done in their area.  I would be thrilled if the TV show, in coordination with local police, were to expose and arrest pedophiles in our town.  But no these people seem to want to keep their pedophiles free to roam their streets...along side their children. 

Here is the link to the story> NBC Sting Shakes Up Texas Town   

I've never heard of this snack, but apparently a "popular" snack food has caused salmonella poisoning in 17 states.  You might want to check out this story about "Veggie Booty".  I just wanted y'all to know about it, in case it is popular in your area.  If you have some in your cupboard, please be sure to throw it away.

Here is the link to that story> Popular Snack Food Pulled From Shelves

It's interesting, they say it's a "popular" snack food, but when you do the little poll about whether or not you eat Veggie Booty, the results are about 93% said NO and only 7% said YES.  Hmm, I guess it doesn't take much to make ya popular these days.  LOL

             

 

Samantha you are a great daughter and such a wonderful sister to Rylie!  Thank you so much for everything you do for me and Ray and for all the time you spend with your sister. Not many girls your age would make such an effort to spend so much time with their baby sister.

 

I know how much you mean to Rylie and I am so happy that you two areso close.  Even though she is so young, the time that you spend together has been a wonderful foundation for the beautiful relationship that the two of you will always share.  You will always have a very special place in her heart.  I couldn't ask for a better sister for her.  You're perfect! 

 

I know how busy you are with work and everything, so I really appreciate the effort you make to spend so much time with your baby sister.  It's not something that you have to do, but you do, and that is so special.  She loves you so much and talks about you, Matt and the dogs all the time.  I am so lucky to have been blessed with a daughter like you.  I love you with all my heart.

 

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: Religion, hatred, London, Murphy Texas, Dateline, veggie booty, Samantha

Home remedy-Dark circles around eyes

Today's home remedy is for dark circles around the eyes.  I thought first I would provide some information about this and why it happens to some people.  The following is some information I found at a site called Mother Nature.com.

Dark circles can be aggravated by fatigue, allergies, overexposure to the sun, menstruation or pregnancy. But they're usually hereditary; if your parents have them, chances are that you do, too.

Sometimes what you're seeing isn't really darkened skin, but engorged blood vessels under your eyes. Because the skin under your eyes is thinner than skin anywhere else on your body, blood vessels there are more noticeable, especially if you're fair-skinned.

Usually, dark circles are caused by hyper pigmentation--higher-than-average amounts of melanin, the substance that gives your skin its pigment. They tend to show up in people of Mediterranean descent and can run in families.

          

 

Dark circles around eyes

• Make a paste out of 1 tsp. tomato juice, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, a pinch of turmeric powder, and 1 tsp. of flour. Apply around eyes. Leave on for 10 minutes before rinsing.
• For under eye circles and wrinkles, mix a drop or two of honey with 2-3 drops of fresh lemon juice. Apply to the area under the eye. Leave it on for about 15 min. to 1/2 hour and it seems to work.
• Squash a banana and put a little on your eye before going to sleep. The potassium will help your eyes. In the morning when you wake up, wash it off and your dark circle is gone. You have to keep doing this every day!
• Boil some water and place 2 tea bags inside. Take out tea bags, allow them to cool. Lay back and place tea bags over the eyes (close eyes first - one on each eye) for about 15 minutes. This will ease black circles under your eyes caused by lack of sleep.

I hope you found some of this information useful.  Personally, I just had 2 cups of green tea and am going to grab the tea bags quick and try out one of those tips. 

This is a copy of my horoscope for today from Daily OM.

June 28, 2007
Good For All
Capricorn Daily Horoscope

Cooperation will likely come easily to you today, and you may feel surprisingly pleased when opportunities to compromise arise. An agreeable mood is likely fueling your commitment to conciliation by helping you to recognize that others' interests are more often than not as important as your own. You may find that you are eager to negotiate rather than flatly resentful when your circumstances require you to conceive of a dually equitable solution to conflict today. If you are compassionate and empathetic, your ability to attune yourself to the requirements of others will no doubt be heightened, allowing you to come to a conclusion that pleases everyone.

Meeting others halfway is the easiest way to ensure that our needs never interfere with their ability to pursue their individual purposes. However intense our loyalties to our own concerns are, we can take pleasure in the knowledge that our willingness to compromise has helped the people with whom we share our environments to move forward in parallel with us. When we cooperate, the individuals around us can prosper from the choices we make jointly because they become a part of our decision-making process by virtue of their having desires in some way associated with our own. If we feel resistant to the notion of cooperation, we can overcome our hesitancy by asking ourselves why we are afraid that our needs will go unmet. You will feel good compromising today when you sincerely want to see everyone near and dear to you get what they want.

I don't know about all that.  Let's take a look at the word.  Compromise:a : to come to agreement by mutual concession b : to find or follow a way between extremes.  Ohmahgosh!  It doesn't say anything at all about me bending over backwards to make everyone else happy.  LOL!

It seems whenever I try to compromise or make amends, people take that as a "Welcome" mat plastered across my back.  Then sure enough they are walking all over me.  LOL  As if I'll change...people have been walking all over me for years.  When I do try to stand up for myself...well, lets just say it doesn't go well.  What really sucks is when I try to make amends or apologize to someone and they never even acknowledge my effort or accept their portion of responsibility for the problem.

People have become too used to me letting them get away with murder around me, so when I do take a stand, they tend to have a bad reaction to it.  I've had people go totally ballistic on me, and it didn't end well.  I guess I need to learn to do what so many of them do...play nice to the face and then dog them once they turn around.  Seems like the "diplomatic" thing to do. 

I've learned well teacher, you know who you are ;)..."trust no one".  Ahh, crap!  That seems such a cynical way to live life.  I can't say that I don't trust anyone.  The list is just very select and small.  My Mom, Samantha, Sascha...and maybe 1 or 2 others. 

Don't get me wrong.  I have no problem meeting people halfway.  I don't mind if someone tells me (personally) that they would prefer if something were done differently or that they don't like this or that.  Just be upfont with me about it.  Don't go behind my back and bitch to everyone and anyone that will listen.  Be strong enough, Independent enough, Man or Woman enough to come to me and talk about it.  And certainly don't lie about what really occurred.

If you go behind my back...the intial response is not going to be good.  I'm certainly not going to feel very "compromising" then.  I don't know of anyone who would respond to an attack from behind with a "Thank you for bringing that to my attention".  More than likely they will respond with a counter strike.  Sometimes that strike may be obvious, other times you may never see it coming. 

More than likely I have my "response", whatever it may be, and then I have sometime to think about it and usually am not too happy with the fact that I was so easily manipulated to lowering myself to that person's level of behaviour.  My mother and father raised me better than that.  So I try to remind myself to look at things from their point of veiw and see whether or not I can see where they are coming from.  Or if they are just plain crazy. 

Sometimes they are just plain C-r-A-z-Y.  Other times I can see where they are coming from.  But then I wonder if they ever give me the same consideration and look at it from my point of veiw.  I doubt it, but sometimes I wish they would try.  Sometimes people put me right in the middle of things and it's not a very pleasant place to be at times.

Don't misunderstand.  I think compromise is a good thing when done with the true intention of the word.  A meeting halfway between two different points of veiw and opinions.  However, some people seem to think it is you think this, I think that, and we are doing it MY way.  That is not compromise, that is dictatorship, that is bullying, that is manipulating, that is controlling but that is no where near compromising.

***Please note that I did not use any names and this personal opinion is in no way a reflection of any one person.  Just my own personal point of veiw on compromise and how it may or may not work for myself or others.

Anyway, lets end today on a sweet note.  How about this recipe for Strawberry shortcake?

Simply Sensational Strawberry Shortcake

1-1/4 cups milk, divided
1/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
3 Tbsp. sugar
2-1/4 cups all-purpose baking mix for biscuits
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
4 cups sliced strawberries
1/3 cup sugar

PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Beat 1/2 cup of the milk, the sour cream and 3 Tbsp. sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in baking mix until just moistened. Spread evenly into greased 9-inch round cake pan. Bake 12 to 15 min. or until top is golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack; cool completely.
ADD remaining 3/4 cup milk to dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in half of the whipped topping. Toss strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar; set aside. Cut cake horizontally in half to make two layers.
PLACE bottom cake layer on serving plate; top with half of the strawberry mixture. Spread with pudding mixture; cover with top cake layer. Spread with remaining whipped topping; top with remaining strawberry mixture. Serve immediately. Store any leftover shortcake in refrigerator.

Have a great day & hugs to all my friends!

Tags: dark circles around eyes, home remedy, compromise

Good Morning!  Today's tip is one that every mother of a child needs at one time or another.  I know I've had to use it a few times. 

                

Gum dried onto carpet: Place a bowl of ice over the gum and let sit till the gum becomes hard, take a hammer and hit the gum.  It should break apart and come off the carpet.  If that doesn't work, try dry cleaners solvent, pour a small amount onto a rag and rub over the gum, it should come right out of the carpet.

I think I've also heard that if you spray WD-40 on, it comes right off.  Also "Goo Gone" is suppose to be good for removing gum.  I know I keep it around the house for all kinds of "sticky" situations.

Now if your son stuck gum in his sisters hair, that is an entirely different situation.  Luckily for me, none of my kids ever got gum stuck in their hair.  {{{Knock wood}}} because Rylie loves to chew gum.  But I've heard that using peanut butter is really good for taking gum out of hair.  Um, creamy peanut butter, not chunky...ewww! 

Well, yesterday the doctor adjusted a few prescriptions and added one.  From the test results and because of my extreme fatigue, he seems to think that I have heart disease.  Yeah, I figured something along that line, the same as my dad.  I am suppose to remove ALL salt from the house.  I'm not supposed to even cook with it.  No pickles or anything in salt water.  No chips, nothing salty!  Ugh, I love salt!  He also wants me to go back to walking 2 miles a day. 

He said that the only way to really tell if a woman has heart disease is to do a heart catherization.  He say's that a stress test isn't really reliable.  I am NOT having one.  I'll make the adjustments and hope for the best.  And pray.  Lots. 

Have a wonderful day

Good morning!  I am enjoying the peace and quiet before Rylie wakes up and my day really begins.  Here is a yummy salad recipe I found at the Better Homes and Gardens website. 

                        

Grilled Chicken Wilted Salad

Ingredients
1  lb. chicken tenderloins
1  medium onion, halved lengthwise, cut into thin wedges
3  Tbsp. olive oil
1  Tbsp. snipped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
3/4  tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/2  tsp. salt
1/4  cup cranberry or pomegranate juice
2  Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2  6-oz. pkg. baby spinach leaves
1/4  cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
1/4  cup pine nuts or slivered almonds, toasted

Directions
1. Heat indoor electric grill or grill pan over medium heat. In a bowl combine chicken and onions. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon each pepper and salt. Grill chicken and onions on grill rack or in grill pan for 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink, internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F, and onions are tender, turning once.

2. Meanwhile, for dressing, in a saucepan combine juice; vinegar; and remaining olive oil, pepper, and salt. Bring juice mixture just to boiling; remove from heat. Place spinach, olives, pine nuts, chicken, and onions in an extra-large salad bowl; toss to combine. Pour warm dressing over salad mixture. Toss lightly. Cover salad with a large plate for 1 to 2 minutes or just until spinach is wilted. Remove plate. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

* About Kalamata Olives: Kalamata olives are a variety of Greek olives with a rich fruity flavor. They are a dark purple color, almond shaped and about 1/2 to 1-inch long. They are available in the grocery store packed in jars of oil or brine, or sometimes can be found at the deli counter.

** Test Kitchen Tip: To toast nuts, spread the pine nuts or slivered almonds in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 350?F oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown, watching carefully and stirring once or twice so the nuts don't burn. You can toast the nuts up to a day ahead, if desired.

I've done a salad a bit similar to this.  I buy a bag of Spinach, or whatever looks good to me that day.  Cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts and chop them up in bite size pieces.  Toast almond slivers.  Slice a few strawberry's and toss it all together and then top with whatever shredded cheese (I prefer mozzarella or swiss) I have on hand.  I serve it with a Raspberry Walnut vinaigrette made by Ken's Steakhouse.  If you buy some pre-cooked chicken, there really isn't a whole lot to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Samantha came and got Rylie on Saturday to stay the night.  Rylie was so excited when she heard that Sammi was going to pick her up on Saturday.  She kept asking all Friday night "Where Tammi?"  "I want Tammi."  Then when she woke up Saturday morning, the first thing she said was "Tammi.  I wanna go with Tammi." 

So she was more than ready when Sammi showed up at 2 to pick her up.  We were holding her and kissing her and telling her we loved her and she just kept saying "Where's my carseat?  I need my carseat."  Which sounded more like "wheres my carffee?"  And we were a bit confused till we asked her to show us what she wanted and she ran for the backdoor.  She was ready to go and go now.  LOL

We had a surprise birthday party for for Rylie's Grandma on Sunday.  We arranged for the boys to take her up to see her husband, still recupperating at a nursing home, in the morning.  He surprised her with a dozen red roses and a birthday card.  The boys said she was so happy that she started to cry and kept kissing Bob. It was really sweet.

In the meantime, we went over to her house and began decorating with some balloons and the kids all worked on coloring birthday banners for her.  We also bought her a bunch of white sweetheart roses from all the boys, the wives and the grandkids.  We set up the grills and began cooking.  There was a ton of food, a bit of BBQ chicken, hamburgers and hotdogs, potatoe salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, baked beans, brownies and birthday cake. 

I think Grandma was really surprised and pleased with everyone remembering her birthday and making a big deal out of it.  She kept saying "I can't remember the last time I had a birthday."  Of course, someone reminded her it was just about a year ago.

We gave her a real pretty silver frame with an inscription about Grandmothers on it with a silver heart hanging on the front.  You can open it up and there is a little box with some paper that Grandma can write memories of the kids on, or save pictures that they make for her, or whatever.  I put one of the new pictures of Rylie in it. 

I wish I had a recent picture of all the kids.  But the only one I have is about 3 years old, when Rylie was just a few months old at Davids graduation ceremony.  Other than that I've just got pictures with 2 here or those 3 there, but none with all of them together.  I guess it's time to get all of them together and get a nice picture of all 4 of the kids. 

That is going to be a challenge, getting them all together at the same time.  With everyone's busy schedule it will be a bit difficult.  This next weekend Ray and I have plans.  The following weekend David is going to be away with his girlfriend.  I'll have to plan a family BBQ and see when they can all get together with us.  Rylie isn't much of a problem...I know her schedule...it's just her attitude I have to worry about, LOL.

Hopefully the princess has a good attitude today.  I have an appointment with the doctor to go over the EKG and test's that were done recently.  I'm not worried, I haven't had anymore chest pain and have been feeling fine.  I'm sure he'll just tellme to be sure to stay on the med's and come back in 3 months.  (Knock wood)

Have a great week!

Tags: grilled, chicken, salad

Samantha's graduation video

This is the graduation video that I made (with Davids help) for Samantha's graduation party.  I hope I am providing the correct link thing here...we'll see.

http://img531.imageshack.us/my.php?image=congratulationssammigx2.flv

Okay, that doesn't look like I thought it would...it's just a link.  Okay, let me try that thumbnail code and see what that does.

  Okay, I think that is the one I want.  I'll save and see what it does.

Well, that's basically just a link too.  I'll try that little aol add video thing and see what that does.  Well, poo!  Thats just a place to type a link thing. Isn't there a way to post the little video playing right in the journal? 

Okay, this is another code from Image Shack, we'll see what this one is...

[Upload your own video]

Okie dokie then, let's try this other one...Grrr.  I'm gonna try one more thing.  Nope, AOL won't let me upload an image shack video.  I'll have to go to you tube or one of the other allowed ones to try that.

Okay, uploaded the video somewhere else.  Let's see if this puts the player right into the journal.

Good Morning!  My youngest son had a very bad time with dandruff when he was younger.  I used this remedy on him and it worked really well. 

          

Dandruff

• Pour distilled white vinegar onto the hair, as close to the scalp as you can manage; massage into the scalp; and allow to dry for several minutes before washing as usual. Repeat daily until the dandruff disappears, usually within a few days.

Today Rylie and I are going to run some errands this morning and then hopefully meet up with Aunt Cathy for a day at the pool.  Rylie is now jumping in and going under by herself.  I just wish she would learn to stop smiling as she goes under so she wouldn't swallow so much water. 

She was totally water logged yesterday when we left the pool.  We spent almost 4 hours down there and apparently that still wasn't long enough for her.  She threw a screaming temper tantrum when it was time to leave.  There were two little boys, about 7 or 8, that she spent most of the afternoon following around.  The 3 of them ended up playing tag and monkey in the middle...yep, my little monkey was getting a little fed up with the game and ended up going back to play with JayLynn who is 2 years old.  LOL

I think Rylie also thought that the goal of tag was to catch up with someone and hit them as hard as you can.  She smacked one little boy so hard in the tummy that she brought him to his knees.  Oops!  Then she would pretend to fall and wait for one of the boys to come and give her a hand getting up.  She would literally lay there on the ground until one of them offered her his hand. 

It was funny, but then I don't want her playing that little damsel in distress game too much.  I think I rather prefer her hitting them and bringing them down to their knee's than the damsel thing.  I don't actually want her beating up boys...but I do want her to be strong and standup for herself.  I don't want her to let ANYONE push her around.  Not that she really has to worry about that too much.  She has 2 brothers and 1 sister who love her very, very much. There is no doubt in my mind that they will always be there for her and each other. 

Have a wonderful day!

Year 3 pictures

Every year I like to take Rylie in to get her picture taken right around the time of her birthday.  This year I almost forgot to pick them up, luckily they were still at the store.  I've been so busy with David moving up here, Samantha graduating from school and Papa B's illness that I forgot to post them on here. 

So here are a few of the pictures...

Have a good night!

Cleaning tip- Getting rid of gnats

          

Good Morning!  A few years ago I had a severe problem with gnats and couldn't figure out why until I found several bowls of moldy green salsa left in one of the kids bedrooms.  Eww, gross!  Yep, I had found ground zero and it was bad.  These are some of the home remedies I found to help.

You'll also want to check your house plants, it seems that the little boogers like to make a home in there and breed to their hearts content.  If they seem to be in your plants try placing them in a plastic bag, spray some bug killer and tie the bag closed.  Hopefully that will rid you of the problem in your plants.

Gnats:  Mix apple cider vinegar with baking soda, it makes a very intoxicating aroma, and if you set it on the counter for a day or two, all the gnats get in there and die! Be careful, as the baking soda will react with the vinegar and foam up, add very little at a time!

You can also try mixing 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1 tablespoon Dawn dish detergent. The gnats will be drawn to this, eat and die.

Also, if you have a bottle of wine, leave about 1/4 inch left in the bottom. Then leave the bottle on your kitchen counter for a day or two. They are attracted to it, drink it and die! The bottom of your bottle will have a ton of dead gnats in it!

I am off too get ready for a busy day.  I have to get Rylie up and around and head downtown to pick-up my blood pressure medications.  I hate going down there.  It is always such a pain in the butt. 

I'd like to be able to get her to sit down for more than 15 seconds so she could draw a picture for Pa Pa, so we could stop by there and visit for a bit.  Or maybe wait until daddy gets home and the three of us make a visit. 

Rylie is bored.  Her Uncle Tom and Aunt Jenny left on Sunday and took her cousins Kate and Joe back home.  She keeps saying "Go Gams house and see Katie".  Poor thing, she doesn't understand that Katie doesn't live with Grandma and went back home to Virginia.

Have a great Tuesday!