The news tonight

Tonight I watched the ABC news.
Here are some thoughts that I had while watching the news:
*I love C. Amanpour.  Her accent is the BEST!
**The leader of Libya sure is an interesting person--good lord!  She interviewed him.  I heard on NPR that lots of famous Amerkins have performed {privately} for this fellow and his family and they got paid the big bucks!! {interesting} He pays millions to have famous singers from the US sing privately for him...that was just interesting to me.
*The whole article about what is made in the United States--{not much}.
The family acted soooo surprised..then the five year old took the reporter around and pointed out to him all of the Made in stamps on all her stuff--We pay attn. to what we WANT to pay attn. to...and most often what is convenient--{I include myself} ;).
**Then came good ole C. Sheen.  He looks like so many people to me..
He is so crazy right now!! Poor guy--it has to be all over TV--then ay que idiot!! for God's sake, can any one of us even imagine making that much money--if you are my secret millionaire blog reader--I am taking {donations} :)
*Oh please--keep this quiet children, I want to watch the news!! :)

That was all I thought about.  The news was interesting tonight.
Oh, and let's make lists of things that we love that are made in the U.S.
There is actually lots of stuff.
I only buy candy made here...I mean really--all that cutesy cheap candy is made in Ch!na--if they will
put poison in the baby formula {accident} or not.. I think I will just stick with freakin Hersheys etc.
My mama knows this now... one time I spent like 60 bucks to buy a fancy sucker for all my kids at school..they were made elsewhere, so I trashed them.  If I won't feed it to my own children --I will not feed it to other peoples' children either.
bueno--Lucky Brand jeans used to be made here.
There are Sunbrella fabrics sold in many catalogs that sell furniture-they are made in Burlington NC!! Cool, no?
What else...oh, there are cosmetics that are made here.
I do check this out...also produce--I try to buy all the produce from the USA--if not from the farmer's market..which we do not have here in the winter. :)
Do y'all have other stuff that is made here in the USA that you have noticed?

Oh, here is another one!! bathing suits in the catalogs like llbean and land's end..made in the USA!

okay--I am off. :)
To read..exhausted. :)

Places I would like to be--in a parallel time {or something like that}

One of these is Tortola.
This is a new place for me.  Never heard of it... until last Thursday night when I was out with the girls.
Apparently cruises stop there, and people go there for honeymoons....It just seems really tropical and nice to me...look at that water!!!
The next one is Volcano Arenal.  This is in Costa Rica.  I have been here before--in high school. This is a spot I would like to go back to!  Some friends of mine and Andy's have gone there pretty recently and they LOVED IT.  Apparently the minerals in the water that is heated naturally by the Volcano is full of good minerals...
The next one is of Sevilla--that is the Gualquivir.  The river that runs through it.  That other thing is the torre de oro.  When will I go back to Sevilla/?? 
Well, I will say that wherever I go...it will be a welcome journey...I am pretty much getting
itchy for a trip.
Really though I am beginning to realize that a trip is not exactly gonna happen.  We live vicariously through the trips of others, and travel shows...does this seem sad to y'all?  I don't reckon I really mean it to, b/c I am also perfectly content here.  That seems odd--to be content yet, long --in a very longing way--to go a travelin'

At this point I am thinking that wherever Andy and I go the kids will have to go too..I mean when
I leave them..I have a panicky feeling.  It is not overboard..I mean I can do it.  BUT if I ever get to go back to Sevilla...my babies are coming too!! for sure. ;).

bueno---good bye.  That is a little Monday night posty post.  Cheerleading is finished after this coming Saturday!  {yippie}.  I am glad for things to be over, but I try not to be overly glad-b/c that feels like wishing time away to me...and if you are that glad for something to end you have to ask yourself :  Did you {really} enjoy doing it?  My answer is pretty much:  Yes.

cars...

I love them.
I sometimes think that this is a very {male} side to my personality.
One time I heard that when the economy sucks...art rocks..design, music etc.
all flourish..then we all look back to the design of those times with fondness..
Here are the cars that rock to me right now.
When I ride down the road and see these cars..I want to go and {at least}
test drive them...or go for a ride in one...let's see if I can get some pics...
Well, it appears that I may not use these images...
so I will make a handy list, and you will have to seek them out, if you would
like to..
The Dodge Charger
The new Ford mustang
and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee..
All United statesian Autos, I must say..
And here is an oldy but goody..that I might actually have one day b/c I can hardly stand it..
and OLD FORD MUSTANG.   I would love to have one of those...i just love them!
Bueno..happy car searching.

you know the fact that these are all USA cars really says something b/c I am not putting on here:
I really like these.
For many years now I have thought that most of the USA designs were awful...
see a Suburban lately--eek!...
But someone with taste has done some hiring, and the people they hired..well they
aren't playing around!
More {opinions} there you go...

row, row, row...

the boat...
This {could be} a soapbox post..however,
I cannot say that this is a solid opinion.
Therefore, I am just rowing along with this one...and I have never
been much of a rower, so, you are along for a wobby ride in this one.

Today, and for several days, the folks in Wis. have been {demonstrating}
about the right to organize etc.--these are state workers.
NC and VA, according to NPR are the only states who do not {give} this right to our workers.
I am a state employee.  I have actively chosen this...there are options in my field.
My reasons are: stability and ...well, stability.
To be honest, in the whole battle over organize (union) or not, I am a {not} person
WHEN IT COMES TO FOLKS EMPLOYED BY THE TAXPAYERS.
The {folks} in this case are the taxpayers..no?
We are at least a part of the taxpayers.
I sort of think that being employed by the state puts us in a unique niche...dependent upon
Capitalism...yet...not actively involved in capitalism.
So, if we were to {organize} would we be organizing against ourselves.

I will give you a couple points to ponder:
**I have a friend, we'll call her {salt}.  Her husband has loads of work right now, it all comes from up North, bc the folks up there are all {organized} and the company with whom he contracts can afford to pay him {really well} down here..and all his employees..b/c there is no union.  If one day he does not agree with a contract...well, he can refuse, no?--this is a capitalist pursuit, as he is in proper business for himself...
*The money for serving children who need speech mostly comes from...well, the {state}, or public funds, tax money, or MEDICAID.  That's right..very few people, even the wealthy, are prone to wanting to {pay out of pocket} for speech services --they would rather buy their children N.fAc4 coats and name brand sneakers than to have them speak well...(it's true).  So, they say...oh, he/she will get it free at school...or people who {qualify} step up, and Medicaid pays...so , do you get it?  The state pays either way.  There is the case where the child does not qualify under our DPI guidelines--in other words the speech issue is not affecting the education of the student {according to DPI} so the child does not {qualify}.  In this case--well, usually the child would get {nothing}.

Is this making sense to you all?  Do you see...??
We have to have the commercial pursuits...thus the tax base to fund many things...

So, when the economy is failing..would I feel right asking for more money?  My answer is no...right to organize or not...there is no money.
The people in that state elected that person whose mission it is to dismantle the right to organize....go figure!

There is the chance that our legislature could say (as they did with the good ole lottery) well, everyone else is doing it...we should too!  Now there's an argument for doing something, if i have ever heard one!!
BUT--if there is no money...there is no money.  At this point I think that people employed by tax money should all use our sense...could something like the following work???
Anyone employed by tax money who makes more that two times the average salary in their county will take a ten percent pay cut...you will still have YOUR JOB.  You will not make {as much}.  Let's be honest with ourselves..no one wants to live with less..but all of the people who are dependent upon private enterprise (who also fund the public interest, in part) have lost so much....

There was a big poll taken about this..I was included.  All of the questions were the yes/no kind..YIkEs! I am not much of a yes/no person...I answered the best way that I could.
BUT if a legislator were to ask me...I think I would print out this blog post and put it in their hands.

Sick!

So, last night, in the middle of the night I woke up.
YikES!
When I opened my eyes and came to my senses...I knew it was not good.
Some little bug has invaded my body.
This bug has ruined my weekend.
My husband is not at home.
My children had to go and stay with my parents (who btw are also somewhat under the weather).
I am by myself.
This weekend we were supposed to have:
A basketball game and cheerleading...remember I am the coach, right?  my friend is the other coach..and she went with her family to the UNC basketball game...so --let's just say, this caused me anxiety!
a playdate with friends to hang out outside and have some supper.
Church is opening the gigantic new building tomorrow..it was supposed to be this big deal with everyone going..minus my five--we are all scattered about.

When I woke up last night, I knew that my weekend was ruined.  I could tell by how my ENTIRE body was aching..that games, playdates and church socializing with three children were going to be out of the question...

YUCK!

part two

So,
Here are two pictures from Valentine's days past.
We lived in Graham when these were taken.
So Sweet!!
I cannot find a couple of the years on my computer.
One of them was when Elena was three.  I helped with her Valentine's day party at school.
The other is last year...we do have fotos, I just do not know where {on the computer} they are...
Go figure! :)

Why do I love Valentine's day?

Well, I love this day because it is a bit of sweetness.
To me the simplest things are always the sweetest.
Since I was a little girl my Mama has always had a little sweet something for me
for Valentine's day.
I mean little--like a box of conversation hearts and a trinket...not complicated, usually not
something I chose--but something she chose for me, something that she thought was cute
for me.
We would get up and see the treat on the table at breakfast time.
We would also have something besides cereal--like some strawberry muffins...
Just a little simple treat greeted my sister and me.
I think that I will never stop loving the foil red heart sticker.
Never.  It makes my heart skip a beat.  A red sticker made of shiny foil in the shape of a heart.
There.
Let's see, so now we are all carrying on this tradition in my house.
We had 9 boxes of Russell Stover in my house today!! three children X 2--wait that is 6,
but it felt like nine--by the time I had found my favorite pieces!! ha!
It might not be so simple for my children.
Also, not only on the receiving end is Valentine's day the best, but on the sending end as well.
This year I did not mail any Valentines, BUT, no year goes by without some special Valentines, hand made by
me being given out.  This year Elena took over the duty --and made my parents and Andy's parents the
most beautiful cards.
They were just gorgeous!! I love cutting out hearts, making them with curly edges and using glitter...
It is so simple, on this day, to make someone you love, smile.
So there.

Happy Valentine's day!

some pictures

I realize that when I look at other peoples' blogs I like to see pictures. :)
When they are people I know, I like to see pics of their families.
When they are people I do not know, pictures of {whatever}.

 Eva in her snowsuit yesterday, when we had a snow day.

 All three kiddies with the coolest candy we found--probably terrible for the teeth...but definitely a chance
to watch the news. :)  It looked like a shaker in the packaging.  The sucker part was surrounded by a little
bowl of candies that looked like nerds--but were not, and the sucker was the dipper to get to the little teeny candies... a real find! ;)

 Eva playing with her zipper yesterday, I love how fascinating even the smallest things are to an 18 month old.

Andy was being climbed upon by all three children at one time...Is V-man crying or laughing really hard???
Can't remember.

Old Faithfuls

Whenever I need new pants
to wear to work, I can always find them, affordably, at the limited.
Since, well, since I was in about the 8th grade, I have known that The Limited has the pants
that fit me.  They have the jeans, the shorts, and the pants, that, no matter what, will fit me.
They have the right inseam, the right rise (Cassidy fit, for me), and the right shape.
I have ventured off...to Gap, and other stores.
Shopping with CAbi is also fun to me--but the pants can never compare to the
pants from The Limited.
Once, before interviewing for jobs I bought some expensive pants from Ann Taylor...the hem
fell out the first time I wore them, and the button too, by the end of the day..and you know,
the pants never fit really well from the get go.
It is comforting to know that you can just hop online..click on Cassidy fit (whichever size)
and there you go-the perfect pair of pants.
When a pair wears out, or you are too big, or THEY ARE TOO BIG. ...no worries!

Now, this is not everyone's pair of pants...there are other fits at this store, and of course other
people fit really easily, or perfectly into pants from other shops...The Limited is just my
personal fave...
There is no limited at S. Point..this means i have to go to Crabtree to find it!! boo hooo..
or online.

So there is a little positive post for you all tonight...instead of the scathing public criticism that i did last night...
ooopsss...

There are some things I just do not get...

One of them hit me today...
How can some people just totally miss the point?

I went in to help out in Elena's classroom for her Valentine's day party.
Some of the mothers {and dads??} sent in the childrens' valentine's day cards with
NO NAMES ON THEM!!

The teacher only sent out THE LIST OF NAMES THREE TIMES.
Is that a hint enough?
Do these people not remember getting Valentine's day cards???
Who in the world has ever sent out a {freaking card}without a to: {name} and a
from: {name} on it.
The children do not even get it yet.  They are five--they are supposed to be learning about cards
for pete's sake!! This is one {fun} way they could learn it...
As I looked in Elena's box.. I just thought--This one is from anonymous...and it is not really even
to you--it is to who-the-hell-ever...
I mean that is like taking your spouse and dropping them off at HallMarK and saying--hop out and go get yourself a cute card! --something like that maybe--or your grandma or whoever...

Sorry.  That is what that is called.
Sorry.  Lazy.

I am sick of it.
Might as well not be, huh?
Unless I am ready to go and work in a cubicle...I get to be around {sorry} all day long.
not the kids-sino the lazy a$$es who send the children in to school without any raising.
Is it hard to believe that these children have to fight hard--and learn--not to be apathetic../??

What dumbasses....

or as {they} might write it on {there} fanci phones while they txt...dmbass's. :)

More on {less}

So, one time in the fall when Sissy and I were in Durham, I saw a gigantic ad. on the escalator in S.Point mall.
It was similar to the foto I put on my blog.
{Smart Lipo}--and ad in the {mall} in my mind equalled, possibly cheaper, and possible not so big
of a committment??? maybe.
So I decided to look into this.
I got on the website of the spa that was advertised and looked the information.

You see...even though I have lost baby having weight, there was always the muffin top to contend with.
It was an area on each hip about the size of a hamburger bun--they drove me nuts--everymorning
when I went to get in the shower--boo yah!! the fat blobs.

So I went and had a consultation.  The price was reasonable.
There was no intubation.  No stitches.  There WAS a sucking tube and there was a very fancy laser.
The laser melts the fat.
It was all done by a surgeon.  It was also done in a spa setting.
Very interesting.
Great results! 

Now, to lose other weight I will stick to W.W. and to excercise...but how can a person even excercise a muffin top?  My mama has hers, and so do all my aunts--thin or thick--the muffin top is there.  Of course they pull their pants up to their waists to muffin top is not really what theirs is...theirs is more of an upper butt.
But you know, I am glad mine is gone.

So there! :)

Posting...

There are so many posts I want to write!!
It will come.
1.  Elena and Andy's skate track adventure.
2. Cheerleading
3. The mall yesterday with Sissy and LB--maybe I will do that one tonight. :)

Okay,
So here is the story about being at the mall.
We were at the mall from 1:00 until about 8:00.
We went around in circles buying and looking at stuff.
We ate lunch at P.F. Chang's.
We ate supper at Maggiano's.
We wondered--why in the world does it take 10 minutes for people to check out in the store nowdays.
We can all answer this question.
The sales clerks have to know your FREAKIN LIFE HISTORY!!
It all started at "that's JAr3d."  I was buying one little bead.  The girl wanted to write out a receipt for the bead with my address, and phone number.  I asked her, "now do I have to do this in order to buy the bead?"
oh...no no...
are you going to get into trouble if you don't get this info.???
oh..no no..
So, can I just swipe my card to buy the bead and go..I mean that is a big ole chain store.  They aren't fooling anyone by having the sales clerks hand write a receipt.
Then off to anthropolo!e.  Or, "Anthro"  if you are a college-aged sales girl.
So, they really have to interview the customer.
Sissy and I were amazed that this store would take that time with each customer when people had to wait in line {in agony} and listen to the nonsense..."hiiiii..are you a member of annnnthroooo...""""
When I got up there I just said, "no, and I do not wanna be...I just want to buy my little shirt and get outa here..."  So it took me thirty seconds.
What in the hell were all those other people thinking??
Waiting in line is not a leisure activity.  No matter how you wrap the shirt up, it still just came out of a factory in Ch!na and is WAAAAYYY over priced.  :) 
But we did have fun fun fun at the mall.
We laughed and laughed all day.

When we got home, at 10 oclock..all the kids were in bed.
The husbands were not upset.
Whew...

Recent happenings...

Did it!

Love it!

Bye Bye muffin tops!