Ponderings on stuff....

The upcoming election has been on mind heavily and I received an email that triggered some investigating on my part...I found out that the unbelievable numbers in the email were factual. The candidates do not worry me as much as the individuals voting for them...case in point:
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I was at the checkout of a K-Mart. The clerk rang up $46.64 charge. I gave her a fifty dollar bill. She gave me back $46.64. I gave the money back to her and told her that she had made a mistake in MY favor. She became indignant and informed me she was Educated and knew what she was doing, and returned the money again. I gave her the Money back .... same scenario! I departed the store with the $46.64.
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I walked into a Starbucks with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a Grande Latte. I handed it to the girl and she looked over at a little chalkboard that said "buy one-get one free." "They're already buy-one-get-one-free," she said, "so I guess they're both free". She Handed me my free Lattes and I walked out the door.
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One day I was walking down the beach with some Friends when one of them shouted, "Look at that dead bird!". Someone looked up at the sky and said, "Where"?
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While looking at a hous e, my brother asked the real Estate agent which direction was north because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning. She asked, "Does the sun rise in the north?" When my brother explained that the sun rises in the East, and has for sometime, she shook her head and said, "Oh I don't keep up with all that stuff."
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I used to work in technical support for a 24/7 call center. One day I got a call from an individual who asked what hours the call center was open. Itold him, "The number you dialed is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a we ek." He responded, "Is that Eastern or Pacific time?" Wanting to end the call quickly, I said, "Uh, Pacific."
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My sister has a lifesaving tool in her car designed to cut through a seat belt if she gets trapped. She keeps it in the trunk.
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My friends and I were on a beer run and noticed that the cases were discounted 10%. Since it was a big party, we bought 2 cases. Thecashier multiplied 2 times 10% and gave us a 20% discount. I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area, so I went to the lost luggage office and told the woman there that my bags never showed up. She s miled and told me not to worry because she was a trained professional and I was in good hands. "Now," she asked me, has your plane arrived yet?"
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While working at a pizza parlor I observed a man Ordering a small pizza to go. He appeared to be alone and the cook asked Him if he would like it cut into 4 pieces or 6. He thought about it for some time before responding. "Just cut it into 4 pieces; I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat 6 pieces."
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They Walk Among Us, and they Reproduce, and Worst of all ... THEY VOTE
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Now the numbers....
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Whatever your politics, however you lean, however you feel about the current administration, this report should open some eyes.
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Military losses, 1980 through 2006
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf
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As tragic as the loss of any member of the US Armed Forces is, consider the following statistics: The annual fatalities of military members while actively serving in the armed forces from 1980 through 2006:
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1980 .......... 2,392 (Carter Year)
1981 .......... 2,380 (Reagan Year)
1984 .......... 1,999 (Reagan Year)
1988 .......... 1,819 (Reagan Year)
1989 .......... 1,636 (George HW Year)
1990 .......... 1,508 (George HW Year)
1991 .......... 1,787 (George HW Year)
1992 .......... 1,293 (George HW Year)
1993 .......... 1,213 (Clinton Year)
1994 .......... 1,075 (Clinton Year)
1995 .......... 2,465 (Clinton Year)
1996 .......... 2,318 (Clinton Year) Clinton years (1993-2000): 14,000 deaths
1997 ............. 817 (Clinton Year)
1998 .......... 2,252 (Clinton Year)
1999 .......... 1,984 (Clinton Year)
2000 .......... 1,983 (Clinton Year)
2001 ............. 890 (George W Year)
2002 .......... 1,007 (George W Year)
2003 .......... 1,410 (George W Year)
2004 .......... 1,887 (George W Year) George W years (2001-2007): 7,932 deaths
2005 ............. 919 (George W Year)
2006.............. 920 (George W Year)
2007………...899 (George W Year)
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These figures mean that the loss from the two latest conflicts in the Middle East are LESS than the loss of military personnel during Bill Clinton's presidency; when America wasn't even involved in a war!
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And, I was even more shocked when I read that in 1980, during the reign of President (Nobel Peace Prize winner) Jimmy Carter, there were 2,392 US military fatalities! I think that these figures indicate that many members of our Media and our Politicians will pick and choose the information on which they report. Of course we all know that they present only those 'facts' which support their agenda-driven reporting. But why do so many of them march in lock-step to twist the truth? Where do so many of them get their marching-orders for their agenda? Obviously there is one shared agenda, and I believe it is clear it comes from the most powerful Democratic family of the decade.
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Do you want further proof? Consider the latest census, of Americans. It shows the following FACTS about the distribution of American citizens, by Race:
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European descent .......................... 69.12%
Hispanic ......................................... 12.5%
Black .............................................. 12.3%
Asian ............................................... 3.7%
Native American .............................. 1.0%Other ................................................ 2.6%
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Now... here are the fatalities by Race; over the past three years in Iraqi Freedom:
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European descent (white) .............74.31%
Hispanic ..................................... 10.74%
Black .......................................... 9.67%
Asian ........................................... 1.81%
Native American ........................... 1.09%
Other ............................................ 0.33%
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I was surprised again. . .until it became clear to me that the point here is that our mainstream media continues to spin these figures (for political gain). Nothing more.
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It’s all about politics and some politicians, who are now famous for turning American against American for a vote. (Consider Slick Willy and his comments just recently made about South Carolina, Jesse Jackson, and the ‘blacks’ voting for the ‘black’ candidates); or Hillary’s stump speech after her Super Tuesday ‘victory’ stating that the current administration does not ‘listen’ to anyone and continues the war costing precious American lives. Yes, I might even agree with her, but she should be made to acknowledge her own husband’s administration, without having an actual war, sent more soldiers to death during his regime—while also forcing the military to release Osama when we actually had him detained.
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I hope that during the time between now and November, that intelligent Americans can decipher the facts from the spin and the spinners from the leaders; those who seek even more power from those that seek justice, the dividers from the uniters..
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Over the next months let’s be good listeners (yes, Hillary we are listening) and see and hear who tries to divide our nation; and who wants to unite our nation.. Who wants to control how our money is spent and who wants our money spent the way we would spend it. Who seeks power and who seeks justice? Who spins the facts and who is genuine.
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(These statistics are published by Congressional Research Service, and they may be confirmed by anyone at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf )

Well time to update anyone watching...

Well, I have been doing a lot of day trips to hike and walk in some beautiful areas around my home. I chopped my hair off to shoulder length and became mom to 6 new fuzzy chicks. I got 5 different heavy breeds who are good layers, docile and hardy in the winter. They have been a blast. There is 1 Ameraucana, named Sandy. She is a cute thing and has been claimed by Cheyenne. She is the only one who will not lay brown eggs...Sandy will lay Blue or Green eggs. Then there is 1 silver-laced wyandotte, named Speckles. She is the sweetest little thing. Immediately, she wanted attention. there is also a New Hampshire Red, named Maggie. She is the smallest of the group and she has been nicknamed 'Mizz Bossy' because she runs around constantly ruling the roost so to speak. Then there is Lilly, a Light Brahma. She was claimed by my nephew. She has been a realy sweet, cooperative and cute thing. She has had to undergo butt baths daily because of all the fuzz on her backside, she gets blocked...so out comes the warm wet washcloth. I had thought my butt wiping days were over but alas...they are not. Last but not least are Molly & Holly. They are the two black australorps. The only way to tell them apart is...Molly has more white on her head and a different black pattern on her beak than Holly. They are little adorable fuzzballs. So, they are 5 days old now and tons of fun to watch and play with.

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Spring Break is this week so I will not be slowing down most likely. I have been prepping my garden beds and getting ready to start the new one. My seeds are all up and growing like crazy. I have carrots, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, lettuce, spring salad mix, tarragon, german chamomile, rosemary, lavender, arugula and even 30 lettuce plants for the deer. I am going to try to buy them off with lettuce offerings. Hopefully, they will stay clear of my garden. I put out a 25 lb salt and mineral block for them last week too. We will see if it works.

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More soon....

Today's Adventure

A large patch of Cobra Lily plants. The Oregon forestry department is experimenting in one area with planting Cobra Lily plants on ridges and near the rivers to act as a natural pesticide/pest and mosquito control. It seems to be working well and the Cobra Lily thrives in the full sunlight and the soil with the heavy metal content found in the green serpentine notorious in the area. They were bright orange today and beautiful but they are also a brilliant green at different times of day and seasons. Incredible plant really. They do not open up like the venus flytrap, instead they have a hole in the canopy head that the insects fly into to get to a sap like substance the plant makes. I love the way nature works.
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There was also several old bridges on this road that was once a wagon trail that went to the coast. You can still drive it to the coast if you do not mind a one way dirt and gravel road through the mountain ridges. A truly beautiful area with a very cold mountain stream running through it. :) We go for a hike and walk each day while Cheyenne is in school...a different place in the area everyday. I do love it here because of all the beauty in nature that surrounds us.

More Later.....

The Anniversary is here...

It is officially my 7th Wedding Anniversary and I could not imagine being so happy after 7 years of marriage. Having two horrid marriages and divorces before I married Piitannaawa, I truly did not know that I could love someone so much (aside from my kids). There is something to be said about finding the "Mr. Right". I never believed that either until I met Mr. Right and now I could not imagine life without him.

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We have been through so much in the 7 years we have been married, that I doubt many other couples could have survived it and still be totally in-love with each other. We have been through deployments, war, injuries, medical retirement, cancer, family deaths, the loss of a beloved furry family member, separation by what seemed liked worlds, an much much more. And yet, we are still falling in-love. How cool is that?

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I cannot wait to see what the next 7 years bring. Meanwhile, we are focusing hard on our health, gym time and staying fit. Personally, I am still waging my war on gaining weight. I will not give up and I will gain weight and get bigger!

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So, as soon as I my Dell is repaired and the new harddrive installed, I can get back online full-time with the BuffMothers in the Rally Room and that is always a motivating factor and pleasure. A pleasure I am really missing right now.

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More later...

I have been bad bad bad....

I have been very bad about posting. Sometimes life just gets away with us. So much has happened since my last post in this journal that I must stop and reflect a bit. I will highlight everything so I at least have mind triggers for when I return to read my journal at some future date and time.

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December was a great month...filled with joy, love and laughter. Our holiday was great and spent laughing and enjoying family and good food. And the New Year celebration was quiet and spent at home. Cheyenne stayed up and welcomed in the New Year with us. Then things changed.

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My son was arrested for owing child support and that caused a 1,000.00 change in my checking account. Next came my father's health. He was told he had to have open heart surgery and a defibrillator installed. Well there was a huge recall on these units as well as pacemakers...apparently there are faulty leads in the units and people were having them taken out and replaced or the leads changed. Each action created the need for open heart surgery. Dad decided not to go through the surgery only to be forced to do it again to fix the thing. So, this prompted me to fly to Florida. So, I flew to Florida until February 14th and spent much needed time with my parents, my son and my grandson. Poor husband was ready for m to come home after the first week...I think he quickly decided that being a single parent was not to his liking at all. He called almost daily just "to talk". LOL

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Since my return home on 2/14, I have gone through some changes. Back in August I had a perm done. After telling the young lady that my hair takes a perm really fast so not to leave the solution on for more than 10 minutes. Well she did not listen and she burned my hair to the scalp in three or four places. My hair was growing back out and just felt damaged and unhealthy...so I went and got my hair cut yesterday. My hair as not been this short since I was about 4 years old. It went from waist length to just barely touching my shoulders. Poor husband had heart palpitations! It will grow out again and in the meantime, it feels so healthy and so good.

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Next I went and ordered "The Girls". My baby chicks will arrive at 1 or 2 days old on March 19th. I ordered 5 chicks of 4 different breeds. I ordered 2 Australorps, 1 Ameraucana (which will lay blue or green eggs), 1 Silver Laced Wynadotte, and 1 Light Brahma. I picked up 10 pounds of food, a feeder and waterer, a heat lamp and just have to gather a large tote for them to stay in. Husband is laughing over the thought of having baby chicks living in our bathroom for 4 weeks. I have already acquired the metal roofing for the hen house and have only the woo, wire, nails and hinges left to pick up. Something tells me that the building project will cause me to either cut my nails or break a few. That will be okay though...the girls need to be safe.

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Just last weekend, we had another full grown horse killed by a mountain lion less than a mile up the road. The first one was killed two weeks ago and everyone had sort of dismissed it as a problem because that horse was a small Arabian that was old and having trouble getting around. However, the one killed last weekend was a 4 year old healthy horse so we have a problem lion for sure...the hunt is on for this big lion. Meanwhile, the lady lions have been prowling all night around our house. We have one on each side of the house coming through the yard now....wonderful. It is no fun taking the dog out to go to the bathroom and carrying a rifle with you when you go...but there is no choice in the matter. I will not have the little taco bell beast become a tasty snack for one of these lions...and worse, I do not plan to become a tasty snack for the horse killer either (should he happen along with me outside). I would feel strange if the other neighbors were not also carrying rifles, shotguns or semi-automatic pistols out with them as well.

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So, that is really all for now except to say, that all my hard work last year of reaching 130 pounds was for naught as I am one again at 101.2 pounds...no matter how much I eat. So, I am taking a break from force feeding myself 3000 - 3500 calories per day but I am not giving up. I will be hitting it again hard. Meanwhile, the hard drive on my laptop went out and it is currently back with Dell being fixed so I will be in and out of communication and posting for a bit longer.

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More later....

Busy Busy Busy....

Wow life has been busy busy busy and I have been neglecting my blog, so I am back at it and catching up.

I have stayed out of the gym completely for about 6 weeks and concentrating on eating and gaining weight. This has been to no avail. I am still holding at 97 lbs. Hopefully a doctor and labwork will eventually figure this out. All hopes of the Emerald are for certain pushed way back, but that is how life goes sometimes.

Cheyenne is doing good and growing fast. She is still struggling with Math in school so we are working on that with her at home each night. This week will start working on her fractions through cooking. She is going to adjust all my recipes for me to the proper amounts. Her reading skills are several years ahead of her age group as is her science. History is a good subject for her as well...now just to work on her writing and punctuation.

We are getting roommates next week. Summer and Steven are coming back to Oregon from Missouri. Their hopes and dreams were based on deception and they have both been deeply hurt by Summer's mother. So, they will be coming here to stay with us. We are looking forward to it also because they are both wonderful people and fun to spend time with so, we will celebrate the holidays together. They can heal and we can all discuss the future and our goals...it is nice to have someone else to talk with and get a new perspective on such issues.

Springtime means baby chicks! Husband is going to let me have chickens, so I have picked out the three breeds I want and am pre-ordering them for spring. I already designed their hen house and run, have the roofing material and now just waiting to get the rest of the materials and the babies in the spring.

I will catch up more later, now time to clean the kitchen and get some things moved around for Summer and Steven's arrival.

Later...

Catching up on life!

So much has been going on that I sometimes feel like I do not have time to stop and breathe freely. Between helping my friend with her business, working on individual projects for myself and a couple of friends, spending time with Samson before he goes to New Mexico, housework, fighting to VA and dealing with the Army's latest stupidity...I am worn out!

To day we went to the Wild Cat park here in town and it was tons of fun. It was a spur of the moment thing so I did not have my camera with me...this is okay that merely means I get to go back. I remembered back in January, the sound of a lion's roar waking me in the middle of the night. That is not a sound you normally hear in the US countryside...well I got to meet the producer of this roar today. His name is Shaka and he is close to 500 lbs of 12 year of lion. He is absolutely beautiful. They believe Shaka has some lineage with a not extinct species of lion because of his mane. African Lions get big bushy manes that go just past their shoulders...Shaka's is more like the extinct species of lion....his goes all the way back to his hips. Gorgeous animal. Unfortunately they have been unable to breed their lion and lioness because the two animals hate each other. The lioness is extremely aggressive and she stalks the children that come to see her. I mean she runs towards them growling and roaring and jumping at the fence! True predator behavior...she wants badly to grab a small victim of opportunity. Thankfully she is behind a 20+ foot tall chain fencing and a concrete bottom perimeter that is about 3 feet tall under the fencing. So she is not jumping out of there.

Then there was my personal favorite...the tigers. They did not have any siberians but they had three beautiful Bengals. They have a white bengal and he is gorgeous. Not true white like the siberian whites but more of a very pale cream or buff color between his stripes. Then there were the black leopards, lynx, leopards, snow leopards, cougar, cervils and ocelots and african wildcats which look just like the domestic housecat. They are where the domestic cat came from. Cute little guys. The two jaguars were awesome. Two brothers in the same enclosure. They only exist together without killing because they have never been separated. A mere 24 hours apart and they could never be put together again because they would fight to the death. They were very cool to watch. Cheyenne got a kick out of learning about them...she learned that the only two big cats that purr are the panther and the cougar and they are the most shy of the big cats...the roarers such as lions, tigers, jags and leopards are more aggressive and more readily seen. She also learned that leopards are the most difficult to work with and the most dangerous. The owner of the cat park, Craig, is a leopard specialist and we were able to see him walk into the enclosures with some of the cats and play with them. Often during the summer, he takes the tigers swimming in the river here. People have gotten used to seeing him swimming with his tigers and the locals just give them plenty of room and go about their business.

So that is all for the catch up, tomorrow is going over to meet Samson's new owner, go riding and give him treats. We are going to be talking to him about building a custom saddle for him and Samson. That will be a fun and LARGE project. :)

More later!

The kid is back!

Well Miss Cheyenne is back from Florida. She was happy to get home and we were glad to have her back. The house is never the same when she goes to visit the grandparents...there is no caos or havoc, no noise, no 100 questions in a 10 minute span and no loud TV and laughter from the hall.

We have a little bit of time before school starts so we have been just goofing off so far. We went over to Eddy's on Sunday and wished her a happy birthday and played with the horses a bit. Knightmare and Fancy were tickled to see Cheyenne and even more pleased when they realized she had bought an apple for each of them. Samson as usual was thrilled that I was there and as he expected, I gave him all of my attention. He has begun to play games with me now and is giving horse hugs. Horse hugs are great but when it comes from an 1800 lb percheron, it can be a bit knee buckling. LOL.

Cheyenne and I are going to hit the Wild Cat park this week...she wants to see the lions, tiger, ligers, cougars and such up close and personal. I have not warned her about how horrid the breath of a lion is when he growls...I think I will let her find out for herself.

Well off to bed for the night and more later.....

Its a new day...new choices

I woke up this morning feeling like there are things I need to get accomplished and open matters I need to close. So, I made a list and am going to start working on them one by one until they are completed. Some of them are great things to get done and others will make me a bit sad...but nonetheless, they need to be done.

Our free time is nearing its end. Cheyenne flies home Saturday and we will be going to Portland to pick her up. While it has been a nice break for her and us, we are all ready for her to be back home. She is more than ready. She is excited because her new school year starts soon.

She is growing up so quickly and changing each day. I think she is going to make a wonderful young woman. She has courage, strength, intelligence, drive and determination. She will do good.

The garden is going well and I have harvested my first squash...now soon the tomatoes shall be ready. yay.

Well off to get started. Have a great day.

Ponderings about our government

I often wonder what is going on in the minds of corporate America some days. If you are in the military, lenders think you have stable income but demand you carry tons of insurance in the event you are killed they get theirs, when you get out and you have a steady retirement, they do not trust their own government enough to be able to pay your retirement years from now and they want "more solidl" earnings. I ask you WTF? This scenario just happened to an acquaintance of ours. How ridiculous.

Recently, I was graced with this editorial and it says so much...I wanted to put in my blog. Hopefully, some government official somewhere will read it and get a clue!

Editorial:

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table... everywhere. Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore.

I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the backyard was like it used to be...quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see...our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be a automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English; Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to press "one" to hear my bank talk to me in English; and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

Amen to the author of that piece!