and just one more thought...

Postsecret postcard that just spoke to me today:

sometimes i think ppl overuse the concept of "God's plan" (myself included, but i'm trying not to do this anymore).  what makes us think God PLANNED for someone to be born w/o hands, or for a child to die?  why would we WANT to think that?  Romans 8 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."


but i don't think that means He plans for bad things to happen to us!  it just means that when the bad things DO happen, He works them out to a good result.  


anyway.  i just wanted to share.  


thanks.  later.  

Jesus is not a swear word!

recent tweet - dear usa_network - "Jesus" is not a swear word.  please encourage your writers to stop using it as such in shows i love.  thank you.  


it really is alarming to me how often i heard His name used as such on Burn Notice and White Collar.  when did this become acceptable to advertisers?  clear example of just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it.  ugh.  i seriously live by the addage that words are words.  i don't really get upset by "swearing."  i'm not particularly fond of "the f word," and feel it's unnecessary a lot of the times that it's used, but it doesn't offend me so much as a word.  imo, unless it's during an extreme emotional time and it slips out or is being used to really show that emotion, it's a rude word.  like certain crude words ppl use for anatomy. agian, imo, there's no need to use such language.  


but using Jesus's name as a swear, that i just completely find offensive and irritating and completely classless.  i lose a little bit of respect for someone when they do that.  if they do it a lot, w/o remorse, well... idk.  Jesus is my LORD and Savior.  even if you don't believe that about Him, even if you are completely a different religion, you should still respect His name.  i don't use Buddha or Krishna or anyone else's holy icon as a swear word.  no one does.  (i do occasionally hear/use "merlin's beard," so i guess if there's a church of merlin i might need to rethink it, but i don't know of one!)


anyway, that's just my little rant about that.  i feel like if we as Christians are supposed to respect other cultures & religions, then those other cultures & religions should respect US as well!  


so, in other less grrr news today... !  : )  


i got up super early for me (like 8:30!) & called in my Rx.  they said it'd be ready in like an hour, so i grabbed a 50 cent fountain pepsi at kwik shop, a breakfast sammich at mickey d's, and then went to WM to get cat food, litter, TP & other groceries.  i found a pretty black skirt, too!  it was most definitely not in my budget, but was only $16, so i just didn't get some of the things on my list to make up for it.  and i came in $15 under budget.  yay!  of course, now i don't have pizza in the freezer or pasta sauce, but i have milk & cream cheese, which means i can make my own!  lol  pasta sauce, not pizza.  : ) 


brought the groceries home & went to isabel bloom to get a giftie.  it was such a pretty day!  i didn't want to come back home.  *laugh*  i was gonna stay downtown moline & go to the JD store, but there was no parking, so i did come home.  mom said she didn't want to see a movie, so i tried to get ahold of aunt jan, but she wasn't around!  then mom called & said she did want to go to a movie!  *laugh*  i hung out here reading blogs & whatnot til about 4:30, and then she picked me up.  


we saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and really enjoyed it!  of course i adore nick cage.  : )  i think i'll have to own it.  the popcorn was delicious, as well, and i'd been craving it for a few days! after the movie, we picked leyton up & went to dinner at culver's.  he was in a pretty good mood til the end of the meal, then he was really tired & cranky.  and mom got cranky, which doesn't help anything, so i just kept trying to keep his focus elsewhere.  oye.  it would just really help if mom would realize ... 


anyway.  it was a good night.  hanging out w/ mom & leyton, however, meant that i didn't make it to shauna & magen's wedding reception, which was a bummer!  i'd been looking forward to it!  and i could have chosen to go there instead, but... opportunity to hang out w/ leyton... i can't resist...!!!  plus, i wanted to say bye to anthony because he's headed back to TN tomorrow & i won't get to see him again til october.  


tonight was nice when i got home, too.  caught up on my USA shows, which despite the irritation were good episodes... oh, and finally got to talk to georgette & joy.  yay!  : )  now, a little pandora and then BED!  have a great night & a happy tomorrow.  ttfn!!!

I want one...or three!

oh goodness, blog buddies!  i just found my inner teen girly girl.  yahoo.  *laugh*  no, literally, because of yahoo - i logged in to my IM & they had a little snippet about iCarly's new bedroom.  i like iCarly, miranda cosgrove & the rest of the cast are adorable & FUNNY!  (especially the guy who plays her brother, spencer.  he is a riot!)  so i checked out the pictures, to find lots of nifty new furniture.  the predominant theme was gummy bears, and so i googled to see if these gummy bear items actually existed - AND THEY DO!  oh my heck.  i actually found where the prop ppl got these items from.  and holy price tag, batman!  but seriously... don't you love them??

these puppies are $125 each.  unless you buy 5 & then they're only $100.  : ) 

this nifty ice cream sammich bench is only $950!

can you believe it??  it's a steal!

$750.  but you can fill it w/ stuff & things like they did on iCarly!

and finally, we have... i've just realized my livingroom simply won't be complete until i have one... 

that chandelier is covered in GUMMY BEARS people!  

(well, not ones you'd want to eat, but you get it.)

what's that?

how much?

well... apparently it's either so much they won't put the price on the website, 

or it's so customized that price is negotiated for each one!  

either way, i want it!  

my birthday's in november.

what??  i'm just sayin'.  ; ) 

********************

so, other nifty things about today.  work was busy, and interesting.  deli bar for lunch, which i loved!  delicious bacon potato salad & cottage cheese, homemade chips spiced w/ cumin & paprika.  mmm!  i wish i would have thought to take pictures!!  

i took a couple hours vacation & went to th PO to finally send off a couple surprises for ppl.  : )  have two more to send, hopefully tomorrow!!  i also need to go to the store tomorrow because i didn't tonight & poor angel needs food!  thankfully i brought home some turkey from deli day, but still.  *laugh*  

after all of the running around, i picked erin up & we had dinner at arthur's.  yep, more deli!  but i had braunschwegger and cheese soup, so totally different from lunch!  : )  very very good food (of course!) and great to spend time w/ erin & talk.  especially since it hadn't been SO LONG since our last hanging out session!  we must try to keep up the momentum, erinlou!  *hugs*  

today's mail was also marvelous - People magazine (Ali explains "Why I Broke the Rules"  ooohhhh  - i don't watch, but i did watch last season & liked ali... ) and a sweet postcard from micaela (thank  you!!!).  

octopi kinda creep me out, because they're so BIG.  

the little ones are cute, but i still wouldn't want to eat them.
remember this guy?

Oscar?  is that you all growed up?  lol  

also, since my scanner was working today, i scanned in the post cards i received the other day.  

From Great Britain 

From Kiev  - both are beautiful!! 

once home, i've been so busy catching up on FB & writing this that i haven't even turned on hulu yet!  actually, i think i'm going to try for lifetime tonight... i have missed 3 episodes of army wives & drop dead diva, i think!  eep!  my other option is to just turn on pandora & watch my shows tomorrow & sunday.  altho tomorrow i have a wedding reception to go to & might be hanging out w/ mom.  hmmm.

but for now, i must send some postcards to finland, belarus, russia and the US!  : )  take care & ttfn!  

p.s.

my birthday's in november.

what?

i'm just sayin'!  ; )  

lolololol  

Minions!!

can you have minions w/o being evil?  if so, i want minions!!

just a random thought inspired by this post of jamie's.

today was a good day.

work went well, and for the most part my tummy even behaved!

after work, i went to mom's.  she & leyton were both napping (she on the couch, he on an old camp cot and air mattress of daddy's), so i grabbed the TV GUIDE magazine & read!  : )  (found out sookie is going to have yet ANOTHER suitor in the form of a werewolf protector.  yeesh, girl's got guys coming outta the woodwork!)

they woke up about 6 & after some convincing, leyton agreed to go to outback.  pretty yummy salmon going on.  mom thought her steak was spicy, but i didn't really get much flavor from it at all!  strange.  everything else was superb!

Leyton is asking for two (TWO!) pieces of bread.  

It really was a beautiful night!  

He was telling some great stories on the way home!

He also wanted to play w/ the camera, so I said sure.  

I love riding in the back w/ him!  : )  

He got some interesting shots, but my favorite is this self portrait: 

Can you hear his giggle?  He was having a blast, and that was enough for me to have a blast!  : )  

Of course, all that fun tuckered him out!  

Notice the all important taggie!

Once we got home, 2nd wind kicked in & we played w/ cars for a bit & baseball & then just got all snuggly & watched Big Brother til I had to go.  : )  

It was yet another blessed Thursday night.  I praise the Lord every day for days like this!

Now I must zzzzzzzzzzzz!  Tomorrow I'm picking Erin up & we're going to have dinner at Arthur's.  Yay!  Even tho I have discovered the new sandwich shop, Arthur's will still always be my #1!  : )

ttfn!

thought bucket

irony - last night i had everything ready for food day.  i was awake on time (EARLY).  and yet i stayed home today.  why?  because tho there was no reason to be, i was up every hour.  (which is why i was awake on time.)  and it wasn't for fun cookie time!  : (  i was crampy & not a happy camper every hour when i was awake!  so, finally i had to decide that there was just no way i was gonna make it.  i made all the calls - well, actually, i hemmed & hawed for another 1/2 an hour, because i figured if i was awake i could probably make it in!  then my tummy got crampy again and the decision was made for me!  


so i made my calls & went back to bed for most of the day.  


when i finally got up for reals this afternoon, i did some laundry & tried to do dishes, but forgot to pick up dish soap.  whoops!  will have to do that tomorrow.  i laid on the couch & read for a bit & finished season 7 of buffy, watched america's got talent and then a marathon of What Would You Do?.  tell ya what, that show can make ya think and can make ya CRY!  my last post was about one of the experiments, about abuse.  but the shows i've watched have also dealt with public breastfeeding, abandoned kids, discrimination against gay and lesbian families/a down syndromed bagger at a grocery store/a muslim couple looking for a house, women who couldn't afford their prescriptions at a pharmacy, sexual harassment at a restaurant, drunk pilots, and a potential predator at a park.  whew!  and i think i missed a couple... but yeah, a lot of them were emotional.  the ppl who stood up and those who didn't... some of them - an elderly man who appeared too disorented to drive - were more difficult to determine what i would do in similar situations.  some of them were easy, *snap* just like that i know what i would do, like the gals asking for ppl to breathe into their breathalyzer so their cars would start.  (Um, no.  on so many levels.  NO.)  


anyway, i must put up a post about the pickles & then go to bed.  tummy's felt pretty okay since i've been up, but i haven't really eaten much today!  i did make breakfast for dinner around 8... seems to be okay!  Lord willing, i'll continue to be right as rain, since i don't want to miss leyton time tomorrow!  : )  


goodnight & ttfn.  

Abuse - What Would You Do?

i'm watching a WWYD episode from may (on hulu, love you hulu!) and the first story is about abuse.  


scenario 1a: clean cut girl comes into a restaurant alone, and she has obviously been beaten recently.  she is covered in bruises and healing cuts.  she sits at a table and begins to look over the menu, but she has the air of being upset.    


question 1: would you approach her?  would you ask her if she's okay, make sure everything is alright with her?  


scenario 1b: her boyfriend comes in and joins her at the table.  he begins to loudly berate her about everything from her clothing to the fact that she hasn't ordered his breakfast yet.  


question 2: do you approach them now, as a couple, seeing his ire?  
question 3a: if you approach, what do you say?  
question 3b: do you speak with the woman - ask her if she wants to leave, ask her if she is okay, etc., or the man - ask him why he's speaking to her like that, if he is the one who caused the bruises?


would your answers change if the woman was in a low cut top or "provacatively dressed" as opposed to being modestly dressed?  why or why not?


on the show, the women were approached by good samaritins when they were dressed conservatively, but wearing low-cut tops, not so much.  the psychologist on the show predicted that result.  why?  do we, as a society, really feel that women who dress "wrong" deserve to be abused?  WTH?  one of the customers at the restaurant even made a comment that the girl who was dressed in the low-cut dress was probably a hooker & did some work for the man on the side.  okay... so that makes it alright to beat her?  *shocked*  


now, my first thought was - how could anyone see this & not say anything??  which is a good "carrie wants to help everyone by showing the love of the Lord" attitude.  


however... 


have you ever had friend in abusive relationships?  have you tried to tell THEM that what their gf/bf is doing is wrong and they are better than that and they don't have to take the verbal/mental/physical abuse?  did they leave their abuser?  knowing that you were there to support them no matter what - did they leave?  did you ever say anything, even offhandedly, to their abuser?  this is a friend or family member, i'm talking about.  someone that you see on a regular basis, or talk to and hear about the behavior of their significant other.  someone you know.  


because if you step in btwn a victim and their abuser, and they leave with that abuser, chances are the abuse is going to be worse than if you hadn't stepped in.  is that something you would be thinking of, and would it stop you from stepping in?  


if you decided to step into this situation, how far would you be willing to go, for a stranger in a restaurant?  on the show, the ppl who are standing up for them are told pretty quickly that it's an experiment & no one is being abused at this time.  but in a real life situation - if you stand up for a woman being abused in public, are you willing to help her get away from her abuser?  are you willing to take her out of the situation, if she wants your help?  are you willing to accept that she wants to stay with him, if that's her choice?  


based on other situations i've been in, because i've never been in THAT particular situation in a public place, i'm pretty sure the abused woman would be living in my spare bedroom by the end of that day, with a restraining order on her abuser and my brother & cousin & friends helping to move her stuff from their home.  i'd worry about the rest later.  *laugh*  but that's because i tend to help first and think later.  it's not always a PLUS, trust me.  but if getting away was what she wanted to do, and i provided her a vehicle to do so?  it'd be worth it.  


anyway, do share - What WOULD You Do?  


ttfn.

why's it always gotta be about who i'm dating?

Don’t read anything into this, I’m just sharing an observation on how a particular question makes me feel at the time it's asked. 

“So, any news on the man front?”

“Got a new guy yet?”

“How’re things going with the love life?”

Three examples of the type of question you probably should NOT ask a single man or woman.  Seriously.  I know you’re just being friendly, or curious, or whatever, but I’m pretty sure if there was anything to share in that department, EVERYONE would know about it!  And if you don’t know about it, then I don’t want to talk about it.  Whether I’m single or seeing someone or whatever, if I haven’t mentioned it, then I don’t want to talk about it.  First of all, it implies that my life isn’t fulfilled because I haven’t mentioned a man.  What????  I am pretty sure that’s not what ppl MEAN when they ask things like that, but it’s what I tend to HEAR.  It makes me feel like I need to be on the defensive, like I need to explain to you why I don’t have a boyfriend or why I haven’t told you about every guy I’m seeing. 

Some ppl do, I understand that.  Some ppl are seeing a new guy/girl every week, and writing about it or posting it as a FB status or whatnot.  And some ppl are brokenhearted or disappointed or upset every week when they break up, and swear that this time, THIS time, they're going to wait for the "right" person to come along.  Then, two days later, a new status or blog or letter or telephone call or text about how they've met the most wonderful person & they're the happiest they've ever been.  

That's not what I'm looking for, and it's not what I need.  

Also, I'm pretty much an open book - if you've read this blog at all, or know me, you know it's true!  So, I don't think I would forget to mention if I was seeing someone important.  And if I haven't mentioned it, then either I'm not ready to or it's not something I want to talk about.  Which is only secondary to the  point above.  

Anyway!  Awkward!  That’s the feeling.  Oye. LOL  

Right now the feeling I’m feeling is hunger… *laugh* and I should make my pickles for tomorrow before I go to bed, too.  Dropping Chloe at saturn & Marty's picking me up there at SEVEN TWENTY FIVE AM.  blech.  I hate early mornings. But Tony said he'd have a mt dew waiting for me... : )  

TTFN!  

Happy Fun Monday! (a.k.a. Ya Gotta Have Friiiiiends...)

monday didn't start off happy or fun, but ended up that way.  started off not wanting to get up & spent most of the day nodding off!  or, rather, fighting it - i didn't ACTUALLY nod off, for any of you who might take that literally.  *laugh*  it was actually kinda an exciting work-day, with lots of fun things to keep time moving quickly.  but i was still very sleepy.  


i met my dear friend linda and her daughter amanda at ryan's steakhouse for dinner.  linda & i have been friends since i was in 7th & she was in 8th grade, new to Temple.  we bonded during gym.  i don't remember over what, exactly, just that it was time to learn about soccer, we were in line next to each other, and she was nice!  she has an older sister, carol, and together we all formed a kind of group of lifelong friends.  linda, carol, juli, vicky, abbie, renee - and some we've lost touch with, joe, april, lavawn.  we were a unique kind of group, spanning all grades.  well, 7th - 12th.  actually, i think abbie was sorta part of our group when she was in 6th grade, as vicky's sister.  


we were all inclusive, at least we tried to be.  we didn't turn anyone away, anyway!  *laugh*  and ppl came & went, at various times, but the core of our friendships stayed the same.  and our core friendships have remained strong through distances far & wide!  


linda met her future husband at college in chicagoland, and he was from japan.  so, after college she moved to japan, they got married, had a couple kids, and now she comes back for visits.  i miss her, a lot!  but thank God for the internet!  : )  


so, tonight we got to hang out.  juli, her hubs john & their kids, sarah & andrew were able to join us as well!  john had to leave after dinner, and the rest of us went to the park for an hour or so.  i like ryan's, altho buffets in general seem to have gotten higher priced & have less food.  but i was able to make some nachos and have pulled pork, cottage cheese, and honey buttered rolls.  mmm!  oh, and some pretty good whitefish, as well.  and there were rice krispie treats & ice cream for dessert!  : ) 


after i finished eating, i brought out the camera.  andrew's a little ham & he LOVES the camera!  sarah & mandi were liking it a lot, too.  mandi has her own little signature move that she taught sarah.  heh.  

i love love LOVE seeing the kids together!  linda & i were talking about it at the park, how neat it is to have her kids playing w/ her best friends' kids... : )  

Thank You, Lord, for terrific friends and fabulous nieces and nephews!!  : )  


TTFN!

Postcardapalooza

Okay, not really.  I'm just sharing 3 today.  I did get a bucketload at the museaquarium yesterday, but I don't like to share the ones I'm sending OUT because I like them to be surprises for the ppl who receive them.  If that makes sense?  Yes?  Good, good, carry on, then!  : )

This first one I just received from a Postcrossing assignment.  It traveled to me from Germany, and I enjoy the bright picture!

These next two, Kathy brought me from New Mexico.  Such a sweet cousin, yes?  : )  I'd hoped to see Balloon Fest in person this October, but it's looking like that trip will have to wait til 2011!  I'm glad it's an annual thing and that (at least as of now) my family will still be there for me to visit then!

Today I'm just catching up on some Hulu & contemplating going to the store.  I think I'll leave that part til Tuesday, tho.  I need more cream cheese for my food day treat, and why not take advantage of free items if I can?  Who knows, maybe cream cheese will be on this week's list!  Heh.  I do need some caffeine, so I'll be going SOMEWHERE for a cuppa soon!

ttfn.  love!

Dubuque ... Dubuque... Remember the Ham song?

Do you?  Remember that song?  I don't know if Dubuque ham was famous all over, or just here... Hmm.  

Anywhoo, today was faboo fun!  Mom & the boys picked me up about 10 & we went to Village Inn for breakfast.  Thought it was gonna be bad, cuz Leyton was being bratty at the start.  He wanted to sit w/ Anthony, but Anthony wanted to sit on the side w/ people.  Leyton's a social butterfly, which is sweet, but in order to make sure the ppl around us don't feel forced into chatting w/ him while they eat, we try to have him sit on the side of the booth with the wall.  Then he wanted me to sit w/ him by the wall.  Then he wanted Gramma to sit w/ him by the wall.  Eventually, we got him back into a good mood & he was polite & chipper the rest of the day, for the most part!  : )  

Mom wanted to stop at WM or somewhere along the way to get Leyton some tennies, because he left his Thomas shoes at Jen's & Mom wasn't sure if the flip flops would hold up w/ all the walking at the museum.  We stopped in Maquoketa, and I thought I saw a Wal Mart, but it ended up being a Thiessen's, which we figured would be like Farm & Fleet.  It was, but no tennies for kiddos.  We did find some cute JD toys & there was free popcorn while we shopped, Leyton found a little firetruck & Anthony found some silly bandz or their version of it.  

Also - how COOL is this?? 

We got to the museaquarium about 1 & spent a few hours there.  They've really built it up since we were there last, a couple years ago, too!  They've expanded into the old Diamond Jo casino, which built a new facility across the street.  There's a whole water-play area, which we of course spent LOTS of time in.  Actually, that & the gift shop are where we spent most of our time, I think.  *laugh*  We did see stingrays, sharks, turtles, snakes, lizards... It was really good times!   : )  Oh, and there was boat racing!  

What happens to the otters at 3:46PM??  

They were soooo CUTE!  I wanted to pet them.  

Leyton made friends w/ the Kimodo Dragon, too.  : ) 

We gathered our souveniers - more bandz for Anthony, an eagle grabber thingy for Leyton, lots of neat postcards for me!  I also found something that I really want to send, I just need to get an address from someone.  : )  The trip back was quieter, but nice, too.  We had McD's for dinner, nothing too fancy (not that breakfast was!  LOL).  Mom dropped me & Leyton off here for a bit, while she & Anthony ran over to WM finally.  *laugh*  Leyton & I had some fun!  He kept wanting to pet Angel, who was kinda wary.  He got a couple good pets in before she'd had enough & gave a warning hiss.  heh.  We watched some of Shrek, but then he wanted to watch Bambi.  We only got the first few minutes before Mom & Anthony got back, so they took the movie w/ them.  : )  

It was a wonderfully blessed day, and I'm so happy that we got to take this field trip!  

How was YOUR day?  

TTFN!