Five Generations

We went to visit family this weekend.  Jeffrey's mom lives in Arizona, so we don't get to see her very often.  She, along with her husband Fred, was in Illinois visiting her mom - so we drove down to see them all, and so they could meet Jason.

While we had everybody together, we definitely had to get the 5 generation picture!

Beth and Jason, Grandma, Jeffrey, Mom

OR, Jason with his mommy, great great grandmother, grandfather, and great grandmother.  (That little boy has it pretty great, doesn't he?)

Looking again

Guest written by our friend Sergio Chaney

Selling houses is not what I imagined I would do, but when I had my kids, I knew I needed to find something that was more flexible than climbing the corporate ladder. I've always been interested in real estate so it really seemed like a natural fit, especially since at that time the business of selling homes was really booming. It's obviously much harder now to make a living in this business, and I've actually been doing some job searching outside of real estate. I usually use my Clearwirelessinternet4g.com wireless to look for open part-time positions, and I'm really lucky that my husband makes enough money that me finding full-time work is not a requirement for our family. It's a shame because I really love real estate, but as of now is not paying the bills that it used to, so I'm just making sure to keep my options open. Hopefully in a couple of years it will pick up, but just in case it doesn't, I'm definitely trying to be prepared.

When a Tornado Comes to Your Neighborhood

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I still can't get over the devastation of the tornadoes that have ravaged the Midwest, especially the one that hit Joplin, Missouri.  We had our own tornado last June, and when it hit our neighborhood, we were amazed at the damage.  But, compared to the Joplin tornado, ours was a baby - a mere EF2.  Still, when it hits your neighborhood, it doesn't really matter how 'weak' it is.  It's still important to you and all your neighbors.

So I understand a bit about what the people of Joplin are going through.  We had damage, and we had houses destroyed, but  most thankfully, no one was killed here. I am extremely thankful our tornado wasn't any worse than it was.  Seeing all these tornadoes that have hit this Spring, I know it definitely could have been worse.  The more I see the news coverage from Joplin, the more I realize how much worse it could have been, and the more my heart breaks for all those people who have been affected.

Almost a year later, things here are pretty much back to normal.  I think it's going to take longer for Joplin to recover.  There are many more houses that need rebuilt, a hospital that will need repaired, and so much more for life to get back any semblance of normalcy.  Food, clothing, medical supplies, cars, houses - so many things will need to be replaced and rebuilt. They will come through it and be stronger for it in the end - nothing brings a community closer than going through a disaster together -  but right now it just hurts.

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Road Trip, Baby!

Image via Wikipedia

Here we are at the beginning of a long weekend, Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer.  That means people all over the country will be hitting the road for the first road trip of the summer - whether visiting family or hitting the beach somewhere, hopefully one with NO SMOKING. (So irritating to set up everything at the beach only to have some stupid chain smoker set up camp right next to my blanket!)

Anyway, about that road trip.  This morning on GMA, they asked -If you could take just one CD with you on a road trip, which one would it be?

We always take plenty of CDs with us when we go on a road trip, but if I had to choose only one, it would have to be Pink's Funhouse.  I can listen to that CD over and over again.  In fact, there have been plenty of times I have done just that.

How about you?  Which CD would you take?

No Smoking in NYC - It's About Time

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There was quite a bit of discussion on the talk show yesterday about the New York smoking ban. Not only are smokers forbidden to light up in restaurants and bars and all enclosed spaces, now they're not allowed to smoke outdoors either - in parks or at beaches.  I can only celebrate!  Not that it affects me personally, but I can only hope that this spreads across the country.  Thankfully smoking is banned in indoor spaces here in Wisconsin, but those outdoor venues are still filled with smokers.  It makes it really hard to go anywhere.  The entire summer is filled with fairs, festivals, and outdoor concerts - and those events are always filled with smokers.  If I want to go out and have a good time, I have to subject myself to that.

According to WebMD, 22.9% of adults in the US (outside of California) were classified as heavy smokers in 1965.  That number had dropped to 7.2% by 2007.  In 1965 10.5% were considered moderate-intensity smokers, and that number had dropped to 5.4% by 2007.  So, my question is - why has it taken so long, and why haven't more of these smoking bans gone into effect?  So few people smoke, but the rest of us have been required to either stay home or subject ourselves to that smoke if we want to go out.  Every time smoking bans are discussed or go into effect, we hear all about how smokers' rights are being taken away.  Well, what about our rights?  Why do smokers seem to think their rights are so much more important than the rights of the rest of us?  They've taken away my right not to smoke every time I've gone out to a fair, festival, or concert, because there is just no getting away from that smoke - indoors or out.  Especially when smokers of every age spot me and try to get as close to me as they can, to share their smoke even better.  Why don't they look for other smokers to smoke around?

If smokers want to exercise their 'right to smoke' then they can be the ones who stay home, where that right doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights.  Quoting from one of the Related articles here: "Smokers in New York City have one more irritation to contend with" - Well, guess what?  Non-smokers have been contending with the irritation of second-hand smoke for quite some time.  It's about time those with the nasty habit make some adjustments instead of expecting the rest of us to just put up with them! 

Related articles

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What Do You Mean "Rollback"?

Cory and I went shopping today.  While in the chip aisle in Walmart, we found a good deal on Fritos and Cheetos:

Straight to Facebook!

Walmart marked them up recently, but only 2¢ per bag. They say grocery prices are going up, but that's not too bad, right?

What do you mean "Rollback" means the price is supposed to be lower than it was before?

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Spring? Summer?

It's almost the end of May.  I figured it was time to put regular sheets on the bed instead of the flannels, so that's what I did when I changed the sheets on Monday.  I took the electric blanket off the bed, too.  Which will be really nice when the weather actually gets warm.

Today, though - cold and rainy and windy, not feeling remotely like Spring.  I know it's coming, eventually.  Or maybe we'll just skip straight to Summer.  They're saying on the weather that we could hit 90° on Sunday.  Who needs Spring anyway?  We're just going straight to Summer!

I Need to Cut the Clutter

Sometimes I feel like I'm busy all day long, and I still can't get everything done that I need to get done.  Which is why I end up folding laundry and doing dishes and who knows what else until 8 or 9 o'clock at night.  And I look around the house and see clutter and stuff I just want to get cleaned up and out of here, but in between the normal things like laundry, cooking, cleaning up the kitchen, cleaning out the cat litter, etc., etc., etc., I just never seem to find the time to sort through all the extra stuff and decide what gets tossed.

Sure, I can be ruthless with the mailers advertising Brooklyn Accident Lawyers or offering to save me hundreds of dollars on my car insurance, but what about those magazines I've never had time to read or those recipes I might actually try one of these days?  I can't just toss them without looking through them first...  And what about the knick knacks and those books I might actually read someday?

I really need a plan to cut through some of this clutter, but I just haven't figured out what it is yet.   Maybe I can work on it after everything else is done?

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Still Here

I really can't say that I believe in the Rapture, and I certainly didn't believe any claims that today would be the day - if there really is such a thing. There's kind of this thing about no man knowing the day or hour, not even the Son - only the Father. There are no online degree programs that can give any man that knowledge.

But, if there is going to be a Rapture at some time, I can just see the people left behind (unbelievers) having this exact attitude:




until things get really tough, and God gets their attention.

Guess Who Came to Visit

Jason! Our precious darling grandson. Well, actually, his parents came over to do laundry, but Jason came along for the ride.  So it's his first official visit to his grandparents' house.

It was nice having him here this afternoon.  I got to sit and hold him, and everything else got to wait - no cooking, no cleaning, no looking up oxyelite pro reviews, just sitting and holding a little baby boy.  I think I could get used to it!  There's nothing that really needs done, right?
 

This picture is actually from yesterday, when I went over to visit them - so I got to hold him two days in a row!  Isn't he precious?

Jeffrey didn't get to see him yesterday, so when he heard they were coming over to do laundry, he said they should wait until later, so he could see the little guy.  Well, they didn't get here until sometime this afternoon, and they had two weeks' worth of laundry, so they're still here, and his Papa got plenty of time to sit and hold him and enjoy him.

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