YAS OR YET ANOTHER SUNDAY

It's been a week since I've posted. Seems I can't quite find the time or the energy to write these days.

The entire week is a blur to me. I ended up going into work today. I just was too worked up with the amount of things I have to do. As they say, so many projects, so little time. As the years pass, and my knowledge base broadens, management relies on me to handle more things. I know I shouldn't be complaining. I'm lucky to have a job. I just wish they wouldn't rely on me so much. I keep being told by my friends and co-workers that I need to learn how to say no.

Most likely my inability to say no, or to even ask for help comes from a product of the environment in which I was brought up. Both my father and mother passed down their superlative work ethics to their children. You do whatever it takes to get the job done, and done right. By the way, I think this is a good thing.

Because my mind hosts this attitude, my health suffers. As the stress level increases, my body begins to betray me. I'm yet again wrestling with high blood pressure issues for which I need to go back to the doctor for. My stomach is once again waking up and I am battling insomnia because my mind is running around like a hamster in a wheel, racing to try to meet all the deadlines and wondering how in the world I will accomplish it. I woke up Friday morning and one side of my left arm, as well as the side of my right hand, pinky and wring fingers are somewhat numb. I suspect it's due to a pinched nerve. I must have slept wrong. The only problem is, when I use that hand or arm excessively, they ache and tingle and the same time. They also tend to get number for a while. If it doesn't clear up I'll have to see a doctor about it.

It's been harder and harder to get up in the mornings. I just am running out of motivation. My house is a wreck, and I simply am having a hard time caring. I just don't have the energy.

My husband is still out of work. There is really nothing out there. He is applying for everything that seems remotely related to his experience and has gotten very little bites. My insecurities kick in, and I wonder if we will make it. Some days I'm full of optimism, but mostly, I worry incessantly. How will we pay the bills? Will we have to sell our house? I know these are common worries and I am thankful for the unemployment we receive. That is probably one of the reasons I'm so hell bent on becoming irriplacable at work. I need to do everything I can to ensure I don't lose my job.

I'm in a black hole. Down at the bottom. It echoes in here. Just when the sides of the hole begging to crumble and collapse upon me, a hand always seems to reach in, take a hold of me and pull me out. I am waiting for that hand now.

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IRAQ

I'm sure you all are keeping track of the news about Iraq and the probable war that looms ahead of us. I received a couple of very good emails. One was written by Dennis Miller, offering another point of view. Even if you don't agree with all of the things he has to say, he makes some good observations.

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TRYING TO HELP - by DENNIS MILLER

ALL THE RHETORIC ON WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD GO TO WAR AGAINST IRAQ HAS GOT MY INSANE LITTLE BRAIN SPINNING LIKE A ROULETTE WHEEL. I ENJOY READING OPINIONS FROM BOTH SIDES BUT I HAVE DETECTED A HINT OF CONFUSION FROM SOME OF YOU.

AS I WAS READING THE PAPER RECENTLY, I WAS REMINDED OF THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE EVER GAVE ME. HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE KISS METHOD (KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!) SO, WITH THIS AS A THEME, I'D LIKE TO APPLY
THIS THEORY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T QUITE GET IT. MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN SIMPLIFY THINGS A BIT AND RECOGNIZE A FEW IMPORTANT FACTS.

HERE ARE 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN VOICING AN OPINION ON THIS
IMPORTANT ISSUE:

1) BETWEEN PRESIDENT BUSH AND SADDAM HUSSEIN ... HUSSEIN IS THE BAD GUY.

2) IF YOU HAVE FAITH IN THE UNITED NATIONS TO DO THE RIGHT THING KEEP THIS IN MIND, THEY HAVE LIBYA HEADING THE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND IRAQ HEADING THE GLOBAL DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE. DO YOUR OWN MATH HERE

3) IF YOU USE GOOGLE SEARCH AND TYPE IN "FRENCH MILITARY VICTORIES," YOUR REPLY WILL BE "DID YOU MEAN FRENCH MILITARY DEFEATS?"

4) IF YOUR ONLY ANTI-WAR SLOGAN IS "NO WAR FOR OIL," SUE YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ALLOWING YOU TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS AND ROBBING YOU OF THE EDUCATION YOU DESERVE.

5) SADDAM AND BIN LADEN WILL NOT SEEK UNITED NATIONS APPROVAL BEFORE THEY TRY TO KILL US.

6) DESPITE COMMON BELIEF, MARTIN SHEEN IS NOT THE PRESIDENT. HE PLAYS ONE ON T.V.

7) EVEN IF YOU ARE ANTI-WAR, YOU ARE STILL AN "INFIDEL!" AND BIN LADEN WANTS YOU DEAD, TOO.

8) IF YOU BELIEVE IN A "VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY" BUT NOT IN THE DANGER THAT HUSSEIN POSES, QUIT HANGING OUT WITH THE DELL COMPUTER DUDE.

9) WE ARE NOT TRYING TO LIBERATE THEM.

10) WHETHER YOU ARE FOR MILITARY ACTION OR AGAINST IT, OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OVERSEAS ARE FIGHTING FOR US TO DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO SPEAK OUT. WE ALL NEED TO SUPPORT THEM WITHOUT RESERVATION.

I HOPE THIS HELPS.

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In yet another email I received the transcripts from a speech given by Alabama State Auditor, Beth Chapman. This speech was given at the "Stand Up for America Rally. It is said that her speech resulted in five standing ovations, tremendous applause, and an encore.

What do you think? Do you agree with her?

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Stand Up for America Rally Speech
By: Beth Chapman

I'm here tonight because men and women of the United States military have given their lives for my freedom.

I am not here tonight because Sheryl Crowe, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Jane Fonda or Phil Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me.

If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, and the beaches of Normandy.

Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States and the U.S. Military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere else.

After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of speech they're being given here today. Ironically, they would be put to death at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden.

I want to know how the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly be the same people who are for abortion?

They are the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn.

The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields" for the Iraqis. I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go.

No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war--innocent people have lost their lives - - and there but for the grace of God, it could have been my brother, my husband, or even worse, my own son.

On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor.

On September 11, 2001, there are no photos of movie stars standing as "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies ascending from the World Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen - underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return.

When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship -- where were the human shields then?

If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers put them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets.

If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity that epitomize courage and embody the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding!

Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too. However, they lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all - "Greater love hath no man, than that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this case a country.

We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn't get on television and talk about being a human shield - they were human shields.

I thank God tonight for freedom - - those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past - - those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future.

America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long!

We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold.

After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven-year-old son said terrorism is a war between them and us and if you're not one of us, then you're one of them.

So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families, and our country.

May God bless America, the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth!

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FINAL THOUGHT

If you have gotten this far, bless you. I’ll take my leave now. I must find some cheese to go with my wine.

Ciao!

SUNDAY MORNING

It's a beautiful, sunny day here. We are all having a lazy Sunday morning. It's nice to not have to rush around and do the get ready for work/school routine. I'm trying not to think about work and what is waiting for me there, and most of the time I'm successful. I've got a big presentation to give on some contracts that I only picked up less than a month ago. I really don't know much about them, so getting ready for it takes up a large amount of my time, which I really don't have allot of lately. Of course, no one has much time nowadays, and they just keep piling the work on. Management's attitude comes through as "you might as well get used to it because it's only going to get worse." It's tough on the morale of all of the employees because it makes us feel as if management doesn't care and isn't on our side.

Oh well, beats the alternative. DO YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?

So it goes........

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THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

All in all, I'd have to say that the birthday party at Chuck E Cheese was not all that bad. The girls had a really good time. They ate pizza until it was coming out of their ears, and had cake to top it all off. The busied themselves by playing games and climbing through all of the tubes, with mom desperately trying to keep track of them both at one time. My ears stopped wringing (caused by the noise level) by about 4:30 or so. Kids are wonderful, but I like them best in small numbers.

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WEBSITE WORK

I've been working a bit on my site. I added a forum to it called The Break Room. I tried to tie the colors in with the rest of my site. As I learn more, it's my hope to add more features to it. For right now, it's just a place to post on various topics. You can visit it here: The Break Room Feel free to jump right in.

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A MOUSE IN THE HOUSE
submitted by M & D

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mousetrap! Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house."


The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house." "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can think of to do about it. Surely someone else will step in to help."

The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger, Duh?"

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.

She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk. And so it may be with Germany, France and Belgium one day.

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That's it for now! Ciao!

Author's Note: I have been trying to post the below entry since last night. I think I've got the computer problems fixed now, but only time will tell.

TGIF!!!!

Finally! I didn't think it would EVER get here! What a week it was. Work has been somewhat of a whirlwind, but I think that quite a few companies are like that now. The work doesn't decrease just because of downsizing. I love the term redistribution of work, don't you? I love how management approaches you when they want to give you more assignments.

Management: Hey Moogs, will you come into my office for a minute? I have something to discuss with you.

Moogie: Sure thing.

(At this point I'm thinking, man...I really don't have time for this. And then I get to thinking that maybe they are going to tell me that I've screwed up big time or they are going to lay me off. But the time I reach the manager's office that is maybe 200 feet away, I've worked up a sweat, and my blood pressure is soaring. A swallowing marathon is going on to keep the contents of my stomach at bay. I'm wracking my brain to try to figure out what I did wrong.) Mom, is this what you meant by backing the hearse up to the door? VRRRrooooommm!

Management: Thanks for coming (I look out of the corner of my eye and notice my supervisor is there as well - Uh oh). We have a new contract coming up (the bells start wringing in my head) and we are trying to decide who we want to take it over as the analyst (I felt he blood rushing to my temples and my head starts to pound...I can see the writing on the wall) Your name keeps coming up.

Moogie: Oh? (man, what a brilliant response Moogs).

Managment: Well, we've been tracking your development and you are one of the more senior folks around (now, does that mean I'm old as dirt or been at the company for a while?) You've really come a long way. This is a really good opportunity for you as it's a three year development contract that could lead to something more.


Moogie: Ahh! (I really need to think about a career in public speaking).

Now, while I'm sure that their compliments are sincere, and it does make me feel good, I also know there is an ulterior motive. Why is it that management cannot just come right out and tell you they have a new contract and have decided they want you to be the analyst? Granted, either way I would have jumped at the opportunity as it will be handled in a completely different manner than what I'm used to. We'll be integrating cost AND schedule which is new to me, and after I've been on board for a while, I'll be one of the few analysts around who know how to do that. That said, it is a great opportunity for me, but I've been around so long and have had that speech given to me so many times. I just wish they would be straight with me and ask. It's not like I've ever said no. The good news is that since this is considered a full time contract, they will take the majority of my work away and give it to someone else. The contract won't start until October at the earliest, so I still have time to fret about my ability to do the job. VRRRroooom!

Nuf said....
BIRTHDAY PARTIES

Joy of joys. Tomorrow we are going to a birthday party for a two-year-old that lives in our neighborhood. The mother just had a baby a few months ago, and sometimes my eldest goes over and entertains the two year old so that the mom can get some work done, or just rest. The party is going to be at Chuck E Cheese (Lord help me) so I would imagine I'll need a lobotomy when it is all through. I really don't mind all that much as the girls are terribly excited about going and they LOVE Chuck E Cheese. My youngest has been agitating to have her fifth birthday party there. We've been trying to talk her out of that, but with no luck. We are going to check out the prices to see if it's anything approaching reasonable.

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GAS PRICES

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in California, the gas prices are going sky high. Most of our gas stations (at least in our area) are charging a bit over $2.00 a gallon for unleaded! I've been reading about the political unrest in Venezuela. In one article they stated that because of that, the oil production of Venezuela was at 60% production. I'd wager to guess this, along with all of the happenings of Iraq are driving the prices up.

Any thoughts?

FEEDBACK

I received this response from Ward in regards to my post on Iraq. For once, we seem to be in agreement.

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= = = = =

War in Iraq

= = = = =

The Big Thing about the coming war in Iraq is Saddam Hussein. Hussein is a Hitler-wannabe. MUCH better to deal with him now, before he has nukes.

I wish it were otherwise.

War is ALWAYS expensive. It costs lives. It costs treasure. It costs friends who become adversaries, or enemies.

Ultimately, Iraq is the big loser here - all the young men Hussein has cost them in the wars from the 1980's onward will not be available to help rebuild the country. The same thing has chewed up France and Germany - their best young men were killed off in WW1 and WW2, and they've been 2nd-class countries since 1945. Stalin killed off Russia's best young men, starting in the 1930's, and Russia is now a 2nd-class power.

Very sad.

Just my thoughts.

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Thanks for your thoughts. I agree, it is sad. But unless Hussein does an about face, I don't see any other way around it

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Here are some more cubicle sayings! Thanks Ward. I'd forgotten some of these.

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It's hard to soar with eagles when you're surrounded by turkeys.

Patience my ass! Let's go out and kill something!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Management NEVER follows this. Never. But, you knew that!)

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Thanks for reminding me. Yes, I remember that well. I wonder if some times they lay awake a night thinking of ways to change things. Don't they have anything better to do?

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HUMOR

Thanks to my folks for sending this. It's really cute!

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DEAR ANN LANDERS:


I loved the letters you printed about misinterpreting the Lord's Prayer. When my twin daughters were young, I taught them to say this prayer before going to bed. As I listened outside their door, I could hear them say, "Give us this steak and daily bread, and forgive us our mattresses." My husband and I always had a good laugh over this. That was over 50 years ago, and the memory still remains in my heart.

From San Francisco: When I was a child, I learned this prayer as "Our Father, who are in Heaven, Howard be thy name." I always thought that was God's real name.

Groton, Mass: My mother spent her early childhood saying, "Hail Mary, full of grapes."

Missoula, Mont: My son, who is in nursery school, said, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, how didja know my name?"

Uniontown, Ohio: I remember thinking this prayer was "Give us this day our jelly bread."

Covina, Calif: I recall reading something years ago about the Pledge of Allegiance. Some child thought it began, "I led the pigeons to the flag."

Cleveland, Ohio: When I was little, I often wondered who Richard Stands was. You know: "I pledge allegiance to the flag . ..
and to the republic for Richard Stands."

Schenectady, NY: I once knew a child whose favorite Sunday school song was "Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear."

Tampa, Fla: When my husband was 6 years old, he thought a certain prayer was "He suffered under a bunch of violets." The real words were "under Pontius Pilate," but at that age, he didn't know better. To this day, we still snicker in church whenever that prayer is read.

Lake Forest Park, Wash: When I was a little girl, we sang a song in Sunday school about Noah. Part of the chorus was "And the rains came down, and the floods came up." We lived next door to a couple of charming little girls who always sang this song while playing in their garden. Their words were, "And the rains came down, and the spuds came up."

Oak Harbor, Wash: When my older brother was very young, he always walked up to the church altar with my mother when she took communion. On one occasion, he tugged at her arm and asked, "What does the priest say when he gives you the bread?" Mom whispered something in his ear. Imagine his shock many years later when he learned that the priest doesn't say, "Be quiet until you get to your seat."

Grand Junction, Colo: When I was younger, I believed the line was "Lead a snot into temptation." I thought I was praying for my little sister to get into trouble

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That's about it for now. Feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts or anything you find humorous. I'd love to hear from you!!! Ciao4now!!!!

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OWNER TRAINING

Last night I took Tiny to her doggie obedience training. It went really well. The instructor said she is quite pleased with the progress we are making. This is only her second session so we are still kind of new at it. This session (each of them lasts six weeks) has been really good for Tiny as there are about 10 dogs in the class and it offers her plenty of distractions. The first session only had 3 dogs, and it was easier to control her. I've always thought of these classes as more of an owner training more than anything else. It teaches us a lot of common sense things, and I also come away with a lot of good tips and ways to modify unacceptable behavior. Tiny has turned out to be more of a "Mommy's" dog. She's really great with the girls, which is a blessing. All in all, I think she'll end up being a great dog. The next step will be to get her into agility training. I think she'll really do well at that. We need to at least finish this session, and perhaps one more before we move on to that. I'm looking forward to that. I watched part of a class and it looked as though the dogs have a lot of fun negotiating their way through the obstacle courses. On Tuesday nights, I take her to doggie socialization and she loves it. She does really well with other dogs, and loves to play. Makes for a busy week but I don't really mind it.

WEBSITE

I've added some pictures of the girls and their day at the park to the website. Just go to the photo album and click on the folder entitled "The Girls." I will eventually have the pictures as thumbnails, but I wanted to get them up first before the pictures became obsolete. I have a lot of work left to do yet on it, but that's why I consider it more of a work in progress. I keep getting all of these ideas. I think I need to start writing them down so I won't forget.

That's about all for now. Hope you have a great day!

AN AFTERNOON AT THE PARK

We had an uncharacteristically beautiful day here on Sunday so we decided to ignore the chores and errands we had to do and go ahead and play hooky. We took the girls to the park right by our house. We made a day of it by taking a picnic lunch. We got some really good pictures that I hope to have posted up on the site in the next couple of days. The city has recently revamped this park and now it has allot of state-of-the-art playground equipment. One neat feature is the three humongous cement slides. The kids (and adults if they are brave enough or are suffering a severe case of lack of common sense) can either slide down on cardboard or just by the seat of their pants. I've not gotten up enough guts to do it yet, but somehow was talked into promising that the next time we went, I'd give it a whirl (now where did I put that common sense?). The slides are basically built for teens on down, and my main fear is that I would sit myself down on one of them, begin the decent, and get stuck (Hey Mom! Look at me! No hands!). Of course, being larger than a child may have its advantages (providing you aren't large enough to get stuck) as it could significantly decrease your speed. Of course, if you are silly enough to wear anything with polyester, you may find that the friction causes the material in your pants to heat up and melt, so that when you get to the bottom of the slide, you have second-degree burns on your rump. Imagine yourself explaining that one to your doctor. If the updates to this journal cease to happen, you will know that I tried it and was rushed to the hospital and am now in traction being fed intravenously, while I have an ice pack settled on my, um, rump. Don't laugh...it COULD happen.

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MONDAY BLUES

After having such a wonderful weekend, I found it extremely difficult to get out of my nice, warm bed this morning. I was really irritated about being woken up from a wonderful dream which included being stranded on a tropical island with Mel Gibson, sand, surf.... well, you get the picture. Needless to say, I had a long discussion, and countless arguments with myself, which I obviously lost because I went to work. It's probably for the best. The work would have still been there for me tomorrow, only there would be more added to it. After arriving to work, I immediately confirmed my belief that Mondays bite. Especially mornings. Now, let me start off by saying that I'm not the brightest bulb in the box early in the morning, but Mondays are worse. This particular one was bad as I had stayed up way too late the night before watching a Lethal Weapon movie (maybe that's why I had that dream). I did my normal planning of my day on the way in to work, and all of that was blown out of the water when I met my manager in the cafeteria right after I got in (I was going for one of the extra large gourmet coffees to see if that would help clear the brain) Turns out they had a bit of a panic (unanticipated costs on contracts), and decided to hold a meeting to see what and how we were going to handle things. You know how that goes. That was fine and all, it needed to be dealt with, but that just meant that my whole morning was blown. I'd love to have a day with no phone calls, meetings or interruptions so that I have a chance to get a little bit caught up. So it goes.....

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IRAQ

I'm sure that you all have been listening to the unfolding story regarding Iraq. My husband and I had a bit of a discussion about this. In fact, I think he even wrote about it in one of his blogs.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this topic. Drop me a line on how you feel we should handle the situation. Should we go to war? Is Iraq cooperating with the weapons inspectors enough to justify NOT going to war? What is your opinion and why? Drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Surprisingly, my husband and I are in an agreement on this one. We rarely are on cases such as these. I really don't think there is any hope that we WON'T go to war, which is sad. I'd rather deal with Sadam before he has access to nuclear weapons. As for as the destruction of missiles...that's a laugh. It's a farce to get the public to believe they have 100% coooperation.

Ok, Iraq began destroying its Al Samoud 2 missiles on Saturday. France and Germany believe that this is proof that the inspections are working (w00t, what drug are they on and can I have some?) Thing is, Baghdad has yet to account for missing stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. It's got to be all or nothing. That's JMO.

Sadam is a sick one. The sooner we do something about it, the better.

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A LITTLE HUMOR

Thought some of you might find this a little humorous. Enjoy!

Inspirational Posters For The Cubicle Era

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings, they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos...then you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation.

Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

A person who smiles in the face of adversity...probably has a scapegoat.

Plagiarism saves time.

If at first you don't succeed, try management.

Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

TEAMWORK...means never having to take all the blame yourself.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.

We waste time, so you don't have to.

Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!

Go the extra mile. It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

A snooze button is a poor substitute for no alarm clock at all.

When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break.

INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY.

Succeed in spite of management.

Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.

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That's about it for right now! Ciao for now!

JOBS AND STAY AT HOME DADS

The job is going well. For the most part, I still enjoy it, though I wish there would be a little less of it at the moment. I just received four new contracts that I'm going to be in charge of, and they are unique in that they are handled quite differently than what I'm used to. While I enjoy learning new things, I really hate going through it because it causes me a great deal of stress. These particular contracts require charts up the gazoo. I have never seen so many. Not being familiar with them is really bogging me down. I know it will come with time, but I'm always afraid I'm going to mess something up. So it goes....

My husband is still out of work, and has been for the better part of a year, not counting the four months that he worked as a contractor. Unemployment is high out here and there is just no action. He's been sending out allot of resumes, but rarely gets any kind of a response. He's and IT guru and those folks were hit really hard with the dot com implosion. He's been staying at home with my youngest daughter and that saves quite a bit on daycare. She does go once or twice a week, so that she can have some fun with other kids, and dad has a chance to maintain his sanity. He also drops off and picks up my eldest from school, which saves us a bundle on before and after care. In some ways, it has been good because he's formed a closer bond with the girls. It will be nice when we can get the extra income back though. It's been tight only having unemployment coming in but we are managing.

That's about all for the moment. Need to go get cleaned up. It's a beautiful day outside and I think the park is calling us!

Ciao for now! Be good, and if you can't, have fun!

THE KIDS

The girls are both doing great, though I do wonder from time to time if they will live to see their next birthday. My eldest is 8 and in third grade. I can't believe the things they are learning in third grade. She's already doing things like division. She has a science fair on March 27th that is mandatory. She definitely has her work cut out for her. They could pick what they wanted to do, based on some strict guidelines. She is going to base hers on all of the planets and discuss whether or not she feels that there could be life on them. We are helping her work out the details of how she wants to do that. It's going to be a lot of work but a lot of fun as well.

My youngest will be 5 on March 31st, which really amazes me. I remember quite clearly when she was a baby and just learning to crawl. Time goes by so fast. She's still my strong willed, independent one. I often tell people that if I would have had her first, I would have stopped there. The tantrums are a lot less now but we are working with her to control her temper. She has a problem with the word "no." If you use it, you'd best have full-bodied armor on to protect yourself.

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CATCHING UP

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Guess I could give the excuse of being busy and all. Well, I guess you could say I have been busy but I've also lacked the motivation to write.

I've completed school and have my Bachelors in Business Management. It was a long, tough road, and one I really never thought I would finish. I graduated with a 3.9 and that gives me a serious feeling of pride. Now, if I ever see another text book again, you'll have to call the men in the white coats to come and take me back to the little padded room with my name on it.

I'm starting up a website now that I have a little free time (is there such a thing when you have kids?) I'm not sure of the direction it's going to take or where it will go but at least I'm off to a fairly good start. I have found that it is really fun putting stuff like this together, but I'm afraid if I keep this up, I may lose all my hair, and what little is left will turn gray. Of course, one could argue that I have no hair left the way it is because I have a couple of young things who have made it their life's mission to drive me over the brink. That being said, I can tell you that I have learned quite a bit about HTML but need to learn so much more. Take color matching for instance. Whew! Be thankful you weren't here when I first started testing some of the colors out for the background and such. I came up with some doozies. Some of them looked like something you would find in the bottom of a baby's diaper (to coin a phrase from my dad) or they would make you lunge for you sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare. A friend of mine was kind enough to send me a link that made this part much less traumatic for me. This of course, was after I had struggled with it for a bit, but I was still eternally grateful. At any rate, I hope you'll check my site out and drop me a line to tell me what you think. I would appreciate any ideas, or comments you might have. I'm really new at this so I need all the help I can get. HERE

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