Thank You!

I would like to thank the following Democrats who voted against the Huge "Stimulus" Package!
Allan Boyd (D-FL)
Bobby Bright (D-AL)
Jim Cooper (D-TN)
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
Parker Griffith (D-AL)
Paul Kanjorski (D-PA)
Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
Walt Minnick(D-ID)
Collin Peterson(D-MN)
Heath Shuler (D-NC)
Gene Taylor (D-MS)

Whatever your reason - I don't really care - I am just happy you voted "NO". It was the right thing to do.

If you'd like to read over the almost 650 page stimulus bill - you can read it here.

Illegal immigrants WILL be getting money back from the government in this bill. Illegal folks. Breaking the law people. They are taking our money and giving it to people who are breaking the law to live here.

From looking over the bill - it appears that this bill will provide many, many jobs in the government. Problem with that - is that to pay those employed by the government - the government must take our money to give it to those working for them. (Unlike a private sector job - where you are paid by people partaking of your product/service.)

However, if you are in the construction industry - there will be A LOT of jobs for you - because the bill has a lot of money set aside to build new buildings. Oh and computer companies should do well - there is a lot of money to update technology and get new computer systems.

OK, when the money from this "Stimulus" bill runs out - what happens to all the new programs started with that money? Do we then have to "cut" programs - that people have become dependent on - or do we just keep taking our money, more and more of it - to keep the programs going?

Inkheart

This past weekend I took my 13 year old son to see the movie Inkheart. We both read the book Inkheart and enjoyed it. I reviewed the book here - at Teen Lit Review.
Eldest and I enjoyed the movie, it stayed pretty close to the story. It wasn't a great movie, or one I'd buy - but it made for a fun outing for us. You can see a good review here.

Awesome Article!

Thaks to BooMama for the link to this article - awesome! **tears**

Hope you all have a great week! I will be getting my coupons in order in anticipation of another Harris Teeter Triple Coupon weekend!

Church

About a month ago I made the comment here that I wish churches were full of Jesus instead of people.
I said that because there were some things going on at our church that involved a bit of conflict. I hate conflict! BUT, I know it is a part of life, and is not always bad.
Often, I believe people get too caught up in the petty details, and forget to take their disappointments, concerns, and problems to Christ FIRST.
However, please know - I LOVE my church! I believe one of the ways God cares for us is that He gives us a spiritual family to do life with, to support us, challenge us, and help us when times get tough. That spiritual family is a church - one that believes that Jesus Christ is the answer to the biggest problems in life and that God revealed Himself to us through Him and through the Bible.
Finding a good church is a job my husband took very seriously. It is important to him that what the church believes in and teaches has Jesus Christ at its center, and the Bible as its foundation.
My church is full of wonderful people (not perfect people) who are loving, caring, giving, forgiving, and full of joy and hope. I am very blessed that God cared enough about my family to lead us there!

Why I Hope Obama is Not Successful . . .

I AM glad our country has elected it's first African American president.
However, for me - it has never been about color. It's about principles, values, and integrity.
I value human life, even that still inside a mother. I don't view that baby as a choice. I view the baby as person with the right to LIFE. Obama does not share this view.
I value the free market and capitalism. Obama wants to expand the government.
I believe in protecting our borders. Protecting our borders keeps people out who have not gone through the proper channels/laws to live here - as well as keeps illegal drugs out. Obama has no plans that I have heard to tighten our borders.
I believe in strong national defense. Our ancestors fought hard for this country - they took chances and believed in this country. We fought against those who wanted to rule over us. Obama is looking to close Gitmo - let terrorists go.
I do not want socialized health care -- provided to me by the government.
The government controls education - they tell me what schools my kids MUST attend, even if there are three schools closer to me. They tell me what they are going to teach, even if I don't agree with it. Yes, I have the choice to send them elsewhere - but that is not an option for me. Perhaps it would be with vouchers . . .

Here is an excellent article that puts my feelings into words!
from the article: "Of course I will support Obama on things in which we agree with him on and I don't think anyone should oppose him gratuitously for purely partisan reasons. Indeed, I would rejoice if Obama were to morph into a free-market enthusiast, national security stalwart, champion of the unborn and protector of our borders.
But such talk is academic, as the chances of Obama being substantively Reaganesque are less than his becoming obese, which means that during the next few years, the articulation of principled conservatism could never be more important. They must resist pressures for bipartisanship from those who will continue to use it as a weapon to intimidate principled opposition."

The CHANGE that is coming worries me. But, I will keep the faith, pray, and HOPE for America to prosper.

Survivor - Tocantins - Premiers Feb. 12!

OK, so I really enjoy the show Survivor! HWH would be awesome on that show - but he won't even entertain the notion - he does not like reality shows at all.

My FAVORITE thing about Survivor is not really the actual show - it's playing along on Lance's Survivor Pick'em Game! There, I get assigned to a random tribe and each week, we make our picks, participate in "challenges" and go to tribal council - all for the chance to "win" one million dollars (not real money). I have "won" the million one time - and it's so much fun to play and outwit, outplay, outlast!

This year, there is a girl on the show from the city I live in - so it should be fun rooting for her!

Kids Exchange

This weekend I'll be preparing my sister and my kids clothes for the Kids Exchange consignment sale. Kids Exchange is a HUGE sale - where hundreds of people take their used clothes/toys/baby equipment to a HUGE building down near our Fairgrounds. The clothes are all hung on hangers, priced and organized by sex/size for sale during a four day period. I don't really shop there too much anymore - I got most of my baby - size 4 clothes there. But when you get to buying size 8 and up - people seem to just think too much of their used clothes and price them too high. And when I can get a new set of pants at Target or Kohl's for $6 I'm not going to pay $4 for a used pair. That's just me. Anywho - my sister and I combine the clothes that I've given her (her's are all younger than mine) and her kids have outgrown - and we sell them at this consignment event. Last July we made about $500 (we had a LOT of clothes!) The Kids Exchange keeps 1/3 of the selling price.
So, if you have a Kids Exchange event near you - I urge you to participate - another way to make a little extra spending (or as in my case - bill paying) money! Just google Kids Exchange and your city name (or a close by big city). Have fun!

Bits and Pieces . . . .

I was just trying to figure out what to do with all the chicken that's taking up so much room in my freezer (thanks to HT buy one get 2 free)! So, I went to my FAVORITE recipe blog 365 days of Crockpot Cooking! I LOVE coming home to a dinner already cooked! So, we'll be having Brown Sugar Chicken tomorrow!

I just finished The Shack. If you read the reviews on AMAZON - there are people whose life has been changed by this book. I don't understand how. I find the theology very flawed. To say as The Shack does that reading the Bible or praying is unimportant is very contrary to what I have experienced in my own life and to what God has told us in His Word - the Bible. I would advise you to skip this book - it wasn't anything special and there are much better fiction books out there that would be a better way to spend your time reading.

I also read Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1). I wasn't going to - but someone in our book club picked it, so I gave it a try. Most of the ladies in book club LOVED it - and went on to read the whole series before we met. One lady said it was like reading 540 pages of Foreplay! I would have to agree with her. Especially the scene in the clearing in the woods - where Bella was caressing Edward's arm. Personally, my opinion, I found the book easy to read and interesting. Have I read the second oe? Not yet. Will I? probably eventually. Would I let my 13 year old daughter read it. NO! (I don't have a 13 year old daughter - my daughter is 11 - but she won't be allowed at 13.) How old would she have to be? Not sure. Hopefully by the time she's 13 the "fad" will have blown over and she will be interested in something else. Plus, she prefers fiction with animals in it!
Twilight has BY FAR been the most controversial and commented on review on Teen Lit Review. You can check out the comments and review HERE.

I'm now reading Beyond the Reflection's Edge (Echoes from the Edge)by Bryan Davis. It is a YA fiction book. I wish that before I had bought it I would have remembered that for some reason I have a hard time getting into his books. My son has the Raising Dragon series and neither he nor I was able to get very far in the first book. Hopefully, it will get better and I can give it a good review!

My husband is urging me to read newer YA fiction - that those reviews would be more relevant. I agree, however I don't want to have to buy them all - and they can be difficult to get from the library. I usually just read YA books off my 14 year old son's bookshelf. He reads about 2 books a week - and receives more books at birthdays/Christmas than I can read in a year! Amazon has a list of YA 2009 books - but they look to be a lot of girly books. I like to review the ones that my son may want to read.

Finally Free!

Over the summer the kids and I participated in this swap. Well, I say participated, but we never did get our half of the swap out to our partner. We took the pictures and such, but I never got to the "scraping" of our summer and the sending it off. My failure to live up to my end of the bargin has weighed on my heart every day. I am the type of person that if I say I'm going to do something, I fully intend and expect myself to do it. So, finally, way too late - I got my act together and printed out the pictures, arranged them and sent them off to our swap partner! I feel SO much better now that I have done that - it is a huge weight off my heart!

Alas, I did not take picutes of what I sent off - but Misty has blogged beautifully about it - please go here to see the arrival of Tessa the tiger at her new house!

Misty sent us Brennan - you can go here to meet him. He and Tessa are now best friends and my daughter loves him dearly!


If you ever have the opportunity to participate in swaps such as this - I urge you to. My kids really, really love doing them!



Here are Brennan and Tessa together right before we sent Tessa off to her new home.


Ya know, I just thought about how nice it was that Misty didn't comment on the silly clothes my daughter INSISTED they both wear!