I've been robbed.

Sometime between 12:30 AM and 11:30 AM SOMEONE got into my jeep, opened my console and STOLE my checkbook. So, after spending an hour searching my jeep for it (and having my mom give another eye over.) I went to the bank to have the checks stopped. I'm ANGRY, but I hope whoever took my checkbook gets caught, so I can press charges..... Oh, YES, I WILL press charges if he/she/they are caught.

THIS IS WAR!!!!!!!!!!

Back in July 2004 I had my garage fixed. When the roof was tore off a HUGE nest of carpenter ants were discovered. They were sprayed and I was told that the problem had been taken care of. I fought those little boogers for a few weeks afterwards. It seemed as though some strays found their way into my house, but they went away after awhile.. Well...... They've invaded my house again. As I'm typing this, I'm watching these bugs climb up my wall, and the bottom of my shoes are a very good weapon for hand to hand combat. I've killed 10 of those stupid bugs in less than 5 minutes, and the bottom of my shoe is looking like a gruesome battleground. Does ANYONE know how to get rid of these stupid things for good? I kill them as I see them, but I'm afraid my house will fall apart if I'm not careful. If I put siding up, will that take care of them? Someone...Anyone...... HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am declaring war against these invaders and I need HELP.....

Books, books, and more books.....

My cousin, Carrie, asked on her blog what everyone's favorite books are. Since I didn't want to "clog" her comments, I'll post mine here.

Favorite children's books:
The Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (A MUST for children and adults alike. I reread this whenever I need a chuckle)
The Boxcar Children by Gertude Chandler Warner
The Babysitter's Club series By Anne Martin (I do have the whole series... Yes, ALL 200+ of them)
The Shel silverstein books (A Light In The Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends)
The Dear America series by various authors
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (Have to love a kid that swallows a turtle whole.)
Superfudge by Judy Blume
Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Favorite "Childrens" books that aren't for children..
Grimmes Fairy Tales (Very dark and morbid.)
The Mary Poppins series by P.L. Travers (NOT kid friendly)

Favorite fiction

The Daughters Of Lancaster County (The Storekeeper's Daughter, The Quilter's Daughter, and the Bishop's Daughter. All Amish by the way) by Wanda E Brunstetter
The Love Comes Softly series by Jannette Oke
A Woman Named Damarus by Jannette Oke
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (The movie is based on this book)
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leneox
The Touch by Patricia Hickman (Story is inspired by the painting.)

Favorite nonfiction
Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody (movie is based on this book.)
Please Stop Laughing At Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco
Big Girls Don't Whine by Jan Silvious
Alex:The Life of a Child by Frank Deford (The author is the head of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and he wrote about his 9 year old daughter who died of the disease. Have tissues handy if you read this one.)

Favorite Holocaust books
Diary of Anne Frank
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, The Other Way Round, A Small Person Far Away by Judith Kerr
My Friend Anne Frank by Jacqueline Van Maarsen
Edith's Story by Edith Velmans
Tell No One Who You Are" The Hidden Childhood of Regine Miller by Walter Buchignani and Regine Miller

There are MANY, MANY more, but these are the ones from the top of my head. Might add more as I think of them.... Oh, and by the way I own ALL of these books. ;)

Only 5 days to go........

This past Saturday wasn't 100% (which means it wasn't manitory.) I KNOW they're going to do what they did Memorial Day weekend..... They didn't force anyone in the Sat. before Memorial day weekend, so they forced everyone to work the Sat. OF MDW. Since I had a feeling they're going to do that this weekend, I made sure to work this past Sat. Since I worked the last two Saturdays in a row , they can't force me this weekend..... OH, but I have a feeling there going to be forcing a LOT of people in. None of the assemblies worked, so I have a feeling that I'm going to hear a lot of heated complaints. So, while everyone else will be complaining, I'll be looking forward to my FOUR day weekend... Come on FRIDAY!!!!! Okay, female family members...... Any ideas for Sat, Mon, or Tues?

The simple thing called work........

As you may or may not know, I work in the ATA room as a material handler. Which means I load parts on the line. My boss wanted me to learn the machines, and since that's a jobsetter job (.74 cents more an hour) I took the lockout training, and I now get the jobsetter pay.

Allen and Melissa are the jobsetters that run the four automatic machines in the room. I get along great with Melissa, but not so much with Allen. He's too "friendly" with upper management for my taste.

A couple weeks ago Allen bid on a new job,and got it...... For those of you who don't know how this goes..... If a job opens up, they put it on the board for a week....... (Wens. - Wens.) Whoever signs and has the most seniority, gets the job. So, with Allen gone, his job was open. I signed for it, and I got it...... However, I found out that Chad signed for it as well. Chad has been filling in for Allen, and the three of us gets along WONDERFULLY. I found out that he was the second highest in seniority. Which meant if I turned down the job, he'd get it. Since he knows so much more than I do about these machines, I declined the job, and let Chad have it.... It not only made Chad happy, but me as well. The three of us really work together as a team. No back biting, lying, or "tattling" on each other. There's no more tension in the air. This is really going to work out great. I couldn't think of a greater coworker..... Except Sheila, Lois, Michelle, Tammy, or Christie.....

With Allen out of that room, I don't dread going to work. Oh, and I no longer have to smoke half of Allen's cigarettes. He smokes one every 8 mins. (Melissa and I counted one night.) I now work in a smoke free environment. That's the best part.

Who's the teacher here??

I have a "routine" I do during Sunday school.

If I only have Jake, (which is 99.99% of the time)he isn't a very good reader, so I have him "practice" by reading the lesson out of his book out loud. Even then, I always ask him if he wants to read the lesson. He only says no when he's not feeling well. If we have visitors, I don't want to put him on the spot, so I just take volunteers. If no one volunteers, then I read the lesson out of their book, and afterwards I read the lesson out of mine. I remember vividly being self conscious about reading outloud when I was younger, so I NEVER force anyone.

So, yesterday during Sunday school, I asked Jake; "Do you feel like reading today?", He said "Yes." then he paused and said, "I'll read the first paragraph, then you can read the second, and I'll read the last." I said "Who's the teacher here you or me?" Of course I was laughing when I said that, which made him laugh.

So, I agreed to his terms, and when it was my turn to read, I realized why he had me to read that paragraph........ Let's just say, some of those Bible names are hard enough for adults, I can't imagine kids trying to pronouce them. Jake really is a bright boy......

Anyway, our lesson was on Daniel and the three Hebrew boys that were being trained by King N. (I'm not even going to try to spell his name. LOL), and how they refused the food and wine..... As an illustration I used.......

Imagine the president asked your whole class at school to live at the white house for a year, and all he would feed you is candy and ice cream. Now, that's not very healthy is it? Your body needs vegetables, meat, and fruits. If you only had ice cream and candy, it would make you sick. It would be hard to refuse when all your classmates are eating the junk food now wouldn't it? It's not always easy to do what's right. Sometimes it can be very hard, but if you ask Jesus to help you, He will.

AMEN!!!!!!!!

Sheila emailed this too me, and I agree with it wholeheartedly..........

The Old Paths

I liked the old paths,
when Moms were at home.
Dads were at work.
Brothers went into the army.
And sisters got married
BEFORE having children!

Crime did not pay;
Hard work did;
And people knew the difference

Moms could cook;
Dads would work;
Children would behave.

Husbands were loving;
Wives were supportive;
And children were polite.

Women wore the jewelry;
And Men wore the pants.
Women looked like ladies;
Men looked like gentlemen;
And children looked decent.

People loved the truth,
And hated a lie;
They came to church to get IN,
Not to get OUT!

Hymns sounded Godly;
Sermons sounded helpful;
Rejoicing sounded normal;
And crying sounded sincere.

Cursing was wicked;
Drinking was evil;
and divorce was unthinkable.

The flag was honored;
America was beautiful;
And God was welcome!

We read the Bible in public;
Prayed in school;
And preached from house to house.

To be called an American was worth dying for;
To be called a Christian was worth living for;
To be called a traitor was a shame!

Sex was a personal word.
Homosexual was an unheard of word,
And abortion was an illegal word.

Preachers preached because they had a message;
And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY!
Preachers preached from the Bible;
Singers sang from the heart;
And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!

A new birth meant a new life;
Salvation meant a changed life;
Following Christ led to eternal life.

Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God;
Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord;
Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus;
And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!

Laws were based on the Bible;
Homes read the Bible;
And churches taught the Bible.

Preachers were more interested in new converts,
Than new clothes and new cars.
God was worshiped;
Christ was exalted;
and the Holy Spirit was respected.

Church was where you found Christians on the Lord's day,
rather than in the garden,
on the creek bank,
on the golf course,
or being entertained somewhere else.

I still like the old paths the best.

Special prayer request

I have a dear friend, Sheila who used to be one of my coworkers. She emailed me today to tell me that her mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer. It's in the early stages, and she goes to the cancer doc on Monday. Since our family understands what this is like, I'm asking you to PLEASE keep her, Sheila, and Sheila's husband, Tim in your prayers. Oh, and Sheila, if you're reading this, If you ever need me, I'm here for you ANYTIME. I love you friend.

Strange way of saying it........

After YEARS of working in a hot department, I now work in a nice air conditioned room. This room has 4 automatic machines, which makes the rear carriers. (If any coworkers are reading this, you will know that I work in the ATA room. To everyone else: you're probably lost, and I apologize.) Well, this room has a dry erase board to leave notes for the other shifts. We use it to let each other know what needs fixed, what's been fixed, etc.... Today we go in and there's the following note...... "Pete has left us for that big factory in the sky, in which other coworkers have gone before, and has welcomed him with open arms. We'll miss you."............ Yes, one of our coworkers, which I didn't know, passed away yesterday. I found that note very disturbing. If Heaven is just a big factory, do I really want to go? I would think that if you died and went to a factory, you sure didn't make it to Heaven. After all there's a million and one places I'd rather be than in a factory. Okay, maybe a million is too many, but a hundred at least. It's like I told one of my other Christian friends..... I hope when the rapture takes place, I'm at work. That way, I'll be going from the worst place possible to the best. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate my job. After all, it puts a roof over my head, food on my table, clothes on my back, and pays the bills. It's just that working in a factory sure isn't where I thought I'd be 12 years ago.

What a weekend. Is it over yet?

This weekend hasn't been a very good one. Ashley and I were going to go to the city wide yard sales, but got rained out. Very disappointing. But the worst part was.... I guess it starts on Thursday. I noticed that my water pressure was way down, but that's city water for you. The city likes to flush out the hydrants once in a while, and that does some weird things to our water which sometimes includes changing the water smell and/or color, and sometimes the pressure for a day or two. So, I thought nothing about it.......... UNTIL today......... After church, I heard water running under my house by the outdoor spigot. Well after having my mom help investigate, we discovered that yes, I do have a water leak. So, I took my flashlight down to my cobweb invested basement (I hate going down there by the way.), and followed the pipe to the valve. So, I shut it off, and thankfully it only shut the water off outside, not inside. I still have hot/cold water inside my house, which is a VERY important thing. The other bad thing is, my basement is only a PARTIAL basement, so we'll (aka my dad) will have to cut the pipe, pull it through, and splice it with another. I think I may just wait a little while for that.... Or should I say, work a couple Saturdays to be able to buy the materials. It's days like this I feel like selling my house and just renting. Aww..... The joys of owning your own home.

The good and bad of dress codes.

After twelve years of working in the same factory, management has finally decided that maybe we should have a dress code. Usually, people just wear pretty much what they want to wear. I've seen woman wearing shorts so short and tight I always wonder how they can walk, not to mention sit. LOL. So they passed out papers with our new dress code. I'll let you read it for yourself. This gives you an idea how people dress now. : Clothing shall be of a durable material and not loose fitting. (So I guess I have to buy some tight fitting clothes then. Man, I love my XL size t shirts.) Long pants are highly recommended. Shorts or skirts, if worn, must be knee length, and not have slits and/or holes. Shirts must cover the torso completely. This does not allow tank tops, halters, or sports bras worn by themselves. Necklaces and earrings (hanging below the earlobe) are not to be worn while performing work on machining, material handling, or assembly processes. Shoes: Proper footwear consisting of durable leather upper construction with hard, oil resistant soles, and low heels shall be worn while on the plant floor; this includes travel to/from doors and work areas.... (Most people keep their work shoes inside toolboxes, and wear regular shoes into the plant. Then change into their work shoes once they get to their toolboxes. Who wants to mess up their vehicles with those nasty oily shoes?) Athletic/street shoes, open toed shoes, open heeled shoes, slippers, flip flops, sandals, or any type of high heeled shoes will be prohibited. Company approved prescription or company approved non prescription safety glasses with permanently attached side shields shall be worn thoughout the plant floor at all times; this includes travel to/from doors and work areas..... (This too is something most people leave in toolboxes. This is the only thing I see as being a hassle. Most people that wear glasses anyway, might forget their safety glasses at home or in vehicle. This is the only thing I'm concerned about.) ENFORCEMENT: Employees found in violation of this policy and/or the standards of conduct may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including discharge. I do think I have the shoes thing worked out... Payless shoes used to carry black shoes that were oil resistant for about $15 or so. I think I'll see if they still have those. I know we have a contract coming up fall of 2007. I just wonder if they're trying to fire people, so they have something to barter the union with. Makes me wonder.

One of those days.

Am I the only one who has days like this? Days where for no apparent reason you just feel like crying all day? That's the kind of day I've had. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened, just really depressed.
My cold? Allergies? have cleared up, and it's not a woman thing either, so it's not like I'm not feeling well. I'm just really, really, really depressed. It's one of those depressing days, that you just need to get out, and away from everyone except maybe your sister, sister in law, aunt, or cousin. What I need is a good pick me up...... Any suggestions??

Allergies? Cold? Can't figure this out!!!

I've had colds in the past, but this is really weird.

I've had a scratchy, not necessarily sore, just mostly feels "dry" throat for about 5 or 6 straight days now. I've also had a headache for the same amount of time. By the way, aspirins don't really work on this.

So, at first I was thinking.... Okay, I'm coming down with a cold, no real biggie. In a day, I'll start the sneezing, and then the next day the coughing... I'll be over it in about a week. But it's been about 6 days, and there's no other symptoms besides the throat/head thing. No sneezing nor coughing. This is just too weird.

(insert twilight zone theme song here)

Find me a deserted island..... NOW!!!!!!!

I'm sure everyone has moments they just want to disappear from the face of the earth for a while. Sometimes it's due to an embarrassing moment, kids/husband demanding attention, bills piling up, or it's because you want to get away from everything.........

Well.... I fall into the last category. I've decided that I would LOVE to live peacefully in my own unpopulated island.

I'd have my own private plane and pilot, which would deliver things I need on a weekly basis. Also it would be a quick way to get back to family if the need arose.

I would only have my books, cell phone,tv, dvds, and my computer....... Okay so my island has electricity. So what? This is my island.. Not yours so there.
There wouldn't be any need of cars, but I'd have a solar powered 4 wheeler to get around the island. My island would be free of mosquitoes, snakes, and poisonous spiders.. Any dangerous animals would be banned.
<---- These cuties would be allowed as long as they stayed that way. LOL.

Not to fear...I am realistic..... I KNOW there isn't a deserted island, I can't live there, and cute cuddly animals turn into dangerous beasts. So, I guess the next best thing would be to lock myself in my home with my own beast (my cat) and stay away from people when the need arises. Oh well.... So much for wishful thinking.

Happy Birthday MOM

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. Ashley and Austin had decided to take her out to eat, and they asked if I wanted to go with them. I declined since I had a lot to do before going to work. Mom said "Okay, don't go with us. Who knows how many more birthdays I'll have. So if I die before my next one make sure to go to Fazolis, buy a baked spagetti, and eat it at my grave."

Talk about a guilt trip. Oh, and by the way it worked.

Memorial day weekend

Carrie, my cousin, has reminded me that I haven't blogged in a while. So here goes. LOL.....

This weekend we (as in Mom, dad, Ashley, and her friend Jenna) went to Kings Island.

Aaron and Chris was SUPPOSED to have gone with us, but Aaron had a week of dental work ahead of him, and Chris can't ride rides due to her heart. After realizing that mom and I don't ride rides either, she was disappointed due to the fact that she could've hung out with us while everyone else rode rides.

Then Austin and Shawn was supposed to have gone too, but Austin woke up not feeling well. My parents told Shawn that he could come with us anyway, but I guess he didn't feel comfortable with that.

So we went to Kings Island. Mom and I spent the time walking around and looking. Oh, and we sat A LOT. I was mostly concerned about her leg and her blood clot. Oh, we did ride the train, the scrambler, and the Scooby Doo ride. LOL That's about my speed. However, the scrambler made me feel a little queasy when I got off.

It's so ironic. When I was younger I could ride all the spinning rides. Now, they make me sick just looking at them. I guess I'm old.

Mom and I spent a lot of time watching people. Mom, dad, and I was sitting at a table, and this woman was sitting not far from us... She was about 200 pounds overweight, and was wearing a bikini top that was about 5 sizes too small. She spent the whole time trying to keep everything in. I guess my dad couldn't take it anymore, so we left. My dad turns to me and says; "Do we ever embarrass you by the way we look?" I said "Dad, if you embarrass me, do you think I'd walk around with you guys? If you did, I'd be disappearing."

We did have fun though, and I'm glad I went. The only thing was....... I didn't appreciate the fact that they had to go through my purse as I entered the park. I understand why, but I don't like strangers looking through my purse. >:(

I just have to let this out..... Part 2

I was telling one of my coworkers about the "greedy pizza hogs."

She told me that I should've walked over and said;

"There's some homeless people a couple miles down the road that would LOVE to have the rest of your pizza. Do you mind if I give them all of your leftovers? I bet it would feed their families for a month."

If memory serves me correctly, I believe it was Ashley that mentioned that all you can eat restaurants need to have pictures of starving children hanging on the walls.

Better yet...... Every time you go in the restaurant, each table has a starving kid to follow you around and sit with you. LOL. Just joking.

Great Idea

Carrie mentioned the "World's Largest Garage sale". I decided to do a search on it.

Here's some facts I found on it:

The World's Longest Yard Sale is a 4-day event. The dates will be determined each year by the First Thursday of the month of August. The event will officially take place that Thursday to the following Sunday for 4 days of yard sale heaven! It begins at Covington, KY, and runs South to Chattanooga, TN, then switches to the Lookout Mountain Parkway (new), continuing to Gadsden, AL.
The four day sale of Bargain Hunting Spans 4 States and covers 450 miles.
Items for sale includes antiques, clothes, crafts, furniture, tools, toys, and just about anything else you can imagine. Some vendors will sell food and refreshments along the way.


This year it's being held august 3 -6.

You can read more about it:
http://www.tourdekalb.com/yardsale.htm
http://www.danville-ky.com/BoyleCounty/127Sale.htm


By the way........ I'm on vacation that week. So....... What do you think? ;)

I KNOW there's no way we'll be able to see it all, but we could see a big portion of it. LOL.

Hum........ Maybe bribe my dad into letting me take the full size van, or better yet....... Rent a small UHAUL trailer. LOL.

That really sounds like fun.

I have to let this out.......

On one of the days.... (Tues?) we ate at Mr. Gati's. It's the all you can eat pasta and pizza place...

This couple came in and went to get their food. They came back with at least 10 plates FULL of food. My parents mentioned something about how greedy that was. I spoke up and told them not to judge, because you don't know the situation. Perhaps their legs were tired, and they only wanted to go up only one time........ HOWEVER after watching this couple I was not only embarrassed that I defended them, but also disgusted and annoyed.

This couple was eating the toppings off the pizza and throwing the rest away.... They ended up with close to 30 plates of topless pizzas.

If you took all the slices they didn't eat, you would've had I would say 10 large pizzas. It literally annoyed me.

I understand it's an all you can eat place, but come on....have some common sense....... That was just plain greedy and wasteful.

I think all you can eat places need a rule............ You can have all you want AS LONG AS you eat MAJORITY of the food on your plate. Sure, granted I understand taking a little something to "Try" , and not liking it is one thing, but to throw 7/8 of the food away, and go up for more? I can see 5 and 7 year olds doing that.... NOT adults.... We're supposed to be "big" and know how to eat in public.


ARRGH!!!!!!!!! I just discovered another pet peeve....... Greedy and wasteful people.

The Miracle

We left for TN at 4:30 Tuesday morning. (Dad's the morning person... NOT me.)

On Tues. evening, we got tickets for "Miracle." It's about $42.00 a person, unless you can prove you live around there, then it's only $9.00. We didn't know about the discount, so we paid full price. However.... The show is WELL worth the money.

It starts with The creation. The ceiling is rigged up with TONS of little lights to look like stars.

Then it goes the the battle (pretty cool sword fight) in which the angels ban Satan out of Heaven.... Yes, the "angels" are rigged up to fly. The Angels were really impressive.... The wings actually move as though they're real throughout the whole play.

Then it goes on to Adam and Eve......Then it skips to the New Testament.

The water into wine scene was impressive as well... There's a fountain on stage pouring water.... Within minutes, the water turns into a darker color.

Oh yes, and the demon possessed woman was very convincing.

The crucifixion scene was well done also. Whenever the soldiers hit "Jesus" with the clubs, blood would be left behind on his chest.

Then it ends with Jesus's resurrection and ascention. (That sure doesn't look like it's spelled right.)

The whole show is a musical and there's not very many speaking parts.



Before the show, they had a "Roman soldier" on horseback standing by the road "advertising". Also, they had 3 lambs and a HUGE camel outside to pet.

We were in the second row, center section. Really good seats. I was afraid at first that we'd have to be trying to look up and over the stage, but it worked out great. Most of the actors are right in front of the stage. The only bad thing was....... We were directly in front of the speakers, and I had a small problem with the fog from the fog machine. Being that close to the front, that fog was "right in our laps." I thought I was going to have to grab my asthma inhaler.

I can see how it could get better and better each year.

They also have an AMAZING gift shop, which is open all day.... Not JUST during the show.

They also have popcorn and drinks (popcorn $3.00 a bag, drinks $2.00 each). Oh, and when you walk in, it's like Dixie Stampede.... You get a picture taken in front of a green sheet. During intermission you can buy the picture.. For $19.00 you get a "Miracle" postcard, magnet, the picture in a nice frame, and your choice of either a T shirt or a mug. I thought the price wasn't that bad for all you get for it.

Oh, and the souvenir shirts are $12.99 a shirt, and available in several colors. Very reasonable for a shirt I thought.

Okay, I'm finished advertising.....

Another thing we discovered.... If you're in Pigeon Forge and you want to see a show....... Buy your tickets at "Black Bear Jamboree." You can buy discount tickets for all the shows except Black Bear Jamboree... We only paid $41.25 for each ticket... If you bought them at Miracle theater, it would've been $48 a person. I know it's only $6.75, but that's still $6.75.

So, what you do is go up there, and ask Ashley to get your tickets. LOL.