Full Wolf Moon

Did anyone see the wolf moon last night? It was supposed to be the brightest full moon we will have this year. We had a major snow storm hit so we had absolutely no view of it :(




My favorite moon when I was growing up was the "blood moon." (Also known as the Hunter's moon).




I love reading the Native American stories about how the full moons got their names and the folklore behind them.

Yesterday afternoon we didn't have a drop of snow on the ground and this morning we woke up to this:







The high today is only 20, so it's even too cold and windy to go out and play in it. Maybe tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend :)

Found an image

I want to build a blogger template around? Anyone know how I can do that?

S.C. Lt. Governor likens benefits to feeding stray animals

Yet another politician has opened mouth, inserted foot.

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”

Even I think that this metaphor was uncalled for and way out of line. I think somewhere deep down in the recesses of his feeble mind, he feels like he has the right idea. Mr. Bauer is my age, so I'm not going to chalk it up to being young and naive. Yes something needs to be done about our current welfare system, no argument there, but for a public official to speak in such a manner is appalling and disrespectful. There are ways to talk about this ongoing problem and this is not it. Do I believe there are people on welfare that don't need to be? Absolutely. Is the system getting abused? Daily. Would I ever compare any of these human beings to stray cats? Never. He said he didn't care about being politically correct, he just wanted to be honest. I think there is middle ground between being "PC" and being an ass. I would like to think I am one of those people who speak from a middle ground perspective. I don't like to sugar coat things, but I am above being malicious. He later said he regretted using that metaphor. You think?? One problem with his speech is that he is not going to be taken seriously about a very serious issue that is sucking this country dry! He did make some very good points in each speech though like:

"We are a compassionate people, and we will always take care of those who are truly needy, as we should. But there are also those who are NOT truly needy, merely lazy or greedy, who are taking advantage of the system. And, unfortunately, the system is actually designed to encourage them to take advantage of it."

and:

"Spending is out of control. When we waste tax dollars on those who are just lazy or taking advantage of the generosity of the American people, we have fewer dollars available for the truly needy or the hard working families who find themselves in hard times."

I'm afraid the message was lost in his opening remarks.

He announced plans to run for governor and he stated he will not always be politically correct in his campaign, but he will always be honest.

We shall see how that works out for him.

Status going around facebook

is really pissing me off!! I try to be open minded and allow freedom of speech and all that, but this status is just too much.

"Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations. 99% of people won't have the guts to copy and repost this."

It doesn't take guts to repost this for one thing. It takes stupidity! It's one of the most erroneous statements I have ever read!! The "only" country? Really?? Are you a complete moron? Have you been living under a rock?

People just repost things without even reading them because they are just following the idiot train. They think it's the "right thing to do." Wake up you brainless drones!

My daughters are so talented!

Kim won second place in a county wide poem contest! It was a poem that only took her 5 minutes to write is the thing, lol!

A local college called upon the creative writing class she was in to write a short play and the only criteria was that it had to be controversial. She teamed up with her boyfriend Tyler and their play was picked, and it will be performed tomorrow by the college drama department!

I am so proud of her :)

My oldest is in Pittsburgh this weekend. She just landed a few minutes ago and she said it was cold and there was snow on the ground! Her cousin is getting married and she is in the wedding. She is having her bridal shower this weekend, so I know she will have fun. She made all the bridesmaids decorative glasses for her and they turned out so pretty. She has started an online business selling these as well as some other things. Check out her site :)

Pink Scribbles

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend :)

Cultural Crisis perhaps?

I was sent this email today by my sister in law. Whether this particular story is true, this person is actually a physician, or this letter was ever actually written to the White House is irrelevant to me considering the fact that this occurs daily around this wonderful country of ours.

Dear Mr. President:
During my shift in the Emergency Room last night, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient whose smile revealed an expensive shiny gold tooth, whose body was adorned with a wide assortment of elaborate and costly tattoos, who wore a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and who chatted on a new cellular telephone equipped with a popular R&B ringtone.
While glancing over her patient chart, I happened to notice that her payer status was listed as "Medicaid"! During my examination of her, the patient informed me that she smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and somehow still has money to buy pretzels and beer.
And, you and our Congress expect me to pay for this woman's health care? I contend that our nation's "health care crisis" is not the result of a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors or nurses. Rather, it is the result of a "crisis of culture", a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on luxuries and vices while refusing to take care of one's self or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. It is a culture based in the irresponsible credo that "I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me".
Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear.
Respectfully,
STARNER JONES,MD

Working in the medical field, I deal with this on a DAILY basis. Don't even get me started on what types of cars they drive (nicer than mine I assure you). This problem is nothing new to the current administration so I am not going to point fingers, but if the current administration allows this to continue and worsen, than it IS their problem! I am so tired of having to be politically correct about EVERYTHING!!! That is what is wrong with this country right now. No one wants to tell these people to go out a get a damn job! I don't want to hear about the current employment rates or any other bullshit either. When employment rates were fine, they still didn't work. They rely on me and all the other tax payers to give them what they need. We have made it far too easy for them to milk and abuse the system. The welfare system was put in to place during the Great Depression by FDR for "emergency purposes." Even then the "New Deal focused predominantly on a program of providing work and stimulating the economy through public spending on projects, rather than on cash payments." What the fuck happened? I'll tell you what happened. The current welfare system offers no incentives for the people getting welfare to EVER come off of it! Why the hell would they ever want to come off welfare? Let's see, I don't have to work and can sit on my lazy ass all day and I can collect money? Sign me up! My grandmother became widowed at a very young age with two small children to support. Did she get any kind of assistance? Hell no! She worked. I didn't have maternity coverage when I was pregnant with my first child. Did I go apply for Medicaid to pay for it? Hell no. I set up a payment plan. I know that's a foreign thought process to some people, but it can be done. The people that need to be on welfare for various reasons get declined right and left. We have a patient who wants to terminate her pregnancy because the fetus has several MAJOR problems and is not going to survive after birth and they will not pay for it, yet this same government run "insurance company" will let another patient spit out as many babies as she is capable of doing (thus supporting them when they are born). They are so stupid to realize that her hospital charges when she delivers are going to cost us the tax payers far more than a termination. Complete idiots!! If we weren't dumping so much money into this "program" we may be able to afford to send more help to Haiti where it is much needed. Another quake (6.1) hit them.

By all means, let's continue this downward spiral into hell!

One of the best bumper stickers I have ever read:


That about sums that up!

Our children

worry us to extremes at times. I got a call last night from Diane while she was headed back to her daughter who was in hospital and very sick. My heart jumped from my chest. It's the worse feeling in the world when your child needs you and you feel like you can't get to them fast enough. She ventured out on icy, slick roads, trying to keep up the posted speed limits, all the while scared out of her mind. I knew exactly how she felt. Stephanie got very sick in her first year of school and she is 1.5 hours away from us, closer than Lara is to Diane, but it still feels hundreds of miles away when you are trying to get there as fast as you can. The feeble voice on the phone telling you "I need you mommy." She was 18 at the time, but she sounded like the frightened little girl I nursed back to health tons of times. I felt so useless on the other end of that phone. My heart sank and I cried. I felt the same after talking to Diane last night. I wanted so much to be there for her and comfort her and drive her so she didn't have to. I'm tearing up now just writing this. I am too emotional for my own good I guess. I have triggers that will set me off and my children and friends are definite ones. I blubber like a baby. I took Stephanie home with me and nursed her back to health just like I've always done. She just needed her mommy after all ;) And Lara needed hers. We get the call and we come running, swords drawn, yelling like a warrior, daring anyone to get in our way. I'm so relieved to hear that Lara is doing better, and will feel so much better once she is out of the woods and home safe and sound. Our children grow up right before our eyes and make this magical transformation into adults, but they still have that small child within that continues to reach out to us. And I for one will ALWAYS be there to grab their hand, place it in mine, and make all the bad things go away. In a blink of an eye, our worlds can come crashing down around us. Life is sacred, my children are my world and I would die for them, literally, no hesitation, because I love them unconditionally. I am their mother, their protector, their teacher, their guide in this crazy world.

Playing around on youtube

today and I was watching some Tim Minchin stuff. I don't know who here has seen or heard of him. I imagine you have Diane since he is in the U.K. I have seen some of his songs before, but I have never heard this little rendition called "Storm." Even if you have heard this, it's worth another listen. I loved it. I could so picture this dinner party in my head very vividly. I just wish it showed him, since his facial expressions are priceless.




According to my workout regime schedule, I am due for some upper body workout tonight. Yeah, push ups and such ;) I just want to be careful with this because I really DON'T want to end up with man arms or as they call them here in the south, farmer girl arms. I have lost 3 pounds so far so only 10 to go :)

On my day off from working out

I did some other form of exercise. Shooting! Ken and I went over to our friends house and we annihilated some targets Comito style ;)










I do love my head shots, lol! My target is on the right and my friends is on the left. Her hubby decided to try some head shots on mine, not too much luck since he left the open shots to the left of the head.



Ken had to break out the 12 gauge so now we owe them some wood, lol!

New workout regimen

is kicking my ass, but as I told Orion it will be well worth it in the end. I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday and I get to take a break from it, lol!

Stephanie went back to school today and I miss her terribly :( It will take me awhile to get used to her being back in Raleigh since she was home for almost a month. I'm sure our cat Lou does not miss her dog Chloe though.



I'm sure Chloe is very thankful Lou no longer has her front claws.


Enjoy your weekend everyone and stay safe and warm :)

I've decided that I may not hate children

I hate their STUPID parents!!!! I really have a problem with this generation of parents and their parenting skills (or lack thereof). Now let me go on the record by saying I DO NOT believe in spanking. I grew up in a household with an alcoholic father who was quite mean at times. I am one of six children so by the time my sister and I (the youngest) came along he had mellowed quite a bit. My 3 older brothers took the brunt of his parenting skills (or lack thereof). My father grew up in an extremely abusive household where his mother escaped in the only way she thought she could, suicide. My father never really learned how to love, not in the way he should anyway. That is why I cannot and will not spank, because I fear turning into my father and going overboard. Now my are older almost 20 and 16 and they are the most well behaved brilliant children. I would like to think I had a tiny bit to do with that and the fact I have much better parenting skills than my father. He managed to teach me one thing in that respect (how NOT to parent). I learned that if I did the complete opposite of what he would have done, I got a much better response. We all grew up fearing my father. I did NOT want my children to fear me.

Having said that, I don't know if this new bunch of parents fear the same or what, but they are a too lax in my opinion. They never want to tell their children the word "no." It's like it's not even in their vocabulary! And they do this at the expense of everyone around them!!! They let their children run around and scream like banshees, tear stuff up, and just act completely crazy all the while saying things like "don't do that honey" in a soft spoken voice no doubt!!! They don't seem to care that they are disrupting everyone around them. Their child is and angel. You're child is a DEMON!!!

Don't get me wrong I do love children. I love MY children. I tolerate everyone elses.

Had to get that off my chest today. I have so many pet peeves, but this is a big one!

New Work out regimen

Okay So I'm starting a new work out regimen tomorrow thanks to my blogger buddy Orion. He's devised a pretty good workout plan that I am going to follow and blog about as I go along. My goal is to lose 13 pounds and tone up my muscle by the first weekend in April. I am going on a trip to Seattle then to meet up with a bunch of people including some from the UK!!! I am super excited about it and I will finally get to meet the infamous O and go to a shooting range with him, something I have been wanting to do for a long time. (Shoot with him, not go to the range, lol)

We are going to keep each other motivated which should be loads of fun. (insert evil grin here)

Wish me luck :)

Also a big warm blog welcome to my friend Diane who lives in the UK. Her name is on my blog list on the side tab. Go check her out and say hello :)