Sonja's scraps

Never Forget

2010-09-10T22:14:00.005-04:00

I was going to post the September 11 column by Leonard Pitts, but as I read through it again I realized that his column was written in a time of shock and grief and anger. Yes we should never forget what happened on 9/11 and we should always remember the sacrifice of the police, firefighters and citizens on that day. We should alsoremember the sacrifice made by our Service men and women since that day.

But this should be a time of healing and remembrance, not anger and irrational idealism. Islam is not our enemy. Those who warp the words and ideals of Islam to further their murderous agenda are our enemy. Just as those who warp the words and ideals of Christianity, or any other religion to forward an agenda of hate and prejudice should be the concern of all rational thinking people.

This country was founded on the premise that we should all have the right to worship as we please. We have the right to free speech, and I may not agree with what you say, but at one time I swore an oath to defend your right to to say it, no matter how idiotic. I may no longer have the authority but I still believe in that oath.

On this 9/11 Anniversary let's remember what is important, our family friends and freedoms. Tell those important to you how you feel, and take the time to thank those who swore an oath to protect your freedoms, even your right to be and idiot.

Of Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

2010-06-30T18:26:00.009-04:00

Yesterday two officers from the Tampa Police Department were killed on a traffic stop. The killer, who had a warrant for his arrest, shot both officers in the head. Neither officer had time to draw his weapon or call on the radio. Citizens who witnessed the shooting called to report it. Both officers were 31 years old; one had a child due next week and the other had 4 boys.

The killer had a long criminal history. He was acquitted on charges of attempted murder at one point. I have already heard the question, and it will be asked a lot in the coming days; "why was a person with a history like this out on the street?"

The easy answer it this....this is how our justice system work. He either served his time or was acquitted. But its not really an easy answer is it? Unfortunately, our system of justice is not equipped to handle people like this. If this killer doesn't get shot during apprehension, he will be tried for two counts of capital murder and will most likely get the death penalty. But it took the lives of two good cops to get this far. Unless the citizens become willing give up certain rights and live in a police state where justice is dispensed immediately and without fail then tragedies like this will continue to happen. The great things is that, knowing this, the sheepdogs still go into battle.

Two sheepdogs were killed yesterday and despite that today, sheepdogs all over this country got up and went out like they do everyday and protected their sheep from the wolves.

Grossman, D., & Christensen, L., “Of Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.” Published in:
-South Carolina Trooper, Winter 2006.
-Arkansas Lawman, June 2005.
-Oklahoma Chief to Chief: The Official Publication of the Oklahoma Chiefs of Police, -Spring/Summer 2005.
-The Coalition: The Official Publication of the National Narcotics Officers Association Coalition, Spring 2005.
-The Police Marksman, Nov/Dec 2005.

Law Enforcement Week

2010-05-16T19:19:00.002-04:00

Right now there's a law enforcement officer helping someone. A police officer is working the streets {day or night} to keep you safe. A sheriff's deputy is missing their family while caring for yours. In the minute it took you to read this, police officers all over the world are saving lives.♥ It's Law Enforcement Appreciation Week.

2010-05-06T18:16:00.004-04:00

Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36981179?GT1=43001

The following is just my humble opinion, so don't yell at me or threaten to sue me for insinuating that your kid might be an asshole.

"On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population."

I suspect that on any other typical day these five students wouldn't be noticed with a Flag shirt because they are probably not wearing one. I could be wrong, maybe these 5 boys are true patriots, but I doubt it.

"....the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office. 'They said we could wear it on any other day,'Daniel Galli said, 'but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today.' boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus."

Again, I suspect that the idea was to be "incendiary" and cause a fight.

That being said, Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday. The only reason that it has been Americanized, much like St. Patrick's Day, is so the we can have an excuse to drink copious amounts of alcohol in the middle of the week. If you a Mexican-American or a Mexican citizen living in this country, I don't begrudge you your right to celebrate your holiday. It does not give anyone the right to tell me as an American citizen what I can and cannot do just because it might offend someone. As long as I am not breaking any laws, I have the right to say anything I want. As long as these kids were not breaking any pre-established rules, they had the right to wear the clothing they were wearing and should not have been threatened with suspension.

As for me I'm celebrating Mungo Day.... and if your offended you can bite me

Random Stuff

2010-03-10T19:03:00.007-05:00

1. Husband and I got a new puppy. His name is Lucky, he is the anti-Christ. Nala, the older one, was never this bad at 4mos. Lucky is psychotic and is a bad influence on Nala. I should have just said yes to the cat.

2. It was reported yesterday the Lindsey Lohan is suing E-trade over their Superbowl "mil-a-holic" commercial. Apparently the milk-a-holic baby in the commercial named Lindsey is a parody of Ms. Lohan. Ms. Loahn is deluded into thinking that she has one name status on par with Oprah or Cher. Honestly when I saw the commercial, a) didn't realize the baby had a name and b) didn't think of Lindsey Lohan. In fact I rarely think of Lindsey Lohan.

3. Actor and 80's teen idol (their words not mine) Corey Haim died today of an apparent drug overdose. Some news outlets have reported this as a "shocking" death. Really??? Shocking??? He's been a drug addict since he was 12 years old. How is this shocking? As a friend of mine so poignantly said..

Officer James Bonneau of Jackson PD died yesterday responding to a Domestic Disturbance call. Today a self-indulgent asshole named Cory Haim died of a drug overdose. Guess which one got the most press?

Well that's all for now. Soon there will be news on the work front, but I can't comment until things are official. Also I had to implement the security word on my comment page, I hate it and I'm sorry, but my little blog was getting spammed.

TTFN...I have to go see what demon puppy is up to.

New Background

2010-02-05T13:53:00.004-05:00

In honor of a holiday the I traditional care nothing for (except the chocolate) I have found and downloaded this really fun girly background. I actually love it. Which is so weird..sometime during the past year I have found my inner girl. I'm not sure how long this will last.

Suddenly pink is my favorite color (have you seen my pink blackberry), I have more than two purses and lord don't get me started on shoes.

I still don't own a skirt and husband and I are going to Monster Jam tomorrow...so there is hope.

Help my cause

2010-01-20T14:41:00.006-05:00

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No below my picture.

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We do good work to provide crisis/stress management to public saftey first responders. iGive is quick and easy, so why not donate money while you search.

WTH?????

2010-01-14T10:25:00.002-05:00

When I was unemployed for a year and a half we ran up quite a bit of credit card debt. Unfortunately even though money wasn't coming in, people still wanted to be paid. (Bastards) With the generous help of my mother, we (she) were able to pay off most of it. There is still one card with a hefty balance.

Husband called today to try to get the interest rate lowered so we could get out from under it. He was told the if we were delinquent on the account they would be happy to help, otherwise not so much.

So let me get this straight...I actually pay my bills on time like a good productive citizen and I get squat. I don't pay my bills and you bend over backward to help me?

Sometimes being a good citizen does not make any sense at all.

Winter Thoughts

2010-01-07T07:59:00.005-05:00

I live in Florida so you will never hear me complain when it get cold here. I hate the hot, miserable, sweaty summers. When it gets cold you can pull out the sweaters, the down comforter, and the snuggie.

That being said here's some not so random thoughts about this week's cold snap.....

What the hell am I supposed to do with ice on my windshield at 7 am? I don't own an ice scraper, nor would I know where to buy one. It was almost and excuse to call in sick and go back to bed
When you have the heat on in the car high enough to keep your toes from getting frostbite, you have a tendency to want to fall asleep.
I'm pretty sure my office, inside a building, should not be as cold or colder than it is outside

Ok, I have to set my desk on fire now, the polar bear who lives in my office want to make smores.

No news is good...

2009-12-24T19:39:00.002-05:00

My mom asked me tonight if I watch the new every night. I said I didn't because its depressing and usually just pisses me off. I was told I should watch it anyway. So to make my point..here's why I don't watch the news.

Had I not watched the new tonight I would have been blissfully ignorant to the fact the Michael Vick was given the Ed Block Courage Award today. This award "honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage." It is usually given "for things like coming back from injury, doing good work in the community or long, dedicated service to a franchise"

I am fairly sure that starting your football career over after doing prison time for running a dog fighting ring is not what the award founders had in mind. Sure Vick did his time and deserves to have a second chance. The same second chance most convicted felons get to have. He does not deserve to walk back into a multi-million dollar career and he certainly does not deserve to get and award that is supposed to exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.

If you want to honor someone, honor somebody like Warrick Dunn, whose mother, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty when he was just 18. He went to college and made a career. He gives back to his community and has never been convicted of a crime. (and yes I know he's a free agent..not the point)

And while I'm on my little rant...yes it is sad that Chris Henry died so young. Its always tragic when someone does. But please spare me the platitudes about how he was "turning he life around". He died while attempting to assault he fiance and the mother of his children. That is not someone who is turning his life around.

So do you see why I don't watch the news...

Ok back to your regularly scheduled Christmas Eve.

2009-12-20T19:42:00.002-05:00

Mom says I need to blog. I don't have much to say. So...

Merry Christmas...Happy Hanukkah...Happy Kwanzza

Have a great New Year too.

Halloween Meme

2009-10-24T22:37:00.002-04:00

I stole this from WAYSM who stole it from Chatty. Seems a good thing to post. Sorry I've been wrapped up in face book.

1. What is your favorite written work of horror fiction?

I don't really like Horror per se, but I always like Robert R. McCammon especially The Wolf's Hour

2. What is your favorite work of science fiction/fantasy?

Currently I'm a big fan of several series, Jaz Parks by Jennifer Rardin, anything with vampires

3. Who is your favorite monster?

Gossamer the Big Red Monster from Bugs Bunny

4. What is your favorite Horror movie?

I am not a fan of gore, I like Dracula 2000. Also the original Manhunter

5. What horror movie gives you the most chills?

The gory ones I don't watch

6. What character from any horror film would you most like to play?

The Bride of Darcula

7. Freddy or Jason?

They both scare the shit out of me. But I liked Freddy better.

8. What is your favorite Halloween treat?

Candy corn

9. Ghosts or goblins?

Ghosts

10. Friendly-faced jack-o’-lantern or scary one?

Friendly

11. What is your scariest encounter with the paranormal?

I don't think I have ever had one..

12. Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

I do....but I don't know why

13. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho?

I think an alien because I hate to eat brains.

14. Favorite Halloween costume?

My Puss in Boots I did once in college.

15. Best thing about Halloween?

The cute kids at the door

16. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)?

Husband, although he may be faking it to make me happy

17. Are you superstitious?

Not really

18. Share an unusual Halloween story.

Don’t have one.

19. What did you do for Halloween as a kid?

Trick or treated in the neighborhood

20. What’s the best Halloween party that you’ve attended?

Guavaween.

An open letter to Best Buy

2009-09-21T18:16:00.002-04:00

Dear Best Buy,

If I was a manager at your store I would institute a policy that is there were two or more customers standing in the return line, I would have one of the employees who seems to be meandering around with nothing to do, open a second register. I think this policy would be more efficient and would provide better customer service.

It seem that this would be a better policy than the one you currently have which apparently is that another register will be open if 4 or more people are in line and the idiot currently at the register needs two employees and a manager to assist him because he he wrote a check and now want to return something but doesn't have a receipt.

Or maybe don't let people write checks at Best Buy.

Thank you,
Sonja

More randomness

2009-08-21T21:00:00.001-04:00

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2009-08-18T13:46:00.001-04:00

128,274 People

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When did you two meet?

2009-07-29T09:06:00.003-04:00

The Associated Press reports that neighbors of a suspected North Carolina terrorist are finding it hard to believe that the man is a terrorist. Here's a quote from one of the neighbors, Charles Casale..."if he's a terrorist, he's the nicest terrorist I've ever met in my life......"

Now I don't claim to know anything about this suspect, his neighbors or really this situation. (Yea like that surprises you, no I haven't actually read any background info on this)

It begs the question though as to how many terrorists Mr. Casale has actually met in his life and if it's more than one, why isn't somebody investigating him.

R.I.P Kady

2009-07-10T16:53:00.003-04:00

Kady Bowman (AKA:Kitten) passed away at Bluffs Animal Hospital today. She was 15. She had had a short battle with cancer.

Kady ws very different from her brother Kody. Kady was shyer, more standoffish. She however loved husband from the day she met him. I figured I had to marry him since he was the only person she really liked.

Kady loved to chase and catch lizards on the porch with her borther.

She enjoined eating also. Her favorites were meat, and chicken and fish...the staples. She also liked pasta.

Kady is survived by her mom, Sonja and Husband, and her sister Nala and many, many friends and family.

Much thanks to the doctor's and staff at Bluffs Animal Hospital for all their great care of Kady right to the end.

Billy Mays

2009-06-30T20:52:00.003-04:00

Of the all the celebrity deaths in the last couple weeks, Billy Mays is the one I am most sad about. I never met the man even though he lived in the Tampa Bay area, but he seemed like a classy guy. By all accounts, he took a talent, turned it into a career he loved and was able to support his family. He never pitched a product he didn't believe in. Most of all he didn't take himself or his celebrity status too seriously. Whether you laughed at him or with him, he seemed to know the he wasn't curing cancer or exploring the universe, but he made people happy. I think in the end most of us laughed with him. The world will be a dirtier place without him.

Yes or No

2009-06-16T20:50:00.001-04:00

1. You can ONLY answer Yes or No.

2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks -- and believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming nothing is exactly as it seems.

Now, here's what you're supposed to do...copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag as many of your friends as you'd like to.

------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
Kissed any one of your Facebook friends? --- Yes
Been arrested? --- No
Kissed someone you didn't like? ---Yes
Slept in until 5 PM? --- Yes
Fallen asleep at work/school? --- Yes
Held a snake? --- Yes
Ran a red light? --- Yes
Been suspended from school? --- No
Experienced love at first sight? --- No
Totaled your car in an accident? --- No
Been fired from a job? --- No
Fired somebody? --- No
Sang karaoke? --- Yes
Pointed a gun at someone? ---Yes
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? ---Yes
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? ---No
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? --- No
Kissed in the rain? --- No
Had a close brush with death (your own)? --- No
Seen someone die? ---No
Played spin-the-bottle? --- No
Sang in the shower? --- Yes
Smoked a cigar? --- Yes
Sat on a rooftop? --- Yes
Taken pictures of yourself naked? --- No
Smuggled something into another country? --- No
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? --- Yes
Broken a bone? --- No
Eaten a bug? --- No
Sleepwalked? --- No
Rode a motorcycle? --- Yes
Dumped someone? --- No
Forgotten your anniversary? --- No
Lied to avoid a ticket? --- No
Ridden in a helicopter? --- Yes
Shaved your head? --- No
Played a prank on someone? --- Yes
Hit a home run? --- No
Felt like killing someone? --- Yes
Cross-dressed? --- Yes
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? --- No
Eaten snake? --- No
Marched/Protested? ---No
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? --- No
Puked on amusement ride? --- Yes
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? --- Yes
Been in a band? ---No
Knitted? ---No
Been on TV? --- Yes
Shot a gun? --- Yes
Skinny-dipped? --- Yes
Gave someone stitches? ---No
Eaten a whole habenero pepper? --- No
Ridden a surfboard? --- No
Drank straight from a liquor bottle? --- Yes
Had surgery? --- Yes
Streaked? --- No
Taken by ambulance to hospital? --- No
Passed out when not drinking? --- No
Peed on a bush? --- Yes
Donated Blood? --- Yes
Grabbed electric fence? --- No
Eaten alligator meat? --- No
Eaten cheesecake? --- Yes
Eaten your kids' Halloween candy? --- No
Killed an animal when not hunting? --- Yes
Peed your pants in public? --- No
Sneaked into a movie without paying? --- No
Written graffiti? ---Yes
Still love someone you shouldn't? --- No
Think about the future? --- Yes
Been in handcuffs? --- Yes
Believe in love? --- Yes

Spelling Bee

2009-05-28T20:29:00.002-04:00

So here I sit watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Holy Crap! How I obtained a Doctorate is beyond me. I have never heard any of these words, ever. Granted I'm a crappy speller anyway, (thank Bill Gates for spell check)but what the hell. Ok none of these are real words.

50 Lbs of Crazy -- Updated

2009-05-11T17:59:00.004-04:00

This is what 50 lbs of pit bull looks like when she snuggles with her daddy. Right now she is laying in front of the garage door waiting for him to come back in from working out. She's a big daddy's girl.

Anybody who says that pit bulls are naturally aggressive or mean needs to come spend the day with our puppygirl.

The Ministry of Funny Hats

2009-05-07T18:53:00.005-04:00

I highly recommend the Disney birthday trip. You get in free (you have to register ahead of time), and you get a button with your name on it that indicates its your birthday. All day long the cast says happy birthday to you. At one point, during the Celebration Parade, Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother wished me happy birthday from the float.

Near the end of the day we were shopping and Jerry who works in the Emporium dressed me up as you see above, we took pictures then he announced my birthday (and age) to the entire store, all of whom wished me a happy birthday.

It was quite possible one of the best birthdays I have ever had.

50 Lbs of Crazy

2009-04-29T21:49:00.014-04:00

Baby girl turned 50 today.... 50 pounds.

So wrong on so many levels

2009-04-07T18:00:00.000-04:00

Just for the record, the "Burger King" scares the crap out of me. This commercial while funny (ish) is so wrong.....

Time Marches On...

2009-03-22T19:22:00.006-04:00

Back in the day before marriage and soul-crushing jobs, when I was living with Wendy,if I left the house after 10 pm on Saturday night, it was dressed in tight Wranglers, and a cowboy hat. The intent was to drink beer and flirt with cowboys 10 years younger then me.

Last night I left the house after 10pm in my pajamas to go watch Twilight with my mom. We had popcorn, and milk duds. No beer, no cowboys. It was a lot of fun, but boy how times have changed.

R.I.P. Kody

2009-03-09T19:13:00.006-04:00

Kody Bowman (AKA: Kody Boy & Mr. Kody) passed away at Bluffs Animal Hospital today. He was 15. He had fought a long battle with kidney disease.

Kody loved to play with his catnip toys and was especially fond of his best friend carrot. Carrot was his confident for many years and kept all Kody's secrets.

Kody also loved to chase and catch lizards on the porch. He would often bring the little guys in the house to show us his hunting prowess.

Kody enjoined eating. His favorite food was yogurt, which he would share with his mom in the mornings while she got ready for work. He also loved bomb pop and bull riding nights with mom and Wendy. Oddly enough he liked saltine crackers too.

Kody is survived by his mom, Sonja and Husband, his sisters Kady and Nala and many, many friends and family.

Much thanks to the doctor's and staff at Bluffs Animal Hospital for all their great care of Kody right to the end.

Puppy Graduation

2009-02-18T20:23:00.002-05:00

Yes, our puppy graduated from puppy obedience school this week. We're so proud!!

Food on a Stick

2009-02-08T19:34:00.002-05:00

Husband and I went to the State Fair today. I love the fair! Bunnies, and cows and bears OH MY! You can also get almost any kind of food you want on a stick, or fired or in some cases both.

I got licked by a giraffe, which reminds me of a Wendy story. Shortly after Wendy came to live with me, she went to the Fair and fed the giraffe. She promptly came home and asked if we could have one. I had to break the news to her that I didn't think we were zoned for giraffe. We got a Basset Hound instead.

Anyway, I petted lots of farm animals and ate lots of fried junk (Mmmm fried cheddar cheese) and brought home my yearly bag of cotton candy.

It was a good weekend off with husband.

2008-12-30T18:18:00.001-05:00

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!!!!

2008-12-24T20:03:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to one and all!!! Have a safe one.

Ask not what you can do for your job.....

2008-12-12T20:18:00.004-05:00

but what your job can do for you...

This is a Wendy trend. For a few years, she had a few job where her extra bonuses got increasingly better. She went from one beach resort job to a job at a golf resort where she could option box seats at certain sports events (BTW, if you ever get a chance to sit in the corporate box, do it). She left that job to go to a position to an airline where she got free flights.

Anyway, I just got a new, new job. My boss at PAR put me in for another position due to my training and experience. There was a raise and a lot more work, but the extra bonus.....

Assigned parking in a COVERED parking garage. Let me tell you how much that rocked in the rain yesterday!!!!

Project Blue Light Reminder

2008-12-03T20:32:00.001-05:00

Now that the holiday season is under way, I want to remind every one to remember those who have lost their lives protecting the home front. The Officer Down Memorial Page reports that 122 law enforcement officers have lost their lives in the line of duty so far this year. Please remember their sacrifice this season by placing a single blue light in your window.

Project Blue Light

This information is provided courtesy of Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc.

Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS), a national grief support organization comprised of over 15,000 surviving families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, is asking concerned citizens and law enforcement agencies nationwide to again support Project Blue Light.

During the holiday season you are asked to put blue lights in your holiday decorations and your windows and tie blue ribbons on car antennas to show support for law enforcement officers who have given their lives in the line of duty for the citizens they have served. Additionally, this will be a show of support for those who continue to work the streets 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Several years ago, Mrs. Dolly Craig, the surviving mother-in-law of Daniel Gleason, a Philadelphia (PA) police officer killed in the line of duty in 1986, sent her Christmas message to the COPS National office. Her daughter Pam, the surviving widow of Officer Gleason, had been killed in a car accident in August, 1989, before the holiday season. Dolly wrote, “This holiday I’m putting two blue lights in my living room window. One is for Dan and the other is for Pam, who believed so much in the COPS organization.”

Dolly Craig is now deceased as well, but her idea of Project Blue Light burns bright in the hearts of the over 15,000 families in the COPS organization.

For more information about Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc., or to support COPS’ programs for survivors and law enforcement agencies, contact COPS at PO Box 3199, Camdenton, MO 65020, (573)346-4911, or visit www.nationalcops.org.

Meet Nala.....

2008-11-24T20:57:00.002-05:00

Sonja, every challenge is a stepping stone to a happier place than you even knew existed.

Oh, the magic,
The Universe

Oh how the Universe knows.......

My Dead Body

2008-11-21T19:43:00.000-05:00

$4690.00

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North Carolina Day 2

2008-11-11T15:04:00.002-05:00

Husband and I drove up to NC yesterday and the vacation in on. Today we slept in (not really, we were up by 9am). I just finished my massage and husband is getting his now. Tomorrow we will have dinner at my brother's house and Thursday we will go over to Asheville for horseback ridding. All in all it's going to be a great week. Cold and rainy on a couple day, just the way we like it.

I'll post pictures when we get home. See ya.

Grocery Bagging

2008-11-03T18:19:00.002-05:00

Why do I get the big reusable bags if the baggers keep putting my groceries in the plastic ones? Then they get mad at you when you question their bagging ability.

Let me try to be more clear. I took my big reusable bags to the grocery store, and instead of putting my food in them, the bagger put my food in the plastic, non-recyclable bags. When I questioned her about it, she seemed to be a bit miffed that I dared to question her.

Seriously, just put my food in my bags.

And Dave, I do use the plastic one I do have for garbage bags in the bathroom and cat litter room.

2008-11-01T13:50:00.003-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.......Ok so I'm a day late, but I had alot to do yesterday.

The Celtic tombstone is one of our newest additions. We love them.
Apparently we did not learn our lesson last year about putting spider web in the bushes. Hopefully we can get it out this year.
This is the full grave yard. It is always a work in progress, but it gets better every year. We had a kid this year tell us that ours was his favorite house last year so he made it a point to come back this year. He got extra candy.
In this picture you can see the fog floating through the grave yard. It was awsome!

I got a job

2008-10-18T12:57:00.000-04:00

We had just about given up hope, but I finally got a full-time job. I start Monday.

The job is a research assistant with Operation PAR. PAR is a local drug/alcohol rehab. I will be assigned a federal research grant to gather data for study. I'll be working "in the field", which means my office will be in the jail. I do intake interview and then 6 & 12 month follow-ups. The rehab program is 3 months.

The pay is not what I wanted, but at this point beggars (literally) can't be choosers. Plus there are a lot of great opportunities for advancement after 12 months. In fact they don't want you to be a RA for more than a year, and help facility and train you to move on to other things within the agency. Maybe I can actually put this Counseling Doctorate to use. I will also get some opportunities to teach.

All in all I think it will be good. Wish me luck.

Really????

2008-10-15T21:50:00.004-04:00

The fact that this actually got in front of a judge appalls me. This State Senator filed a lawsuit against God saying that, "God has made terroristic threats against the senator and his constituents in Omaha, inspired fear and caused 'widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".

He wanted to make the point that should have access to the courts no matter how rich or poor. How exactly does this suit make that point?

I think the point he actually made is that he's a complete asshat who likes to waste taxpayers time and money.

Greatest clip ever...

2008-10-06T21:47:00.002-04:00

I took this from Ginger and have to agree, it's the greatest clip ever....

Halloween has begun

2008-10-03T22:04:00.004-04:00

I know it's only the 3rd, but I've started the Halloween decorations.

While husband was at work tonight, I broke out the candles. These are my Halloween Party Lite pieces that I love.

This is my Haunted House. It light up from inside. Very cool.

Mr. Bones and his dog.

Mr. & Mrs Jack O' Lantern...

Oh Halloween happiness.

This is our Sheriff...

2008-09-29T14:35:00.002-04:00

So work with me here. Take this picture and blow it up to billboard size in your mind. Why as a candidate would you allow a giant picture of yourself that makes you look like the devil himself to be you campaign picture. Of course his website isn't better. You would think his campaign manager would have said something.

Her sleep number is a 5

2008-09-26T14:00:00.003-04:00

The black ball of fluff there in the bed is Kady, her sleep number is a 5. Since getting the Sleep Number bed a few weeks ago, Kady has decided she loves the bed even more. She gets in a hole and crashes. Last night I went into the bedroom to get ready for bed and there she was blissfully comatose. I was able to close the closet door, got back to the living room and get the camera, take two pictures (the first with a flash), and was getting ready to take the third when she finally work up.
Most people who know Kady, know she's kind of skiddy, most things don't get by her, and nothing usually sneaks up on her. What a compliment to the sleep number technology.

Career path

2008-09-18T21:56:00.004-04:00

This is so apropos. Of course the yellow would be "Why I should drink", but still.....

Note from the Universe

2008-09-09T10:16:00.001-04:00

Wow I haven't posted in a while. Not much to report, so here's today's Note from the Universe......

Appreciating what you have little of is easy, Sonja.

Appreciating what you have lots and lots of takes a spiritual master.

And you so have lots,
The Universe

Crazy people do not like change

2008-08-16T20:45:00.002-04:00

I called my neighborhood pharmacy on Thursday to get a refill on my prescriptions. On the phone I received a message say "Welcome to CVS pharmacy, formally Bayside Drugs....blah, blah, blah"

Ummm WTF? Not really believing what I was hearing, I drove to my neighborhood pharmacy (as the pharmacist said, "some people need to be hit with a brick") to find my pharmacist & his wife and a bunch of CVS executives cleaning out the store.

According to Sue (the wife), its become too stressful to continue to run the business. Gary (the pharmacist) will continue to work for CVS, as will his staff (two pharmacists and a couple delivery drivers). I'm glad it was their decision and that they weren't run out of business due to the economy. They have been there for over 35 years.

Here's where it becomes all about me. I don't like change. The people at CVS were very nice, but I like being billed monthly, not paying for my prescriptions at the time of pick up. I like that my pharmacist knows my name and my family and that I can order my prescription refills by name, (like "i need my birth control, and my allergy spary, etc") since I never have the Rx number available. As much as CVS tries, it will not be the same.

It's a special kind of crazy and I don't like change.

XXIX Olympics

2008-08-09T21:54:00.002-04:00

I love the Olympics, I love everything about the Olympics. I don't pay attention to the politics around the Olympics. I know I should, but during the Olympics I really don't care about human rights violations or protests or the invasion of Georgia.

During the Olympics I will watch sports I would never watch any other time, like rowing or swimming or even badminton (ok I only watch 5 minutes of badminton).

The part I love is the human interest stuff. Like the 9 year old Chinese boy who walked with Yao Ming in the opening ceremony. I cried when they told his story. Or the African swimmer last Olympics who could barely swim, but swam his guts out for his country.

I watched the opening ceremonies last night. Because I had to work, I started watching at 10pm EST in the middle of the parade of nations. Again Love IT! I love watching these kids come in so proud of that moment and so excited to be there, many knowing that this will be the extent of their Olympic moment.

I DVR'd the "artistic" part of the ceremony and watched it after. I was blown away. I agree with my mom, that this was one of the best in a long time. It was so simple, but so dramatic. The torch lighting was also so dramatic.

I'm hooked, I gotta go watch some sport I've never heard of now.

Graduation

2008-07-22T20:27:00.002-04:00

As Wendy said in her blog, Saturday was my graduation. I had bitched about going for about a month, but it was actually pretty cool. It was an incredibility long day, starting at 7am, but my family was there and my BFF Wendy. Here's a picture from the event. That's me in the costume and Wendy.

Vh1 Countdowns

2008-07-19T19:56:00.003-04:00

Vh1 countdown shows are my dirty little TV secret. I love, love, love them! Right now I'm watching the 40 Greatest Internet Superstars. I feel so dirty.

Anyway, I came in to it in the middle of the show and saw this little "Gem". Pun intended. I lasted through 1.44 minutes of the 3 minute video. Let me know how long you can go.

Law enforcement lay offs

2008-07-12T22:21:00.002-04:00

Late last month the sheriff's office that husband works for laid off a newly graduated class of detention deputies (probably 30) whose 20 week education had been paid for along with salaries by the county (this will be important in a minute). Those deputies were for the most part hired by an adjacent county sheriff's office. This week husband's office laid off another 25 road deputies and bailiffs who again were trained with county money and whose salaries had been paid for a year or more with county money. These deputies are also being hired by the agencies in adjacent counties.

Now you may ask, why is it that husband's office has to lay these people off while other counties seem to have the budget money to hire them? Good question. It seems that unlike the other county commissions who cut their budget according to service needs (5% for law enforcement, 13% for parks, etc) our county commission was lazy and just cut everybody 10% across the board.

So the recreation department lost the same money as police and fire. Maybe the guys who maintain the parks can double fighting crime and fires now.

Meanwhile, the other county also gets 60 new deputies trained by my tax dollars. Who was the genius who thought this was a good plan.

Once upon a time...

2008-06-30T21:30:00.008-04:00

Once upon a time (one year ago), there was a beautiful princess who had a great job that she loved. Unfortunately this great job was at a place called the Evil Empire. The Empire was ruled by the Evil Emperor Dungbettle and his henchman Prince Dillweed.

One day the the princess decided that she had had enough of Prince Dillweed's flagrant violation of the rules of the greater Kingdom, so she went to talk to the good witch from the East. The good witch also was tired of the Prince and the Emperor, so she used the information provided to her by the princess to discipline Prince Dillweed. This made the Emperor very mad, and although the good witch would never tell the Emperor the source of her information, he knew it was the princess. He knew because the princess had been mentored by the Wizard of Limburger, who had been driven out of the kingdom by the Emperor many years before.

The Emperor and the Prince conspired with the princess's supervisor Lord Jelly Fish to lie about the princess and she to was driven out of the Empire.

The End

So far there is no happy ending and the moral of the story is "No good deed goes unpunished"

Mom stop crying

More of my scraps

2008-06-27T23:21:00.005-04:00

Here are some more card I recently did.....

This was for husband's birthday.......

This was a congratulation card for a friend who just got a new job....

This was a wedding card for one of husband's co-workers....

Comcast search

2008-06-15T23:35:00.001-04:00

Apparently if you do search for "nude sonya boo" you will find my blog. And pron.

Dumbest thing I heard today

2008-06-15T19:39:00.002-04:00

From the barista at the Borders Bookstore coffee shop...

"I don't understand how you can get a high caffeine drink that is low calorie"

Huh?????

Wednesday Moment of Weird

2008-06-10T22:46:00.003-04:00

I give to you the Snuggle Song....

When good things happen to bad people

2008-06-05T08:01:00.000-04:00

Nick Bollea wants out of jail citing unfair conditions...

This is the headline on Bay News 9 tonight. For those of you who don't know, Nick Bollea is the son of Hulk Hogan and he is serving 8 months for a felony charge of reckless driving which resulted in serious bodily injury. Basically he was racing down the road, hit a tree and put his friend John Graziano in a vegetative state.

It seems that Nick wants out of jail now because, well, he just doesn't like it there. Well Boo-frigging-hoo. Nick Bollea is a punk ass spoiled rich kid who doesn't give a shit about anybody but himself. Most people in jail don't like it, that's the frigging point.

In other jail house phone calls released to the media he is telling his father to make sure that his reality series is lined up so he can walk right into it when he is released. Here is his mother's quote, talking about John Graziano's mother.

"She has no other recourse but to be nasty and vindictive now. If she really knew the relationship between you and John and Danny should would be sad right now. She wouldn't be mad. She'd be devastated like I am. She's not sad. She's just acting angry. Like she wants the money. John never meant anything to her or Ed. It's sad because I really appreciated you kids. I miss John. I miss you too. She's not suffering. I am. I have a loss. She doesn't give two s**ts."

WHAT AN INSENSITIVE BITCH!!! For her to compare "her suffering" to that of John's mother and to say that his family isn't suffering. Unfrigginbelievable. John Graziano is in what will most likely be a permanent vegetative state. More than likely he will die. If by some miracle he does wake up he will never be the same. He will have severe brain damage and no matter what will need medical attention his entire life.

I used to like Hulk Hogan, he did a lot for this community, but now I am so sick of these people I can't stand it. Nick is complaining that he is in solitary confinement. He is a juvenile, housed in an adult jail. He was adjudicated and sentenced as an adult. All juveniles housed in this particular jail are kept clear of the adult inmates. Nick is bitching about being in solitary, I wonder how much he'd bitch after he got beat down in population.

Dona Noblis Pacem

2008-06-03T21:26:00.002-04:00

So Mimi tagged me to do the Blogblast for peace today. Well I couldn't get my peace globe uploaded, but I'll post anyway.

Peace be with you......

I got Tagged

2008-05-23T22:56:00.002-04:00

Mimi got me for the blog Blast for Peace, so what the hell... Go to Mimi's site to get your globe and all the other details.

The Peace Globe project began in the fall of 2006 with a simple post from one blog, Mimi Writes. The post ignited a flame in the blogosphere. The flame became a passion. The passion became a movement. It amazingly traveled from blog to blog to blog across the globe. Bloggers wrote passionate articles on what peace means to them, along with the promise of three Latin words scribbled on a globe - Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) - branded with the integrity of their names or blog names. It was positively inspiring to watch. And it began to happen all over the world - from Singapore to China to Afghanistan to Brooklyn.

It was simple. And powerful.

In less than two weeks bloggers from all across the globe will blog for peace.
We will speak with one voice. One subject. One day.
Won't you join us?
June 4, 2008

The good old days

2008-05-18T22:08:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a month and now I show up with Garth Brooks. But there is a purpose and a method to the madness. Not really, just madness. I haven't posted, as I pointed out to Wendy when she called and told me I haven't posted, because I really haven't had anything to say.

Now,as I was watching the ACM Awards (Academy of Country Music) tonight (still am actually) and had to think about "back in the day". What made me think of this you ask? Well George Strait is 56 years old and Garth Brooks is really gray.

Back in the day, Wendy and I lived together. She worked at the county bar where we hung out and I was a cop working 3-11. On the weekends I'd get off work and join her at the beertub. Adorable, drunken cowboys would come for beer, handing her money and pointing to the beer. Very few words were spoken. There was dancing and drinking and adorable, drunken cowboys telling me I looked 19. Garth Brooks was in his prime and he inspired a lot of the dancing, much of the drinking and a whole line of clothing.

Now he's gray. Those good old days are gone. I'd never want to go back to high school ,but I'd definitely go back to then.

Killing stuff -- UPDATED

2008-04-26T20:41:00.003-04:00

So the National news is reporting that the hunt is on for a shark who killed a triathlete in California. Now my BFF is a triathlete and it would kill me if she were killed by a shark. I have to ask though why are hunting down and probably killing this shark?

This happens in Florida with alligators too. Every time an alligator crawls out of a lake for a walk or bites a guy who's swimming in the lake, some trapper hunts it down and kills it.

So, let me got this straight, we swim in the ocean or a lake or camp in the deep woods and are so shocked when nature mistakes us for food or perceives us as a threat, that we have to kill it. WTF!! Weren't they here first?

When a shark goes swimming in my bath tub then I think I have a right to kill it.

"Hi I'm Mr. Shark and I live in the in the ocean. If you swim in the ocean, I might eat you. This has been a public service announcement."

-----UPDATE -----

So our former Governor Jeb Bush is quoted in Sunday's paper talking about why he opposed spending tax dollars to market alligator meat.

"Alligators proliferate in Florida. They eat small dogs. We don't need to market them, we need to kill them"

Antisocial Behavior

2008-04-20T21:22:00.009-04:00

We are apparently antisocial. Husband and I were invited to a cookout at the neighbor's yesterday. We went arrived we were told the one of the neighbors we had bet with the host -- a 12 pack that we wouldn't show up.

Granted although we knew the host, we had never met the other neighbors at the party. But just because we don't want to stand outside socializing with the neighbors all the time doesn't make us antisocial. Or maybe it does.

Either way, we showed up ate food and socialized with the neighbors. Then we went home, locked the doors and put the Do not disturb sign on the door.

Taking the cat for a drag

2008-04-04T23:25:00.006-04:00

When Wendy lived with me, she/we had a basset hound named Molly. When we would take Molly for a walk, it would always end up being a drag, literally. You had to walk down the middle of the road, especially near the end of the walk. If you got to close to the grass, Molly would just flop over and lay down and there was almost no getting her back up..hence taking the dog for a drag.

So what does this have to do with my cat. Well Kody got into the garage this evening and while I was trying to herd him back in the house (an event in it self), he decided to flop over and just lay there. He's no little kitten either, 16 lbs of pure catness.

Hence, taking the cat for a drag.

Here is his Catness in all his glory.

To be fair, I have to show off Kady too. She's my crazy little girl. Here she is in all her craziness.

New Windows

2008-04-01T18:30:00.001-04:00

The new windows are in and great:

Here's the full set of old windows. If you look closely you can see the broken panel (middle window on the first set)
Here's the actual broken window. If you want to see the poor dead pigeon, I have pictures of that too. Just let me know.

Here is the redneck attempt to fix the window until the new ones came in. The garbage bag is a nice touch. That's husband's police car in the reflection.

The unmowed lawn really adds to the redneck look of we are trying to achieve. That truck belongs to the County. Probably code enforcement.

These are the nice contractors who showed up at my door to install the window at 8:30 AM.

The big gapping hole in my house.

And here is our brand new beautimous window. I kind of miss the garbage bag.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T08:57:00.004-04:00

The Easter Bunny Came, We got an Easter basket!! Yea us. The Bunny said that since husband and I have had such a rough time lately she thought we deserved something special. So she made a special delivery, in the rain no less.

The basket had lots of Easter grass in it but I had to take that out before the cats ate it and had Easter poo.

Have a Happy Easter everybody. Thanks Easter Bunny...bak, bak.

Things I miss

2008-03-19T17:44:00.005-04:00

Things I miss since becoming unemployed:

1. Stan my hair dresser
Stan is the best, I've been with him for 8 years, but his shop is 45 mins. away and I really can't afford to do full color and cut. I have been surviving on Fantastic Sams, and have gone back to my natural color. I'm getting ready to color my gray on my own.

2. Regular pedicures

3. Eating out once a week with husband

4. The lawn man....
Poor husband has to mow the lawn now and he hates it. I can't mow the lawn because of my allergies.

5. The cleaning lady

I had a larger list this morning, but as usual, didn't write anything down. This will do for now, I can add later.

Welcome my friend

2008-03-16T22:42:00.001-04:00

My friend Wendy just joined the world of blogging. I would like my two readers (Dave & my Mom) to welcome her and go visit her. This should be fun.

wendysworld

I got nothing..again

2008-03-13T23:15:00.001-04:00

I have nothing to talk about. Look at cute kittens.

My Mother is pissed off again

2008-02-18T21:52:00.001-05:00

We are involved in an unpopular war - our young men and women are dying on foreign soil every day. Our economy is in big trouble. People are losing their homes to foreclosure. The jobless rate is getting higher every day and we have gunmen roaming our high school and college campuses shooting people for no reason whatsoever.

And what is our Congress doing?

They are wasting their time and our tax dollars trying to determine if an overpaid, pampered, baseball player lied about taking performance enhancing drugs.

WHO CARES!!

If this guy is so stupid as to put crap in his body that will hurt his health or kill him, in the hope of hitting a few more home runs – WHO CARES! It’s a game folks – not national security.

If he did it or didn’t do it - lied about it or didn’t lie about it, it has no effect on me. The fact that the house next door to me has been foreclosed on and the people who lived there are out in the street and many of my friends and family are out of work and it costs more each time I go to the grocery store does have an impact on my life.

Congress needs to get off its ass and do something about the problems of every day Americans.

Nature's depression

2008-02-15T21:57:00.002-05:00

Tonight I have some sad news to report. A pigeon who was apparently depressed committed suicide by free diving into to front window of my house this evening. I was not home, but I am told that chaos ensued with cats running for cover and husband tried to figure out if he needed to hurt people for throwing thing through our windows.

Needless to say, the poor pigeon did not make it and we have a big broken window in the front of our house. Things just keep getting better.

I'm not that kind of doctor

2008-02-14T15:19:00.002-05:00

But I am a doctor. I successfully defended my dissertation today and can now be called Dr. There's some final editing that needs to be done and graduation is in July,but I'm essentially done.

Dr. Sonja

Puppy Bowl IV

2008-02-05T20:57:00.001-05:00

Next year, may I suggest Puppy Bowl V as your pre-game Super Bowl viewing.

Another Mom segment

2008-02-04T16:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a three part segment of.....

Things That Piss My Mother Off

1. Performers that can’t, or won’t, sing our National Anthem properly.

Sparks didn’t do a half bad job at the Super Bowl but it still wasn’t good. She started out pretty good but was a disappointment in the end.
The Star Spangled Banner is our National Anthem. It belongs to all Americans and is not a song that one should “take” and “make it your own”.
So stop all the warbling and sing it the way it was written, and with reverence and respect.
Did you ever hear “Oh Canada” or “God Save The Queen” stylized?

My Comments: I think Jordan Sparks did a very good and respectable job last night. It could have been like Rosanne Barr.

2. What’s up with old rockers for Half-Time entertainment. First the Rolling Stones and now Tom Petty? It’s football folks! What ever happened to marching bands, baton twirlers and pretty cheerleaders.

This year's half time show was one of the best yet. It didn't look like it was produced by MTV or BET. I loved the stripped down, band singing. For the record I don't ever remember a marching band in pro football. That's high school and college mom

3. Regarding commercials – Violence is not funny !! Horses are.

Yes the Budweiser horses commercials were good. I always love those, but when that mouse busted out of the wall and beat that guy up in the Doritos commercial, I laughed by butt off. Yes violence can sometime be very funny

State of the Union

2008-01-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

Why must I suffer through the State of the Union address? Seriously does this REALLY need to be on every major channel on TV? I know, I know I should watch it so I know what's going on in the world and in my country, blah, blah, blah. We all know what he's saying is only half-truths. He's a politician for God Sake.

All I'm asking is that maybe it can be shown on one or two minor channels, like C-SPAN or something. This way, those who want to watch can and the 95% of the rest of us can watch good stuff.

I'm just saying.....

Assholes live forever -- the story

2008-01-26T20:22:00.000-05:00

My seemingly only reader Dave, (and don't think I don't see you lurkers who never comment) wondered about the context of the 'assholes live forever". So here's the story.....

When I was a police officer, working midnight shift, one night we got a call of a stabbing. It seems that the dirtbag asshole victim was auguring with his mother's dirtbag asshole boyfriend. And the DBAH boyfriend stabbed him with a screwdriver.

The DGAH victim gets air lifted to the trauma center 25 mile away and I get to go collect the hospital evidence. By the time I get to the hospital, DGAH victim has been moved from the ER to the OR. I get escorted to the OR and am told the victim's clothes that I have to collect are in the surgery room. At this point the nurse says the magic words "Do you want to go in a get them?"

Hell yes I do! She gets me dressed up in a paper like Oompa Loompa (original Gene Wilder Oompa Loompa, not the creepy Johnny Depp one) jumpsuit that fits over my uniform, gun belt and all, along with the booties, gloves, mask and head cover .

I get in the OR and collect my bag of clothes. And continue to stand there like some kind of moron. The Dr. and I have a conversation about the victim. He had a 3 cm stab wound in his abdomen. In order to make sure none of his organs were perforated, the Dr. cut him open from below his sternum to the top of his pelvis. I find that ironic that his surgery scar is bigger than his stab would.

The conversation turns to general topics, like our jobs and the Dr. tells me to be safe. Now is where we have the statement that dirtbags like this guy will live forever, but good people die young.

During this entire time, the Dr. is looking over this guy's intestines for perforations. When he finishes he just dumps the intestines back into the abdominal cavity. Now I'm not Dr. but I've seen a few anatomy text books and I thought that those things had a place. I don't maybe there's something similar to a hose roller in there. So with all the knowledge of a semester of biology, I ask the Dr. "Hey, don't those have a place?"

Luckily he did not call me an idiot. He said that they just float in there and then said more magic words "Do you want to see?"

Hell yea!! I got the approach the table and the Dr. showed me the liver, and the stomach, and the appendix and the intestines.

It was great. Now if I could have flown on the helicopter my career would have been complete. But, that's another story.

Sad News

2008-01-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

It has been reported today that Heath Ledger is dead at the age of 28. What a loss. I have always liked is work. He had such a wide range, and never took parts based solely on his looks.

It's also such a loss at such a young age. Here was a young man with so much talent and so much ahead of him.

I had an ER doctor tell me once that nice people die early but assholes live forever. Here's a young man who seemed to be a nice guy. He wasn't in the new all the time, kept to himself, etc. But Britteny Spears and Pairs Hilton will live forever.

It's sad really.

Gained a pound

2008-01-20T15:17:00.002-05:00

Ok this week I gained a pound. It was a bad, no focus. Plus husband and I went drinking with some friend of his from work. That didn't help my focus.

Drinking, no calorie tracking & much snacking= a bad week

Diet weigh in # 3

2008-01-13T17:55:00.000-05:00

One more pound this week. I've been snacking poorly, but I'm still on track. I think I also need to up my calorie intake. I'm not even reaching the minimum number of calories I'm supposed to have.

But as a reward for losing 5 lbs, I'm getting a pedicure tomorrow.

My mother found this....

2008-01-11T20:25:00.000-05:00

great blog. This woman is by far one of the best writers I have yet to read. She is funny and smart and I just spent the last half hour reading her first month's archives. Go check her out.

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

New Revelations

2008-01-09T17:12:00.000-05:00

It has come to my attention the my former supervisor has found and read my blog. Apparently he was overheard expressing to someone how I hurt his feelings with my comments. Let's discuss that.

I guess we're even, because he hurt my feelings when he stabbed me in the back and lied to my face about it.

In May 2005 I was told that I had to make a decision between being faculty or a program coordinator. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. If I had stayed faculty, I would have maintained my tenured contract and would still have a job. Plus the raises are better as faculty. The disadvantage would be that I would have had to move to another division and work for a man that I don't consider ethical. As a program coordinator on a yearly contract I opened myself up to losing my job, but I got to continue to do a job the I really loved.

I chose the job I loved instead of the easy money. When I made my decision I went to my supervisor and told him that I was choosing to stay with him but that I understood that I was opening myself up to have my contract not renewed. I explained my apprehension and asked him if he was going to back me up should others try to get rid of me. He assured me that he would have my back.

Little did I know that he would be the 'other'. A year later when I heard I might be losing my contract I asked him about it and, well you can read how that went. Again on the day I was told officially that I lost my contract, I asked him if he knew why, he essentially said that he really didn't.

The problem is that he did, he wrote the document recommending that my contract not be renewed. In said document, it was listed that I violated several State rules, which I didn't. I was also called combative and untrustworthy.

The bottom line is that I have known this man since before I worked there and considered him a friend. He was the only 'boss' at the office who was invited to my wedding because I considered him my friend. When he said he'd have my back I trusted him and when he said he didn't really know why my contract was not being renewed I believed him. In the end I was wrong for trusting and believing.

So that part of me that never wants to hurt anybody is sorry his feelings were hurt, and to that end I went back and modified my earlier posts. I took out the hurtful comments, mostly the name calling. But, I don't apologize for the content or the intent of anything. I didn't lie or tell half-truths, I didn't name names or identify the workplace. I have the right to say what I did.

Things that piss my mother off

2008-01-08T20:41:00.000-05:00

Here's another installment of things that piss my mother off...Apparently the topic is Hillary Clinton.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you see Hillary Clinton tear up and almost cry while talking to New Hampshire voters yesterday?

P L E A S E !!

The last time Hillary Clinton cried for real was when the Doctor slapped her on the butt the day she was born.

Have you seem any of the other candidates crying on TV?

Have you seen any great women leaders of the world pull such a stunt?

If Hillary wants to be taken seriously and treated as an equal then she should act accordingly.

2008-01-06T14:29:00.001-05:00

Only lost 1 lbs. this week. I seemed to be not as attentive this week the during week one. I was snacking more and not really sticking to my game plan.

At least I didn't gain so I'm still on track. Week three will be better.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T00:11:00.001-05:00

I say Happy New Year to all of you with the 2007 best quote of the year ( and a pretty funny picture)

Have a great 2008, be safe and have fun.

Sunday weigh in

2007-12-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

Yea me, I lost three pounds. I'm not as hungry all the time like I was a week ago. I still feel the urge to eat when I'm bored but I'm drinking more Crystal light and that helps. Plus munching on healthier snacks like celery help the craving to eat without adding calories.

My Scraps

2007-12-26T16:04:00.000-05:00

This blog was originally designed to show off my scrap booking. That hasn't happened. Till today. Here is a picture of a thank you card I made for our neighbors who baked us brownies for Christmas.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T12:28:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to track Santa on his journey tonight. Have a great Christmas tomorrow.

The Diet Starts.....

2007-12-22T18:56:00.000-05:00

....tomorrow. I am currently about 30 lbs overweight. I am an emotional eater, I eat when I'm bored or stressed. The last 6 month have been stressful to say the least and I have spent most of it eating and sleeping. This is not a new year's resolution mind you, I hate those.

Anyway my plan is to lose 28-30 lbs by my birthday in May. Wish me luck.

Things that piss my mother off

2007-12-16T16:51:00.000-05:00

Today we have a special feature. Since she does not have her own blog and doesn't have enough to say to have a blog (her words, not mine), my mother decided she could occasionally rant here. So, from time to time I will now have special input from my mom. Here you have it.....Things that piss my mother off.

The United States Mint, financed by our tax dollars, spends millions of our tax dollars each year on television advertisements to get us to buy coins that the manufacture of is paid for by our tax dollars. People who collect coins do not need to be told how to get them. They already know. This is a flagrant waste of our taxes.

Honestly I thought this would be longer.....

Earning your paycheck

2007-12-14T18:26:00.000-05:00

The news reported yesterday the A-Rod signed a 10 year contract worth $275 million. That's $27 million per year to hit a ball and run around bases. Husband, who is a law enforcement officer, and I were discussing this. Husband gets like $40 K a year and has the potential to get seriously injured, or killed. I don't think A-Rod is likely to die during a game, so husband and I thought of some ways to make pro games more interesting and give the players some incentive to earn that paycheck. Here's some of our suggestions:

Randomly exploding balls -- this can be for baseball, football and basketball

Randomly exploding bases -- baseball

Camouflaged pits in the field -- for baseball and football

Wrist bands with mild electrical shock randomly given by the commentators -- baseball, but this would also work for football by putting the electrodes in the pads

"Spectator "plants in the stands with paint ball guns firing projectiles at the players

Thoughts anyone?

Friday Moment of Zen

2007-12-13T16:23:00.001-05:00

Jeff Dunham - Achmed the Dead Terrorist

This is very funny....

Silence.. I kill you.

Wikipedia Hell

2007-12-03T22:58:00.000-05:00

I have just spent the last hour in what is referred to in our home as Wikipedia Hell. I have been reading everything there is to know and then some about the Star Trek series....all of them.

How did this start you might ask? Is she a closet Trekkie? God we hope not. No friends I am not a closet (or open) Trekkie. I have been know to enjoy an episode but do not have Klingon outfit or English to Klingon translator in my possession.

So how did this start. Like all trips to Wikihell, with an innocent query. I looked up the novel Roots (there was a Jeopardy question). That led me to the mini-series, which led me to look up LeVar Burton, which led to Geordi La Forge. And that's how it goes, one link leads to another and the next thing you know its 3 AM and you know more than you ever should about Star Trek.

Those little blue links, you just want to click on them and see where they lead.

Other notable searches...
The Tutors (the Showtime series led to a long night with the actual family)
Elizabeth (searching the movie led to an equally long night with same said family)
Anderson Cooper (did you know he was a Vanderbilt, I do now)
The Last Samurai (look up a movie learn about a real life rebellion)

This is a warning my dear friends, wikipedia is evil and was sent here by aliens to keep us from sleeping. Once we are sleep deprived and full of useless trivia, they are going to take over the world.

It could happen.....

Remember those who serve

2007-11-25T18:05:00.000-05:00

Now that the holiday season is under way, I want to remind every one to remember those who have lost their lives protecting the home front. The Officer Down Memorial Page reports that 158 law enforcement officers have lost their lives in the line of duty so far this year. Please remember their sacrifice this season by placing a single blue light in your window.

Project Blue Light

This information is provided courtesy of Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc.

Dolly Craig is now deceased as well, but her idea of Project Blue Light burns bright in the hearts of the over 15,000 families in the COPS organization.

I got nothing

2007-11-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

I got this in the email from my Friend from work. Take it if you like have fun. I got nothing new in my life right now.

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends!
What a nice way to take a mental break and have a bit of fun reminiscing :) Then you can get back to work :(

Try not to be a SCROOGE and copy this entire email, then paste into a new email you can send to others.
Change the answers so they apply to you; then send to bunches of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you... Tis the Season to Have Fun and Be Nice!!.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both

2. Real Tree or Artificial? Fake ~ got tired of searching for the perfect tree

3. When do you put up the tree? When we get to it

4. When do you take down the tree? Right after new year

5. Do you like eggnog? Yummmmm

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Ummm, no idea

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No

8. Hardest person to buy for? Dad

9. Easiest person to buy for? Husband ~ he gives a pretty comprehensive list

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Again, no idea

11. Mail or Email Christmas cards? Mail... I’m making them this year

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? October/November

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not yet

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Lumpy mashed taters

16. Clear lights or Colored lights on the tree? colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? None

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? Stay home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Maybe

20. Angel on the tree top or a Star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Day

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Traffic from 6-monthers

23. What you love most about Christmas? decorations

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Not very

2007-11-07T12:33:00.000-05:00

2007-10-31T11:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween

It's the most wonderful day of the year. I love Halloween. Of course it's been so windy here this week that my decorations are blowing all over the neighborhood.

I have to go out and retrieve my tombstones from the neighbor's yard and get my witch off the roof now.

Have a Spooky day.

Seriously OK chicken

2007-10-22T23:05:00.000-04:00

We made it to NC and home. Yea us. Last Monday, husband got home from work at 5....AM. we were out of the house by 5:30. I'm sure that is a new personal best time for me. After gas and money we were on the road. Husband drove for 5.5 hours, almost all the way to Atlanta. I got to drive through Atlanta while husband slept. This is possibly one of the more dangerous things we could have done. We all know about my driving/ADD problems, so imagine how much fun it was to drive husband's F150 through Atlanta. It takes a good 15 miles for me to get comfortable driving the truck.

(BTW, Dave is there ever a time that I85 or 495 or anything in Atlanta is not ridiculously crowed?)

Anyway we got to NC by 4:30 PM, got to the cabin with the driveway of death and had a wonderful couple of days.

Oh yea the title, I almost forgot. So as we're driving through Georgia we see signs for Zaxby's chicken and it is advertised as "Seriously Good Chicken". We decide to stop in Buford to try this seriously good chicken. This is were I (and an 18 wheeler) almost killed us getting off the Interstate. Anyway, the chicken was ok, cold slaw sucked, but the Texas Toast was seriously good.

On Vacation

2007-10-14T16:56:00.000-04:00

We leave tomorrow at O' dark f-ing thirty (6am) to go to North Carlina for our 3rd anniversary. We need to get away even for a few days. One of the great things for me and one of the only pluses to unemployment, is that for the first time in 4 years I can go on vacation without a computer. No students to check on, no term papers to read, no grades to input (trying to do that from St. Thomas, now there's some fun) And yes I took my computer on my honeymoon, amazing he didn't leave me in the mountains to fend for myself.

See ya Friday.....ish

Cool Things

2007-10-11T16:39:00.000-04:00

Ohhhhh, I almost forgot. I got published. The book showed up on my doorstep from the publisher yesterday and I have a chapter.

The book is: Stress Management in Law Enforcement 2nd ED

My article is: Chapter 10 Stress and the Female Officer

Pretty cool huh?

nothing to say

2007-10-10T18:58:00.000-04:00

I'm really bad at this blogging thing. Lately I have nothing to say. Everyday is the same, get up look for a job, watch TV, ignore my dissertation, go back to bed and nap.

I emailed my attorney a week ago and have not heard back from her. I asked her what the odds of getting my job back would be since all the alleged violations they claimed I committed were actually not found by the State auditor. (Did that make sense?) I suppose I should call her, schedule an appointment or something.

I'll get back on track after I get back from vacation. Next week, for our anniversary, husband and I are going to NC for 4 days.

Job search update

2007-09-28T18:18:00.000-04:00

I had a job interview today. Yea Me!! It was a really good interview, very conversational and the training manager seemed excited about my qualifications and what I brought to the table. The company is pretty big, but the training unit is new and small (the training manager I interviewed with and whoever gets hired). Its a good opportunity to develop something from the ground up. The commute is a bitch. Of course I'm just happy to be called for an interview at this point.

Tomorrow I go to a job fair closer to home. That company is expanding and has several jobs open including management positions.

Well that's it from job search central.

Rainy Sundays

2007-09-23T22:59:00.000-04:00

It has been raining for the better part of three days. On and off pretty steady all weekend, especially today. Today was a great day. Dark, overcast and, did I mention rainy. Husband and I slept in (ok he slept most of the day, but he works midnight shift), watched football and UFC fighting and ordered out.

Couldn't have been better.