So, if neighbors (and I use the term VERY lightly here!) have a party, they are three houses down the street, and our house is literally shaking with the beat of their 'music', am I being overly sensitive?
It is 4:30 in the afternoon and they look like they are settling in for a long, long night. According to our police ordinances, disturbing the peace is against the law ANY time of the day and I'd say their 'music' easily falls into the category of disturbing the peace. My son, who is on the far side of our house and wearing earphones for a game on his computer, can't concentrate. We took our ordinance rights seriously and called the police. The people, however, look like they will need two or three calls before they comply.
I remember some of the 'good, old days' when you only had to politely ask someone to turn down their music and they did because they didn't seem to realize how loud it had become. The police advise us to call them first and not go near the offending neighbor. A real change in the world and neighborly values.
Sigh . . . I was hoping for an early night and a good sleep today. Doesn't look possible. To give an example of how LOUD this party music is, we can't even hear the television over it.
If I find a cure for possible migraines, I'll share the information!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Department of Labor . . .
The North Dakota Department of Labor claimed a small Bismarck farmer was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate.
Department of Labor employee : I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them.
Farmer : Well, there's my farm hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board.
Then there's the mentally challenged worker. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally.
Department of Labor employee : That's the guy I want to talk to...the mentally challenged one.
Farmer : That would be me.
Department of Labor employee : I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them.
Farmer : Well, there's my farm hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board.
Then there's the mentally challenged worker. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally.
Department of Labor employee : That's the guy I want to talk to...the mentally challenged one.
Farmer : That would be me.
Cleaning Day!
Cleaning day was always a challenge when the children were little. I remember sitting on the sofa and recovering from delivering our second baby a few days earlier and watching my husband vacuum the carpet. Well, unknown to him, our toddler was following close behind eating a cracker. My husband didn't see the little one and every time he turned to reach a different section of the carpet, the toddler would scurry behind him BUT always leaving a trail of cracker crumbs. It was funny seeing the expression on my husband's face each time he discovered new crumbs in an area he KNEW he had just cleaned. Now that my brood is teen and over, there are whole new cleaning aspects to deal with as their hearing, despite assurances by the doctor to the contrary, has gotten very bad. : - )
Remember the younger years, here are a few things you do NOT want to hear on cleaning day:
1. I moved the sofa. Did we find all the eggs last Easter?
2. Why are there 25 children’s vitamins under the refrigerator?
3. Do we have any really big ant traps?
4. How can you tell how long a mouse has been dead?
5. There is green stuff oozing out of the refrigerator door.
6. The local museum wants to do an archeological report on the dust
findings under our bed.
7. Do we have a cat?
8. Is he supposed to be spray painting the dead grass out front green?
9. I cleaned out the fish tank. Have you seen the fish?
10. Will blue food coloring come off dog fur? Did you see the dog go by?
Remember the younger years, here are a few things you do NOT want to hear on cleaning day:
1. I moved the sofa. Did we find all the eggs last Easter?
2. Why are there 25 children’s vitamins under the refrigerator?
3. Do we have any really big ant traps?
4. How can you tell how long a mouse has been dead?
5. There is green stuff oozing out of the refrigerator door.
6. The local museum wants to do an archeological report on the dust
findings under our bed.
7. Do we have a cat?
8. Is he supposed to be spray painting the dead grass out front green?
9. I cleaned out the fish tank. Have you seen the fish?
10. Will blue food coloring come off dog fur? Did you see the dog go by?
A reminder . . .
“The only justification for looking down on anyone is that you're going to stop and pick them up.” Wynton Marsalis
Good one from the Internet . . .
The Bible is always a good place to go and look for an answer to some of our difficult questions of the day.
B=basic
I=instructions
B=before
L=leaving
E=earth
B=basic
I=instructions
B=before
L=leaving
E=earth
From the mouth of babes . . .
Budgets always welcome leftovers even if the children aren’t happy about it. One evening an unpopular casserole was on the menu. It hadn’t received rave notices the first time out and I knew what it’s reception would be for the finale. To sweeten the meal-time purgatory, I made a favorite dessert. The scent of spice cake permeated the house and the children crowded happily around the dinner table. When I placed the plates of leftover casserole before the children, one child turned to the other and said, “I knew there was a reason for this dessert!”
(From my memory book!)
(From my memory book!)
Lenten Reminder . . .
“He that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me.” ~Matt 10:38
Food fight!
No, I don't indulge in food fights in the usual meaning of the phrase. I have to fight what goes on my plate and, subsequently, into my mouth later to appear on my hips!
I had more than a year of undiagnosed anemia which changed my metabolism greatly. Naturally, the anemia made me tire easily but since I've always been a super active person, it just put me down to more normal activity levels and no one really noticed I was dragging that badly. I don't know about other people but when I get really, really tire, it just seems that if you eat something, you will feel better. That's how I put on some unwanted weight!
Once the anemia was diagnose and addressed, I was back to normal but couldn't shed the weight . . . because I was still in the 'eat something to feel better' mode. It was frustrating. Lent came around that year and I gave us any kind of soda cold turkey. An icy cola has always been a favorite so it was definitely a Lenten sacrifice. Easter Monday, I decided to see how long I could go without any soda. It's been over five years now!
A soda with a meal packs in up to another 250 or more calories to your day. A year after I went 'no soda', I noticed my jeans were not fitting right. I took a leap of faith and got the next size down and it fit! The next Lent, I eliminated iced mocha drinks from my diet and sadly passed by those coffee houses without stopping for six weeks. Again, on Easter, I decided to leave those calories behind and a year later, I went down another size in jeans.
Naturally, I still have to eat so getting down one, more size isn't happening. This Lent, I went into the old-fashioned fasting mode for ALL of Lent not just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The first week, I was HUNGRY not long after I had had my one, small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Lunch was an ounce or so of cheese and all the vegetables I wanted. Lent is winding down and I don't get but normally hungry between meals. I've gotten used to only one helping at dinner . . . and I've finally lost weight!
Someone, trying to get me to indulge, said, "One piece of cake won't make you fat!" I agree, but it is the next and the next and the next that does! Frankly, I like the fact that I get most of my energy from real food and not artificial pick me ups with sugar and fat.
I had more than a year of undiagnosed anemia which changed my metabolism greatly. Naturally, the anemia made me tire easily but since I've always been a super active person, it just put me down to more normal activity levels and no one really noticed I was dragging that badly. I don't know about other people but when I get really, really tire, it just seems that if you eat something, you will feel better. That's how I put on some unwanted weight!
Once the anemia was diagnose and addressed, I was back to normal but couldn't shed the weight . . . because I was still in the 'eat something to feel better' mode. It was frustrating. Lent came around that year and I gave us any kind of soda cold turkey. An icy cola has always been a favorite so it was definitely a Lenten sacrifice. Easter Monday, I decided to see how long I could go without any soda. It's been over five years now!
A soda with a meal packs in up to another 250 or more calories to your day. A year after I went 'no soda', I noticed my jeans were not fitting right. I took a leap of faith and got the next size down and it fit! The next Lent, I eliminated iced mocha drinks from my diet and sadly passed by those coffee houses without stopping for six weeks. Again, on Easter, I decided to leave those calories behind and a year later, I went down another size in jeans.
Naturally, I still have to eat so getting down one, more size isn't happening. This Lent, I went into the old-fashioned fasting mode for ALL of Lent not just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The first week, I was HUNGRY not long after I had had my one, small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Lunch was an ounce or so of cheese and all the vegetables I wanted. Lent is winding down and I don't get but normally hungry between meals. I've gotten used to only one helping at dinner . . . and I've finally lost weight!
Someone, trying to get me to indulge, said, "One piece of cake won't make you fat!" I agree, but it is the next and the next and the next that does! Frankly, I like the fact that I get most of my energy from real food and not artificial pick me ups with sugar and fat.
The Most Frightening Thing I've Heard about the 2012 Election . . .
This is, indeed, a scary thought. Since 65 percent of the Catholic vote helped put this man in office, we may be headed for very rough waters during the next four years following the election. We do have prayer and sacrifice on our side.
****
Read the article below and be afraid, be very afraid!
I wish it didn't make sense, but it does ... read and give me YOUR ideas on what we can do to prevent it.
Walter Williams is a Black Conservative
No Matter What
By Dr. Walter Williams
Can President Obama be defeated in 2012? No. He can't.
I am going on record as saying that President Barak Obama will win
a second term. The media won't tell you this because a good election
campaign means hundreds of millions (or in Obama's case billions) of
dollars to them in advertising. But the truth is, there simply are no
conditions under which Barak Obama can be defeated in 2012.
The quality of the Republican candidate doesn't matter. Obama gets
reelected. Nine percent unemployment? No problem. Obama will win.
Gas prices moving toward five dollars a gallon? He still wins. The
economy soars or goes into the gutter. Obama wins. War in the
Middle East? He wins a second term. America's role as the leading
Superpower disappears? Hurrah for Barak Obama! The U.S. government
rushes toward bankruptcy, the dollar continues to sink on world markets
and the price of daily goods and services soars due to inflation fueled by
Obama's extraordinary deficit spending? Obama wins handily.
You are crazy Williams. Don't you understand how volatile politics can
be when overall economic, government, and world conditions are declining?
Sure I do. And that's why I know Obama will win. The American people
are notoriously ignorant of economics. And economics is the key to why
Obama should be defeated. Even when Obama's policies lead the nation
to final ruin, the majority of the American people are going to believe the
bait-and-switch tactics Obama and his supporters in the media will use
to explain why it isn't his fault. After all, things were much worse than
understood when he took office.
Obama's reelection is really a very, very simple math problem.
Consider the following:
1) Blacks will vote for Obama blindly. Period. Doesn't matter what he does.
It's a race thing. He's one of us,
2) College educated women will vote for Obama. Though they will be
offended by this, they swoon at his oratory. It's really not more complex
than that,
3) Liberals will vote for Obama. He is their great hope,
4) Democrats will vote for Obama. He is the leader of their party and his
coattails will carry them to victory nationwide,
5) Hispanics will vote for Obama. He is the path to citizenship for those
who are illegal and Hispanic leaders recognize the political clout they
carry in the Democratic Party,
6) Union members will vote overwhelmingly for Obama. He is their key
to money and power in business, state and local politics,
7) Big Business will support Obama. They already have. He has almost
$1 Billion dollars in his reelection purse gained largely from his connections
with Big Business and is gaining more everyday. Big Business loves Obama
because he gives them access to taxpayer money so long as they support
his social and political agenda,
8) The media love him. They may attack the people who work for him, but
they love him. After all, to not love him would be racist,
9) Most other minorities and special interest groups will vote for him. Oddly,
the overwhelming majority of Jews and Muslims will support him because
they won't vote Republican. American Indians will support him. Obviously
homosexuals tend to vote Democratic. And lastly,
10) Approximately half of independents will vote for Obama. And he doesn't
need anywhere near that number because he has all of the groups previously
mentioned. The President will win an overwhelming victory in 2012.
****
Read the article below and be afraid, be very afraid!
I wish it didn't make sense, but it does ... read and give me YOUR ideas on what we can do to prevent it.
Walter Williams is a Black Conservative
No Matter What
By Dr. Walter Williams
Can President Obama be defeated in 2012? No. He can't.
I am going on record as saying that President Barak Obama will win
a second term. The media won't tell you this because a good election
campaign means hundreds of millions (or in Obama's case billions) of
dollars to them in advertising. But the truth is, there simply are no
conditions under which Barak Obama can be defeated in 2012.
The quality of the Republican candidate doesn't matter. Obama gets
reelected. Nine percent unemployment? No problem. Obama will win.
Gas prices moving toward five dollars a gallon? He still wins. The
economy soars or goes into the gutter. Obama wins. War in the
Middle East? He wins a second term. America's role as the leading
Superpower disappears? Hurrah for Barak Obama! The U.S. government
rushes toward bankruptcy, the dollar continues to sink on world markets
and the price of daily goods and services soars due to inflation fueled by
Obama's extraordinary deficit spending? Obama wins handily.
You are crazy Williams. Don't you understand how volatile politics can
be when overall economic, government, and world conditions are declining?
Sure I do. And that's why I know Obama will win. The American people
are notoriously ignorant of economics. And economics is the key to why
Obama should be defeated. Even when Obama's policies lead the nation
to final ruin, the majority of the American people are going to believe the
bait-and-switch tactics Obama and his supporters in the media will use
to explain why it isn't his fault. After all, things were much worse than
understood when he took office.
Obama's reelection is really a very, very simple math problem.
Consider the following:
1) Blacks will vote for Obama blindly. Period. Doesn't matter what he does.
It's a race thing. He's one of us,
2) College educated women will vote for Obama. Though they will be
offended by this, they swoon at his oratory. It's really not more complex
than that,
3) Liberals will vote for Obama. He is their great hope,
4) Democrats will vote for Obama. He is the leader of their party and his
coattails will carry them to victory nationwide,
5) Hispanics will vote for Obama. He is the path to citizenship for those
who are illegal and Hispanic leaders recognize the political clout they
carry in the Democratic Party,
6) Union members will vote overwhelmingly for Obama. He is their key
to money and power in business, state and local politics,
7) Big Business will support Obama. They already have. He has almost
$1 Billion dollars in his reelection purse gained largely from his connections
with Big Business and is gaining more everyday. Big Business loves Obama
because he gives them access to taxpayer money so long as they support
his social and political agenda,
8) The media love him. They may attack the people who work for him, but
they love him. After all, to not love him would be racist,
9) Most other minorities and special interest groups will vote for him. Oddly,
the overwhelming majority of Jews and Muslims will support him because
they won't vote Republican. American Indians will support him. Obviously
homosexuals tend to vote Democratic. And lastly,
10) Approximately half of independents will vote for Obama. And he doesn't
need anywhere near that number because he has all of the groups previously
mentioned. The President will win an overwhelming victory in 2012.
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