We are headed to Flint tomorrow to celebrate Christmas. We will hang out there until Christmas Eve and then return home. Santa only seems to know how to find us when we are at our home. Thank you, Santa!
I'm apologizing now for the horrendous haircuts on my boys. They desperately needed haircuts this week before we leave tomorrow. Unfortunately our dear friend, John, who always cuts the boys hair has been without power thanks to the ice storm. So, what choice did I have but to whip out the clippers and cut all their hair off?
Connor looks fine...it's short on him but his hair is always shorter than Wes. Wes on the other hand definitely got the worst "do" of the two. He never fusses for John but he went nuts when I tried to cut his hair. He cried! What? Yes, he cried and if he knew enough to know what a bad buzz cut looked like when he looked in the mirror, he would continue to cry.
My mother is going to kill me when she sees them. I don't blame her....but it will be all I hear about for the next four days. Damn ice storm! I'm going to attempt to go back over Wes later tonight with the clippers and see if I can make it better. I'm sure that will work!!! NOT!!!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Ice Storm
Like most of the country, we seem to be getting our fair share of shitty weather. I would certainly classify a half inch to an inch of ice as bad weather. It sucked here on Friday. We were so, so very lucky to not lose power. Most everyone around us has been out for over 24 hours. We were only out shortly, but I was reminded how much our boys depend on electricity...and how quickly the house seemed to get cold!!
I took a few pictures. This is my attempt at cool photography. After looking at them on here it appears I failed. I am sad that our very nice birch tree took a bad hit. All three major parts of it are on the ground and one of those three have split. With temperatures staying well below freezing I'm not too hopeful that the rest of the tree will make it.
Wes' Birthday
Wes celebrated his 7th birthday last week. With the chaos of the holidays and dealing with bad weather, I haven't goten around to posting some pictures. I got to go into his class that day and I was glad I did. It was fun to watch him wig out on sugar with his classmates. Good times.
Star Wars is all our boys seem to want to play with right now. I have a feeling this will be a very Star Wars Christmas.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Holiday Mail for Heroes
Holiday Mail for Heroes is a great program sponsored by the American Red Cross. They have a goal to deliver one million holiday cards to American Service Members, Veterans and their families in the US and around the world.
The deadline to participate in this program is Wednesday, December 10. All cards must be postmarked on the 10th or they will be returned to the sender.
I'm excited to be able to go into Wes' classroom this week to provide the supplies for him and his classmates to make cards. This is a neat way for our kids to appreciate being home for the holidays and thanking our service men and women for their sacrifices!
In case you are interested:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
(This replaces the program of sending cards directly to service men and woman at Walter Reed Hospital. Walter Reed will not accept cards addressed to recovering soldiers.)
The deadline to participate in this program is Wednesday, December 10. All cards must be postmarked on the 10th or they will be returned to the sender.
I'm excited to be able to go into Wes' classroom this week to provide the supplies for him and his classmates to make cards. This is a neat way for our kids to appreciate being home for the holidays and thanking our service men and women for their sacrifices!
In case you are interested:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
(This replaces the program of sending cards directly to service men and woman at Walter Reed Hospital. Walter Reed will not accept cards addressed to recovering soldiers.)
Big relief
I met with Dr. Hicks this morning at Fort Wayne Orthopedics to get my bad ankle checked out. I have been having problems with it for the past month or so. It has been 10 years since I had it fused with surgery. I manged to get all my old records/x-rays from home (thanks to my aunt) and took them with me as a comparison.
Thankfully everything looked the same and none of the screws had moved. I was so concerned that something would need fixed. A new pair of orthotics was suggested as well as the walking boot I am currently wearing. It's way better than a cast and it was suggested that I use it when my ankle flairs up...as it has been.
I'd forgotten how much fun it is driving with my left foot. But, just like riding a bike, I got the hang of it again. I'm glad there wasn't anyone in the car with me while I was getting the hang of it! And for the record...it is not illegal to drive with your left foot. I've checked!
Now my mother can stop NAG, NAG, NAGGING me about my stupid ankle. I swear if she asks me one more time how it is doing I'm going to scream! I hope she goes back to worrying about GM and my Grandma and leaves me alone.
On to more important things...only 18 days till Christmas. OMG!!!
I'm happy to boast that all my shopping and wrapping is done. The house has been decorated for a while too. It's nice to have stuff done and just be able to enjoy the holidays. I intend to do some baking soon. I've gotten a bunch of old recipes from my mom that she used to make and that I loved. Looking forward to that!
My birthday is tomorrow and Wes' is Friday. Chris suggested we move my birthday to June when there is less stuff going on. Not sure we are going to get an evening out to ourselves. Sniff, sniff. My parents are coming back this weekend to spend Saturday night. It just seems like there is always something going on. Hence why I am so happy to have my shopping/wrapping done!
Thankfully everything looked the same and none of the screws had moved. I was so concerned that something would need fixed. A new pair of orthotics was suggested as well as the walking boot I am currently wearing. It's way better than a cast and it was suggested that I use it when my ankle flairs up...as it has been.
I'd forgotten how much fun it is driving with my left foot. But, just like riding a bike, I got the hang of it again. I'm glad there wasn't anyone in the car with me while I was getting the hang of it! And for the record...it is not illegal to drive with your left foot. I've checked!
Now my mother can stop NAG, NAG, NAGGING me about my stupid ankle. I swear if she asks me one more time how it is doing I'm going to scream! I hope she goes back to worrying about GM and my Grandma and leaves me alone.
On to more important things...only 18 days till Christmas. OMG!!!
I'm happy to boast that all my shopping and wrapping is done. The house has been decorated for a while too. It's nice to have stuff done and just be able to enjoy the holidays. I intend to do some baking soon. I've gotten a bunch of old recipes from my mom that she used to make and that I loved. Looking forward to that!
My birthday is tomorrow and Wes' is Friday. Chris suggested we move my birthday to June when there is less stuff going on. Not sure we are going to get an evening out to ourselves. Sniff, sniff. My parents are coming back this weekend to spend Saturday night. It just seems like there is always something going on. Hence why I am so happy to have my shopping/wrapping done!
Friday, December 05, 2008
I'm torn...
...between my family who are desperate for a GM buyout and my personal opinion that there shouldn't be buyouts!
I grew up in Flint, Michigan. We lived in Flint township, not the city of Flint, but our mailing address still said Flint. Without any siblings in my life I had the good life. I wasn't overly spoiled, but I always had what I needed and my family "played" Up North in Michigan with boats, cottages and now horses. The Flint I grew up in was a GM town, but is now just a ghost town. On my last trip home I was appalled at what is happening there. Nearly everywhere you look homes have been for sale for years and more are just abandoned. There are absolutely no jobs to be had anywhere and staggering poverty.
My parents and my grandparents are dependent on GM.
My grandparents live month to month on their $800 GM pension check. They have struggled with money their entire lives. They are not the kind of people who ever treated themselves to luxury or squander a penny. Actually, they are the cheapest people I have ever met. And now their assisted living apartment rent, which pays for the heat, electricity and food is dependent upon GM. They will have nothing if they loose their pension. They are completely dependent on GM.
My parents are dependent on GM. Dad works in the Flint Metal Fab plant and has been there since the day after he graduated from high school. He has been offered every buyout that has come to his plant, knowing full well his plant is terminal. It only has another two or three years left before it is slated to close, if not sooner. He could retire but they can't afford for him to retire. Namely because of their horses.
Now I feel sorry for my grandparents because they scrapped along in their lives just to get what they have. I do not feel sorry for my parents. The writing has been on the wall for years that this meltdown was coming. They have chosen to ignore every warning and continue on the path they have chose. They could have sold horses. Dad could have taken classes and found a "new" occupation. He could have looked for a new job. They could have left Flint...but instead they have chose to stay. And now they have no options.
My mom has the lawn and garden family business that she runs with my uncle. It has also been failing for years. When you live in a town failed by GM your business will fail too. I know my parents haven't given up and left town because the Lawn Shop, but because of their decisions now they are trapped.
If GM folds, as it will without a bailout, my parents are done for. I agree that bankruptcy for a car manufacturer will not work. We are getting close to needing to replace a GM lease and I won't purchase a GM car without knowing I will have a company and warranty to back up my car in five years.
So, I'm torn. I most certainly do not want my grandparents left with no place to live or my parents left with nothing. But I can not agree to government buyouts. I didn't agree with the financial institution bailout and I don't agree with this one. I believe in survival of the fittest and in evolution. I believe that if a company can't figure out over the course of a decade how to pull itself together or evolve, then they don't deserve to be in business. They failed. They have become extinct. My parents believe that GM has made those changes and it is the failure of the lending institutions that has brought this on. Maybe that is true and I'm being too harsh.
If Chris and I failed in our finances no one would give us money hand over fist. I don't believe it is the taxpayers responsibility to bail out a company that plain and simple failed. And I believe that even if the government actually gives them the money, that GM still will not make it. GM will just struggle on for a couple of more years and continue to fail. I even agree with Bush when I read this quote..."he is concerned about providing taxpayer money to companies "that may not survive." Ok, me agreeing with Bush? Come on people, what are we coming to in Washington?
If GM were a horse I would call the vet and have it put out of its misery. I realize how a failed GM will devastate my family as well as this entire country. I get it probably more than most people because I grew up in Flint. But there has to be a better way then giving them our hard earned tax money.
Giving them what they want is only prolonging the inevitable. And, then who is next? Who else wants to go and beg to our government for free money? Steel companies, airlines, states like California? Heck, maybe I should drive to DC in my GM car and get in line?
I wish I had the answers and I realize what a tough job our politicians have on this one. I literally feel torn in half about this. After another blow up on the phone with my mom today I also realize that I can no longer talk to her about it.
I guess I will just watch and see what happens, because that is all I, or any of us can do.
I grew up in Flint, Michigan. We lived in Flint township, not the city of Flint, but our mailing address still said Flint. Without any siblings in my life I had the good life. I wasn't overly spoiled, but I always had what I needed and my family "played" Up North in Michigan with boats, cottages and now horses. The Flint I grew up in was a GM town, but is now just a ghost town. On my last trip home I was appalled at what is happening there. Nearly everywhere you look homes have been for sale for years and more are just abandoned. There are absolutely no jobs to be had anywhere and staggering poverty.
My parents and my grandparents are dependent on GM.
My grandparents live month to month on their $800 GM pension check. They have struggled with money their entire lives. They are not the kind of people who ever treated themselves to luxury or squander a penny. Actually, they are the cheapest people I have ever met. And now their assisted living apartment rent, which pays for the heat, electricity and food is dependent upon GM. They will have nothing if they loose their pension. They are completely dependent on GM.
My parents are dependent on GM. Dad works in the Flint Metal Fab plant and has been there since the day after he graduated from high school. He has been offered every buyout that has come to his plant, knowing full well his plant is terminal. It only has another two or three years left before it is slated to close, if not sooner. He could retire but they can't afford for him to retire. Namely because of their horses.
Now I feel sorry for my grandparents because they scrapped along in their lives just to get what they have. I do not feel sorry for my parents. The writing has been on the wall for years that this meltdown was coming. They have chosen to ignore every warning and continue on the path they have chose. They could have sold horses. Dad could have taken classes and found a "new" occupation. He could have looked for a new job. They could have left Flint...but instead they have chose to stay. And now they have no options.
My mom has the lawn and garden family business that she runs with my uncle. It has also been failing for years. When you live in a town failed by GM your business will fail too. I know my parents haven't given up and left town because the Lawn Shop, but because of their decisions now they are trapped.
If GM folds, as it will without a bailout, my parents are done for. I agree that bankruptcy for a car manufacturer will not work. We are getting close to needing to replace a GM lease and I won't purchase a GM car without knowing I will have a company and warranty to back up my car in five years.
So, I'm torn. I most certainly do not want my grandparents left with no place to live or my parents left with nothing. But I can not agree to government buyouts. I didn't agree with the financial institution bailout and I don't agree with this one. I believe in survival of the fittest and in evolution. I believe that if a company can't figure out over the course of a decade how to pull itself together or evolve, then they don't deserve to be in business. They failed. They have become extinct. My parents believe that GM has made those changes and it is the failure of the lending institutions that has brought this on. Maybe that is true and I'm being too harsh.
If Chris and I failed in our finances no one would give us money hand over fist. I don't believe it is the taxpayers responsibility to bail out a company that plain and simple failed. And I believe that even if the government actually gives them the money, that GM still will not make it. GM will just struggle on for a couple of more years and continue to fail. I even agree with Bush when I read this quote..."he is concerned about providing taxpayer money to companies "that may not survive." Ok, me agreeing with Bush? Come on people, what are we coming to in Washington?
If GM were a horse I would call the vet and have it put out of its misery. I realize how a failed GM will devastate my family as well as this entire country. I get it probably more than most people because I grew up in Flint. But there has to be a better way then giving them our hard earned tax money.
Giving them what they want is only prolonging the inevitable. And, then who is next? Who else wants to go and beg to our government for free money? Steel companies, airlines, states like California? Heck, maybe I should drive to DC in my GM car and get in line?
I wish I had the answers and I realize what a tough job our politicians have on this one. I literally feel torn in half about this. After another blow up on the phone with my mom today I also realize that I can no longer talk to her about it.
I guess I will just watch and see what happens, because that is all I, or any of us can do.
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