Sarah Palin

Awesome pick McCain!!! I was so excited yesterday waiting to hear who McCain’s pick would be…when I heard it was Sarah Palin I was thrilled. Here is a woman who is a republican, wife, and mom. She is gutsy and is not afraid to say what she thinks. She was “an average woman” when she decided to get into politics…and when she did she shook things up! From everything I’ve read she is one tough cookie. The Dems would have everyone believe that she is not experienced enough to be VP. Give me a break! First they complain that they want “change” in Washington D.C. and then when change shows up, we hear….”she’s not experienced enough”, “she’s another George Bush in female form”, “she needs to be at home”. People, she was a mayor and a governor! She’s had to make executive decisions which is more then Obama can even say! Oh, wait! I forgot he was a community organizer. What exactly does that mean? He was only a senator for 140 some days—-yet HE feels he’s ready to be president. I think the Dems need to not even put the experience thing on the table…besides if they want to compare they should compare McCain and Obama……the experience isn’t even a contest!!!
Speaking of a contest…..there is NO contest between Hillary and Sarah. Sure, they are both female, but other then that they have nothing in common. Sarah is the complete opposite of everything Hillary stands for and that is why I love her!!!! She is a person I can respect and be proud of.
I think the rest of the days leading up to the election are going to be exciting! This is going to be one of the most interesting races there has ever been.
McCain- Palin ’08 !!!!!!!

Llama, what?

We have a farm across the road from our property in Ohio. The farm has llamas. I being the silly ex-school teacher that I am was reminded of a book in my school’s library. It was a child’s book about llamas. So, I get the idea to make a game out of naming our friendly neighborhood llamas.

Here is what the family has come up with so far……
What do you call a mother llama? Mama llama
What do you call a llama who likes lounge wear? Pajama llama
What do you call a political llama? Obama llama
What do you call a terrorist llama? Osama llama
What do you call a llama that is into meditation? Dali Lama llama
What do you call a llama who uses excellent punctuation? Comma llama
What do you call a llama who has a desire to act? Drama llama
What do you call a llama who marries a bull? A Brahma llama
What do you call a llama that has been injured? Trauma llama
What do you call a llama that looks good in bowling shoes? Bowl-a-rama llama

I’m sure we will think of more llama names as we go along….. Maybe you can help us….But beware—It’s kind of addictive once you start.

Little Bunnie Foo Foo

Awww……. When Scott and I were out at the house site yesterday we were walking around looking at what had been done. We walked back towards our van when Scott looked down and saw some teeny tiny little wriggling things in the grass. He told me to come look. I thought he was going to show me a snake or something. I slowly moved to where he was pointing…..and cautiously peered down into the cut grass. Lo and behold there were four little babies. I’m pretty sure they are baby rabbits. They are getting their fur, but their eyes aren’t opened yet. They were so cute. Longer ears, and longer hind legs…..that is why I’m pretty sure they are rabbits. We didn’t see mama bunny anywhere around. We didn’t touch them as we didn’t want to leave our scent on them…..but they were just so cute. They were well hidden in the grass, and I hope no wild animals find them. I hope mama comes back and feeds them. They were making sucking motions with their little mouths….like they were hungry. When we head back to the house site today to watch the concrete being poured, I’m going to go check on “our babies”.

Farmers Almanac

I just got the new Farmers Almanac tonight. I wanted to see what the weather would be like after we move into our new house. According to the FA the weather in Ohio is supposed to be frigid and snowy this winter. This was met with cheers after I made this prophetic announcement to the children. The truth is, they’ve seen snow before, but really not that much…..nothing to amount to anything really. They’ve lived in the south all of their young lives and let’s face it, if we get a 1/2 inch here everyone goes crazy. The grocery stores are swamped with people looking for bread and milk so they can hunker down for the big blizzard that is just sure to descend on the city. Now Scott grew up in upstate New York, went to college very near the Canada/U.S border. He knows what REAL snow looks like. I grew up in Maryland. I remember snow and drifting so high that as a child I was able to make tunnels in the snow. I remember my mom bundling me up to walk to the bus stop. Snow blowing…..and all one could see of me was my eyes. Of course those were the days of coat closets. On cold days all us kids would take the layers off when we got to school and we’d look like we lost a good 10 lbs after shedding the winter duds.
So, as for me…..I’d love some good snows. As long as I know it’s coming and have plenty of food, a good stash of hot chocolate, and some munchies I’m set to go! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow….

No Dingos, Just Coyotes

Do you remember years ago the story about the woman in Australia that said, ” a dingo stole my baby!” I don’t know that the truth ever came out about that….but for a long while the media talked about dingos (wild dogs in Australia). Hmmm…..with that in mind………
Well, yesterday I read an article in our local newspaper about our coyote population here in Knoxville, Tennessee. Now I don’t know about you but I always thought about coyotes being in the west and southwest. You know, baying at the moon and all. I didn’t think of them lurking around our city. Sure enough they are not only here, but they are flourishing in urban America. There was a story of a woman in a subdivision not far from my house. She had two Pekingnese dogs. She made the mistake of letting them out in her back yard. When she came out to check on them, um…….she found the remains of one of them on her deck and saw a coyote absconding with the other one. She threw something at the coyote to make him drop the dog, but alas, coyotes are fast creatures and he evidently was hungry and wanted a little Peking duck, uh, I mean dog. Some have been spotted near our local Walmart and others behind an apartment complex.
I did a little research on the coyote in Tennessee. The state wildlife site said that coyotes are now all over the country. They are thriving in urban areas. They prefer to eat fresh kill, but will scavenge in trash cans etc. if need be. They don’t really like to be around humans (unless they are sick and acting erratically) but are sneaky and are not afraid to go after small pets if they are left outside. This gave me a start as one of our cats is an outdoor cat. I don’t like to think of Salem as a tasty treat for some scavenging coyote. Who knew it would ever come to that?!
So, I’ve come to a decision. I’m calling up the ACME company to see if they have any anvils for sale. They always used to work for the Road Runner.

Deadly Day At Central

I woke up this morning and checked the local online newspaper as I always do. I was saddened to see that one of my city’s local high schools had a deadly shooting this morning shortly after school started.
Two young men in the school cafeteria commons got into a fight. One boy pulled a gun and shot the other boy in the chest. Now a 16 year old boy is dead and another in custody.
What is the matter with people? I feel like I ask that question a lot…Just a little over a month ago we had the church shooting, now this.
In most of these incidences the shooters are male. Now, I know that men tend to be more aggressive, testosterone and all, but why the extreme violence? Whatever happened to men “duking it out” when they had a beef with each other? Whatever happened to “let’s take it outside”? At least then all the kids might have ended up with is a bloody nose or a black eye. I doubt anyone would have died. Not that I’m a fan of violent behavior, but if I had to choose between the two I’d go for the bloody nose over being dead.
Of course, kids aren’t allowed to fight in school either….or they’ll be suspended from school per the zero tolerance policy. The thing is that these kids need some sort of outlet or emotions become a pressure cooker just waiting to explode. Unfortunately, this explosion ended in a death.

Let The Games Begin

No, I’m not talking about the Olympics. I’ve got more important fish to fry. I’m talking about the beginning of soccer season. The coach called me last night. Kendrick and Breanna are to report “to duty” on Saturday evening at 6 pm. That will be their first practice of the season. It doesn’t matter that it’s still hot enough to fry an egg on the the sidewalk. (not that I would ever really try that, but it’s fun to say it):) I will have to make sure they have plenty of water…seriously, it is still hot here in the South and I don’t want my kids dehydrated and passing out on me. I can’t wait for it to cool down…. On a positive note, at least they get to wear shorts, and their equipment (cleats and shin guards) is not heavy. On the subject of shin guards….I have already informed my kiddos that, if they want to take their shin guards off, they will do so before getting in the car. Let me explain. My son, Kendrick, has been playing soccer for 8 years. He used to take his sweaty socks and shin guards off on the way home. Now, that doesn’t sound so bad right? WRONG. It never failed…the stinky sock/sweat combo would get in front of the air conditioning vent and the next thing you know I am turning green and starting to swoon from the stench. I made the mistake of saying something to him about the fact that he wanted to knock me out from the stink and he found that totally hilarious—making sure to wave his sweaty socks around just to mock me. I think it is a boy thing. I don’t recall Breanna trying this. What is it with boys and their stinky sports equipment? Is it some badge of honor or something? His job is to get the uniform to the washing machine—either that or it will walk there itself!

In Remembrance

My husband, Scott, and I were both widowed in our thirties. He at 39 and I at 32 years of age. It’s a club that no one really wants to be a member of…not that one has a choice. Life happens….and so does death….and death comes when it feels like it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re ready. Death doesn’t care about your plans. Death is selfish that way. This week marks the 5th anniversary since Nancy passed away. It is a time to think…and a time to remember. Now, you might think it odd that I, as Scott’s second wife, would be blogging about Nancy. I don’t really think so. I am intimately involved in the grieving of her passing as well as the celebration of her life. No, I never met Nancy while she was here on earth. We didn’t know each other. We lived hundreds of miles apart and our lives never intersected. I didn’t even know who she was until years after she was gone. How was I to know that God in His sovereignty would bring Nancy and I together? Two separate, very different women yet still alike in so many ways. I found that out last summer when cleaning the house in Texas. Going through Nancy’s earthly possessions was not easy for me. When I came across things that she owned that were similar to things that I myself had I couldn’t help but cry. Although that was a difficult time, it was also for me a picture of a loving God. He had me there for a reason.
So what do I know about Nancy? Well…….
I see Nancy in the faces of her children. I hear Nancy in the stories that are told to me. Sometimes I cry with the person that shares those dear memories. Sometimes I laugh so hard that my stomach hurts! I feel the responsibility of being a surrogate mother to her children. I think Nancy would approve of most of my decisions–because she’d know that my decisions come from my heart. I’ve tasted the grief that comes from living with those she left behind. I know how hard it is when my dear husband visits the grave of his first wife. Placing flowers and touching the cool smooth stone that marks her life–and her death is a difficult thing… Perhaps because it is a reminder to us all of how brief our lives are. Scripture reminds us that our lives are but a vapor and none of us are promised a tomorrow.
Endings are always sad and many times painful, but instead of concentrating on Nancy’s death we can celebrate her life…. Because of a decision that Nancy made, death couldn’t hold her in the grave. She’s not there. She is with her Lord….and really she is more alive today then the rest of us left here. I’ll meet her one day and she and I can sit down and have a good long chat….and I’m sure we’ll spend a lot of time laughing.

Russia

I watched a news documentary this past weekend on Russia. The documentary said what I’ve been thinking for quite awhile. Putin is old school KGB and wants Russia to be a certain way….and will make sure it is HIS way. Sure, Putin is not the NAME in charge anymore, but everyone knows he is the one in control. If a person crosses him or says something (in the media) that is not what he wants to hear….then you might “mysteriously” end up dead. Various journalists and reporters have met an early demise. One female journalist lost her husband to a sudden and mysterious “accident”. She said that about 30 media people die a year….and it’s always the media that disagree with the current political trend. Interesting, wouldn’t you say?
Now this military thing with the country of Georgia….it is scary. Russia sounds to me like the bear that is waking up from it’s time of hibernation. A bear that is hungry.

Showdown At Saddleback

I didn’t get to see the whole question/answer session last night at Saddleback Church. I was out, or I would have watched the whole thing. I did catch some of the replay and the commentary afterwards.
I agree with Charles Krauthammer that this was one of the best –honest answers to real questions–in a controlled atmosphere. I think that it was very interesting how both Obama and McCain answered the questions. One more decisive, the other more philosophical. The differences between the two men were very obvious. I really wish we could have more question answer sessions like this instead of the televised “fake” debates that no one really learns anything from.