This is so inspirational!! What a great place to raise kids that they grow up like this.
http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/v/10223306
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
AARP
ok, so for about 3 months now, I have been recieving invitations to join AARP.
I realize I am getting older....but come on!!! So, today I wrote a short note to the "no faced person who keeps pestering me with great incentives if I join AARP NOW!!!" My note said the following:
I happen to be a huge fan of AARP and would love to be a member, so if you could get back to me in 15 years, 2 months, and 8 days (when I am actually old enough to recieve the benefits), I'd be most appreciative!!!
Thank you for your time
Amy
Not sure if it will help, but I can hope!!!
I realize I am getting older....but come on!!! So, today I wrote a short note to the "no faced person who keeps pestering me with great incentives if I join AARP NOW!!!" My note said the following:
I happen to be a huge fan of AARP and would love to be a member, so if you could get back to me in 15 years, 2 months, and 8 days (when I am actually old enough to recieve the benefits), I'd be most appreciative!!!
Thank you for your time
Amy
Not sure if it will help, but I can hope!!!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Man's best friend???
Looking at the two innocent faces above, one would be lead to believe that they are the source of constant joy in my otherwise boring life.......such was not the case yesterday!!!
The local animal league had a Rabies drive, where you could go and get your pet's rabies vaccine for 8 dollars, (You pet owners out there know what a great deal this is) so of course it was the perfect day to take my two loyal companions to get updated.
Having traveled quite a bit in the past, they both were excited and jumped right in the car, we drove the short distance to the clinic and got in line to pay. They were both excited and wanted to sniff everyone else there (including one feral cat who almost took off a chunk of Gus' nose!).
After paying we went to the outdoor canopied area where the vaccines were being given....and honestly it happened so fast, I missed it....but my 10 year old terrier (the white one) lifted his leg and PEED on the Vet's shoe!!!!!
I was MORTIFIED!!!! The vet was a little aggravated but smiled and kind of joked about it.....then as he bent down to kind of brush his shoe off, my other little darling, the 6 year old Japanese chinn who is so quiet and docile that my mother swears he has no personality,turned around (and I kid you not), and crapped at the vets feet.
At this point, I wanted to crawl under a bush and cry! The vet tech was laughing, the vet was not, the poo stunk, and the two young boys that were helping out kept saying "oh gross! P.U.!!!" finally,one of the boys went and grabbed the "pooper scooper" and took the mess out of the way, and the other quit fanning his nose.
I swear to you....my dogs looked up at me adoringly, and smiled!! I am almost sure of it.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Stories and pictures from Ike
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html?s_campaign=8315
Thought this was a pretty cool article, so instead of being witty or ranty, I will just share it with you all.
BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas (AP) - Many years from now, a small group of Hurricane Ike survivors will probably still be telling the story of how, on the night the storm flattened their island, they took sanctuary in a church - with a lion.
The full-grown lion was from a local zoo, and the owner was trying to drive to safety with the animal when he saw cars and trucks stranded in the rising floodwaters. He knew he and the lion were in trouble. He headed for the church and was met by a group of residents who helped the lion wade inside, where they locked it in a sanctuary as the storm raged. The water crept up to their waists, and two-by-fours came floating through broken windows. But the lion was as calm as a kitten. When daylight came, everyone was still alive. "They worked pretty well together, actually," said the lion's owner, Michael Ray Kujawa. "When you have to swim, the lion doesn't care about eating nobody."
Amid the destruction in places like Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston, where row upon row of houses were scoured from the landscape, seemingly impossible tales of survival have begun emerge.
Whether through faith or fate, luck or resourcefulness, dozens of people who stayed behind made it out alive, and have harrowing stories to prove it. As of Tuesday, the official death toll from Ike stood at 48. Only 17 were in Texas - and many of those were people killed by fires or generator fumes after the storm had passed. However, authorities held out the possibility that some victims were washed out to sea.
Among those who made it out alive was Kathi Norton, who put on a life jacket as the storm closed in on High Island, on the Bolivar Peninsula. She and her husband, Paul, knew the dangers of staying, and put their important documents, credit cards, money and cell phones into a plastic bag, and held on tight. All too quickly, the floodwaters rose and the house started to break apart.
Through the gaps, they saw refrigerators, lawn mowers and hot tubs floating past. The deck broke away next.
Then the roof started to buckle. "The whole floor was just opened out," he said. Norton grabbed his wife and headed for an outdoor staircase, escaping in time only because a flagpole kept the house from crashing down for a few precious seconds. "I look up, the house is coming on us," he said. For hours, they sloshed around in 4-foot waves before finding themselves perched in a tree. They finally made their way onto someone's motor home, which then started to sink. They were able to cling to rafters of a nearby structure and hang on until daybreak. "We had to grab that staircase and float wherever it took us," the 68-year-old retiree said.
Willis Turner decided to ride it out on his wooden boat next to his house on Crystal Beach, also on Bolivar Peninsula, but it nearly capsized and he was saved by a rope his wife tossed to him. The two held on inside a home that she said "vibrated like a guitar string." "It was like an atomic bomb going off. Right after the eye passed, whole houses came by us at 30 miles an hour - WHOLE HOUSES! - just floating right past," Turner said. "It was unreal. Unreal." Turner and his wife awoke the next day to an island they no longer recognized. The first four rows of houses on the beach were washed into the sea. There were no more restaurants, no more gas stations, no more grocery stores. The neighborhood was gone.
In Galveston, Charlene Warner, 52, weathered the storm with her landlord and a neighbor in the apartment above her own. "It felt like an earthquake - the rumbling and the rocking of the building," she said, smoking outside a shelter in San Antonio. "Everyone was praying." "It was so terrible. All I could say was, 'Lord, please don't kill me. Forgive me for what I done,"' Warner said, as a tear rolled down her cheek. After the storm, she and neighbors waited for rescue, but no one came. The water receded, leaving a layer of muck filled with snakes. But with no water, no electricity and a shrinking supply of food, Warner decided to go for help, sliding her way across the goo a block and a half to the fire station. Firefighters took her and neighbors to a spot where they could get on an evacuation bus. She arrived at a shelter in San Antonio with her purse stuffed full of personal documents and cigarettes, and one spare outfit that she washed and drip-dried on a railing Tuesday. "I lost everything. What you see with me is all I have," she said.
"I never seen anything like that in my life. I'll never ride out another storm." Cheryl Stanley said she and her husband, Tom, wanted to evacuate their Galveston apartment before the hurricane hit but couldn't. Their son, Casey, has cerebral palsy, and the three live on the third floor. When they tried to leave, the elevators were turned off, and they couldn't carry Casey down the stairs. "It was horrible," Cheryl said. "The building was shaking all night."
A few hours into the storm, Casey said he didn't feel safe in the bedroom, so they moved him to the living room. About three hours later, the ceiling in his bedroom collapsed. "Thank God, we got Casey out of there," his mother said. After the storm passed, paramedics carried Casey downstairs. And neighbors carried the wheelchair.
At the Baptist church on Bolivar Island where the lion spent the night, Richard Jones, a shrimper, said he wasn't afraid of the beast. "That little old fella is just as tame as a kitten," Jones said. After the storm passed, the lion's caretakers fed it pork roast to keep it happy. National Guardsmen dropping off food and water lined up Tuesday in the choir loft to get a glimspe of the lion, and the soldiers jumped back when the lion looked up from it perch on the altar and snarled.
BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas (AP) - Many years from now, a small group of Hurricane Ike survivors will probably still be telling the story of how, on the night the storm flattened their island, they took sanctuary in a church - with a lion.
The full-grown lion was from a local zoo, and the owner was trying to drive to safety with the animal when he saw cars and trucks stranded in the rising floodwaters. He knew he and the lion were in trouble. He headed for the church and was met by a group of residents who helped the lion wade inside, where they locked it in a sanctuary as the storm raged. The water crept up to their waists, and two-by-fours came floating through broken windows. But the lion was as calm as a kitten. When daylight came, everyone was still alive. "They worked pretty well together, actually," said the lion's owner, Michael Ray Kujawa. "When you have to swim, the lion doesn't care about eating nobody."
Amid the destruction in places like Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston, where row upon row of houses were scoured from the landscape, seemingly impossible tales of survival have begun emerge.
Whether through faith or fate, luck or resourcefulness, dozens of people who stayed behind made it out alive, and have harrowing stories to prove it. As of Tuesday, the official death toll from Ike stood at 48. Only 17 were in Texas - and many of those were people killed by fires or generator fumes after the storm had passed. However, authorities held out the possibility that some victims were washed out to sea.
Among those who made it out alive was Kathi Norton, who put on a life jacket as the storm closed in on High Island, on the Bolivar Peninsula. She and her husband, Paul, knew the dangers of staying, and put their important documents, credit cards, money and cell phones into a plastic bag, and held on tight. All too quickly, the floodwaters rose and the house started to break apart.
Through the gaps, they saw refrigerators, lawn mowers and hot tubs floating past. The deck broke away next.
Then the roof started to buckle. "The whole floor was just opened out," he said. Norton grabbed his wife and headed for an outdoor staircase, escaping in time only because a flagpole kept the house from crashing down for a few precious seconds. "I look up, the house is coming on us," he said. For hours, they sloshed around in 4-foot waves before finding themselves perched in a tree. They finally made their way onto someone's motor home, which then started to sink. They were able to cling to rafters of a nearby structure and hang on until daybreak. "We had to grab that staircase and float wherever it took us," the 68-year-old retiree said.
Willis Turner decided to ride it out on his wooden boat next to his house on Crystal Beach, also on Bolivar Peninsula, but it nearly capsized and he was saved by a rope his wife tossed to him. The two held on inside a home that she said "vibrated like a guitar string." "It was like an atomic bomb going off. Right after the eye passed, whole houses came by us at 30 miles an hour - WHOLE HOUSES! - just floating right past," Turner said. "It was unreal. Unreal." Turner and his wife awoke the next day to an island they no longer recognized. The first four rows of houses on the beach were washed into the sea. There were no more restaurants, no more gas stations, no more grocery stores. The neighborhood was gone.
In Galveston, Charlene Warner, 52, weathered the storm with her landlord and a neighbor in the apartment above her own. "It felt like an earthquake - the rumbling and the rocking of the building," she said, smoking outside a shelter in San Antonio. "Everyone was praying." "It was so terrible. All I could say was, 'Lord, please don't kill me. Forgive me for what I done,"' Warner said, as a tear rolled down her cheek. After the storm, she and neighbors waited for rescue, but no one came. The water receded, leaving a layer of muck filled with snakes. But with no water, no electricity and a shrinking supply of food, Warner decided to go for help, sliding her way across the goo a block and a half to the fire station. Firefighters took her and neighbors to a spot where they could get on an evacuation bus. She arrived at a shelter in San Antonio with her purse stuffed full of personal documents and cigarettes, and one spare outfit that she washed and drip-dried on a railing Tuesday. "I lost everything. What you see with me is all I have," she said.
"I never seen anything like that in my life. I'll never ride out another storm." Cheryl Stanley said she and her husband, Tom, wanted to evacuate their Galveston apartment before the hurricane hit but couldn't. Their son, Casey, has cerebral palsy, and the three live on the third floor. When they tried to leave, the elevators were turned off, and they couldn't carry Casey down the stairs. "It was horrible," Cheryl said. "The building was shaking all night."
A few hours into the storm, Casey said he didn't feel safe in the bedroom, so they moved him to the living room. About three hours later, the ceiling in his bedroom collapsed. "Thank God, we got Casey out of there," his mother said. After the storm passed, paramedics carried Casey downstairs. And neighbors carried the wheelchair.
At the Baptist church on Bolivar Island where the lion spent the night, Richard Jones, a shrimper, said he wasn't afraid of the beast. "That little old fella is just as tame as a kitten," Jones said. After the storm passed, the lion's caretakers fed it pork roast to keep it happy. National Guardsmen dropping off food and water lined up Tuesday in the choir loft to get a glimspe of the lion, and the soldiers jumped back when the lion looked up from it perch on the altar and snarled.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Home sweet Home!!
Well, I am finally home from a whirlwind trip to Oregon. I had a wonderful time and wouldn't trade it for anything, but BOY AM I POOPED OUT!!!
To make things even better, Hurricane Ike is on his way through and it looks as though he is comming right through here. They are predicting up to 100 mile winds whipping through San Antonio. For the latest on Ike, you can check out:
http://www.stormpulse.com/fullscreen/current
The part about Ike that is the worst, is that when evacuees come to the san antonio area (which they always do, because we are the hub of all freeways and inland enough to usually be safe.), I am called on to help.
My agency does evacuation/disaster relief............so instead of the sleep I need to catch up on, I might be handing out tylenol and blankets to people staying in shelters in our local area.
It doesnt sound like much, I realize, but when you are displaced from home with almost none of your belongings, not knowing what you will be going back to (if anything!), any peace of mind you can get is most welcome! So, I guess my sleep will wait for a few days!! =)
I will add more photos of my vacation when I catch up on some much needed sleep (I am taking a two hour lunch break today to start on my catching up!!!)
To make things even better, Hurricane Ike is on his way through and it looks as though he is comming right through here. They are predicting up to 100 mile winds whipping through San Antonio. For the latest on Ike, you can check out:
http://www.stormpulse.com/fullscreen/current
The part about Ike that is the worst, is that when evacuees come to the san antonio area (which they always do, because we are the hub of all freeways and inland enough to usually be safe.), I am called on to help.
My agency does evacuation/disaster relief............so instead of the sleep I need to catch up on, I might be handing out tylenol and blankets to people staying in shelters in our local area.
It doesnt sound like much, I realize, but when you are displaced from home with almost none of your belongings, not knowing what you will be going back to (if anything!), any peace of mind you can get is most welcome! So, I guess my sleep will wait for a few days!! =)
I will add more photos of my vacation when I catch up on some much needed sleep (I am taking a two hour lunch break today to start on my catching up!!!)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Granny's birthday lunch!
Random pictures from Gran's birthday lunch today!! we had 17 people and I think gran had a great time.
me and gran
aunt Georgia and cousin Charlotte
Sara and Will visit with Gran
Nate eats like a cow!!
The best sister anyone could ever have!!
My handsome brothers
Dad and his auntie Harriett
Feel the love!!!
me and gran
aunt Georgia and cousin Charlotte
Sara and Will visit with Gran
Nate eats like a cow!!
The best sister anyone could ever have!!
Random photo op
My handsome brothers
Dad and his auntie Harriett
Feel the love!!!
Happy Birthday Granny Roach!!!
Here are some random pictures from my trip to Oregon so far. I have been running a billion miles an hour and am going to need a vacation from my vacation but oh how worth it it has been!!!!! I got to meet and love on my new nephew PJ and see family I havent seen in over 20 years!! I have been spending time with my best friend and even squeezed in a quick trip to the Oregon coast for Mo's clam chowder and some Ainslee's salt water taffy!!! I will post more pictures as I find time.
Grandma with her brother Bob and sister Harriett
Birthday dinner with family. Anna Marie, Harriett and Gran
PJ meets Great grandma Vera
Grandma's best birthday present!!
Grandma with her brother Bob and sister Harriett
Birthday dinner with family. Anna Marie, Harriett and Gran
PJ meets Great grandma Vera
Grandma's best birthday present!!
Dad, Will and Nate being cheesy
One of the views on the coast
The sealions that lay on the docks in Newport bay
a distant picture of Newport bay.
Dad meets his very first grandbaby
One of the views on the coast
The sealions that lay on the docks in Newport bay
a distant picture of Newport bay.
Dad meets his very first grandbaby
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