Just Simply Holly

I’ve thought long and hard today about whether or not I actually wanted to blog about this. After a while I honestly had to ask myself why I was even questioning blogging about it.

On this, the eve of the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I want to take the time to not only remember where I was then, but also talk about how thankful I am to be an American.

I remember exactly where I was the morning of the attacks. My husband and I had decided to take the kids to school that morning and after we left their school we decided to stop at a nearby coffee shop for a cup of coffee and some breakfast. I chose coffee and a bagel with cream cheese, he had a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

As we were sitting there talking over our breakfast, one of the people from back in the kitchen came out and turned the radio up pretty loud. Everyone was looking around, wondering why in the heck she had done that, we were all totally oblivious about the fact that at that precise moment, our lives would change forever. We all just assumed there had been a terrible accident. Granted, it didn’t happen in our town, but it did happen in our country and one thing that is very prevalent in this area is the pride we have for this country! My husband and I finished up our breakfast and headed out to come home. At this point in time, only one plane had crashed into one tower, so we didn’t know what exactly had happened. On our way home we stopped at a garage sale that was being held in an old church. We asked the lady running it if she had heard the news that was all over the radio and she said she hadn’t because she didn’t have a radio, she did however have an old black and white TV that she’d turn on to watch the news or weather, so she quickly turned it on.

At the exact moment the picture finally came clear, the second plane hit the second tower. I looked at my husband and he looked at me and we both realized, at that moment, that what was going on was no accident. He left and quickly got home so that we could turn the TV on and find out what was going on. By the time we got home it was announced that a third plane had crashed into the Pentagon Building and they were calling a complete halt to ALL air traffic across the US. It wasn’t long before they came across the TV and said that they were in communication with every plane in the air, except one. That one ended up being the plane that crashed in an empty field in Pennsylvania because of several passengers who fought the terrorists that had hijacked the plane.

I spent the rest of the morning staring at my TV in total disbelief. I could not fathom the fact that thousands of innocent people were dying at the hands of people who had attacked American on its own soil! I cried for the innocent lives that had been lost and I cried over the innocence that was lost that would never return for many. I worried about my own children, tucked away in their school, learning about the history of our country, not realizing that history was happening right before our very eyes, history that would rock this country to its very core and take away a sense of safety that we all had taken for granted.

I’ll NEVER forget where I was or what I was doing the moment I first found out, I’ll also never forget the effect of something that didn’t personally touch my life had on my life. I’ve always been proud to be an American, but that pride is stronger today because of 9/11! The current campaign for President has left me wondering what direction our country is taking. It’s left me with moments filled with pride in my country, but it’s also left me with moments filled with shame and sadness! It’s time for the nominee’s to stop focusing on what they think of each other and start focusing on what they CAN do to make this country and better place to live. They need to stop filling our ear with lies and promises that they know they cannot fulfill and start filling them with what their plans are to make the economy in our country stronger, make our dependence on foreign oil a LOT less dependent, and what they are going to do to make sure that people in this country have decent and affordable health care! They need to tell us that they’re going to stop bailing out countries that don’t like us in the first place and start bailing out the small businesses in this country ran by men and women who are doing nothing more than living the American Dream! A dream that I’m afraid is slowly fading away.

With that I will simply say GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Alan Jackson-Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning

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Ungrateful, such a small word, with such a huge meaning! From Dictionary.com, here is the definition of ungrateful

un·grate·ful –adjective
1. unappreciative; not displaying gratitude; not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred: ungrateful heirs.
2. unpleasant; distasteful; repellent: an ungrateful task

That word and definition basically sum up many of the words that are being said by people in my town who have been commenting on a local forum on a thread about the family that is getting a new home, courtesy of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Here is just a small sampling of what’s been said so far

“A quick search indicates that the current owners of this house are over a year deliquent on their taxes already. Just wondering why they deserve to have their house rebuilt and how they will afford the taxes when it is valued higher”

“The completed house should be a good buy after these folks default on their taxes. Might be able to pick up a brand new house for pennies on the dollar. I’ll keep an eye on it”

“5 children from outside the country, 3 from here, and 3 of their own. If they were dogs, the humane society would have to remove them because they couldn’t care for them. Apparently children require less living space
Sorry to rain on the positive parade here, but if the family adopted all these kids and could support and provide for them, why do they need a new home? They didn’t suffer a tragic fire and lose their house, did they?”

“Besides, the message I get from all this is that I should start adopting and having kids and then when I have them all jambed into a small apartment, I too can solicit EMHE to build me a “free” home and reward me for compassionate but foolish decisions”

“And don’t give me that crap about losing part of a duel income to a disability. Should of had disability insurance. Sticking a few kids on a raft back to Haiti might help with the finances too”

“Start saving your money, I smell a auction coming, unless they adopt 8 more kids and re-apply next year”

“But since you’re splitting hairs, the heroic story about Mr. Frish is actually lacking heroism. His rescue vehicle was pelted with rocks. His partner was hurt and so was he. What were his options? Get out in the middle of a riot and ask the rioting crowd for help or drive to a hospital? Sounds to me like he just made a smart decision and saved his own butt. Hero would have been more like running into a rioting crowd to save someone and risking his own life. The biggest risk he took was if he was going to run out of gas or not”

And we wonder why our country is in the shape it is? Why is it so hard for people to feel a little compassion for someone else? It makes me SICK to think that there are people who not only feel like this, but are willing to put it out there on a local forum for the entire community and possibly even the family who is getting a new home to see. People are acting like a flock of carnivorous vultures, circling around road kill, waiting for their moment to jump in and grab a piece of flesh. What, do they think they are more deserving than the family who was chosen? Did they put a tape of their own in to ABC for consideration? I’m just disgusted that people can be so sickeningly ungrateful because something very good is happening to someone that apparently the producers of EMHE felt were more than deserving!

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I swear, with as bad of a friend as I’ve been lately, I have NO idea why she gave me this award! But for some reason or another, Sassy seems to understand that when I’m going through my times where I’m stewing in my own BS and shutting the world out, that it doesn’t mean I don’t care about her. (At least I hope she does!) And the fact that she gave me this award last month and I’m just now getting around to showing it off and giving it out myself will tell you just how long I’ve been stewing in my own BS….LOL!

Sassy says she loves my blog….TY LADY!

Now, the rules of this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

Nominees:
1.Owen
2.Jenn
3.Lisa
4.Jules
5.Dyane
6.Christine
7.Mig

I know that I don’t come and visit you all as much as I should or even as much as I’d like to, but I do thoroughly LOVE your blogs!

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My best gal pal Sassy tagged me with what I think is one of the coolest meme’s I’ve ever been tagged with called “What I learned from my mother”.

What to do: share with us and your readers a lesson that you learned from your own mom, a special mom in your life, or while raising your own children. There’s no right or wrong answers…just lessons that each of us can learn and implement with our own children.Link your post back to this one, leave a comment below so we can visit and learn from you, and then tag 2-3 other moms to participate.

One of the biggest things I learned from my mother is strength. I grew up on a very large farm, we mostly farmed crops, but we also would have a few head of cattle or a few hogs as well. No matter what time of the year it was, there was always work to do, and we were always busy.

In the summer of 1978, we discovered that my father had a massive brain tumor. The doctors spent the next 18 months doing surgeries and giving my father different types of radiation and chemotherapy treatments in the hope of saving his life, but he lost his battle in December of 1979. During that time I witnessed unlimited strength from an amazing woman! No matter what time of day or night it was, if there was something that my father needed or needed to have done, my mother made sure it happened.

It was only after dad passed away that mom showed any type of emotion or weakness, and that was only briefly. She was left with a farm and 3 children to take care of, and considering that she didn’t even have a drivers license, this was going to be difficult at best.

Mom overcame every obstacle that was thrown at her. Within just a couple of months of dad passing away she was driving like she had driven her entire life. Shortly after she got her license she started cleaning our church on a weekly basis to bring some income into our home. Cleaning the church was just the beginning of a very successful cleaning business for her.

It’s been almost 29 years since my father passed away and mom is now 70 years old. She still works at her cleaning business, sometimes doing three jobs a day, some weeks working 6 days a week. Mom did eventually remarry and she and my step father will celebrate their 25th anniversary in December. Not one time in my life have I ever seen my mother give up on anything or anyone! She’s one of the most remarkable women I have ever known in my life and I am VERY proud to be her daughter!

I LOVE YOU MOM!

I don’t know who to tag with this, so I’ll just leave it up to you to decide whether you’d like to participate or not. If you do participate, please leave me a comment letting me know!

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I’m sure you all recognize that sentence! I’m an avid fan of the show and almost never miss an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. But I honestly never thought it would come to my area!

This morning, Ty Pennington and his team hopped off their bus right here in NW Ohio, pulled out their bullhorn and shouted “GOOOOOOOD Morning Frisch Family”. From what I’ve read, the Frisch family consists of mom, dad and eleven children, 8 of which are adopted. Mr. Frisch is a firefighter and Mrs. Frisch is an ordained minister. Click HERE if you’d like to read more about the Frisch family and what all is going to happen this week when Ty and the rest of the gang from ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition invade NW Ohio!

I’m going to try my best to get up there at some point this week, it would be so cool to be able to witness it all with my own eyes! And I’d LOVE to be able to see Ty and Paul in person…LOL!

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It’s been a very interesting couple of days, to say the least! It’s also been very stressful, physically, mentally and emotionally. We’re dealing with things as best as we can, and trying to accept what the end result is.

I REALLY need to be sleeping right now, but my brain is going a million miles an hour! I have to make at least 2 batches of brownies tomorrow for my brothers “surprise” 50th birthday party. I quoted the word surprise because thanks to my brothers inability to be a decent human being, he was told about the party and was told because of him it was being canceled. Then they turned around less than 24 hours later and called everyone letting them know it was back on.

I love my brother with ALL of my heart, but he has a serious drinking problem! His oldest son is now experiencing legal problems because of his own addiction problems and my brother feels that the best thing they could do to “help” his son is to simply turn their backs on him and let him deal with it on his own! What my brother doesn’t seem to remember is that when he was almost 18 he had some legal problems himself, and that while they were upset about what he had done, our parents never put him out on the street or turned their backs on him, not for a second! I also experienced my own legal problems at the age of 20, and although my mother was very upset with me, she never once turned her back on me.

It’s heartbreaking to see my nephew go through what he is going through right now. He’s lost his job, his home and his fiancee because of his addictions. Other than his freedom, he doesn’t have much else to lose, except his family. He’s a broken man who is ashamed and embarrassed about what he has done, which lets me know that there is still hope for him! I told him what I thought he needed to do, whether or not he follows through with it is up to him!

But today my brother turned 50 and tomorrow is his 50th birthday party. I know why my brother is having a hard time right now, besides his own drinking problem. He shared his birthday with our father who passed away nearly 29 years ago and his brother in law who lost his battle with cancer just a few weeks ago. I know that he’s looking at his own life and the fact that he’s the only one left with a September 5th birthday. It has to be difficult, and it has to be scary for him. I’m hoping that he can pull himself together to realize if he doesn’t support his son, he’ll lose him. I could understand the “tough love” attitude if this kid had been in trouble his whole life, but he hasn’t, this is his first time in trouble in his 24 year life. There is still hope left for him, I can feel it in my heart!

However, I don’t know if there is any hope of me getting any sleep tonight…LOL

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When we practice to deceive! I’ll be the first person to admit that I’ve not lived a perfect life. I’ve made many mistakes along the way, each of which I have learned something from. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how totally WRONG it is to lie. I don’t care if you know for a fact that no one will ever find out the truth, there is still no need to lie about ANYTHING! I also won’t back someone if I know that they are lying, to put it plainly, I’ll out you quicker than shit if I know you’re lying, no matter who you are!

But NOTHING makes me more angry than a person that continues to spread lies about someone I love, even after I have proven that they are wrong with documentation! And that, my friends, has what my entire day has been spent doing! Someone that we felt was a very special person in our lives has started spreading horrible rumors about a member of my family! When I contacted them with the proof to show that they were lying they came back telling me that I “Live in a special place in my mind where I can’t see the truth before me”. I’m sorry, nothing could be further from the truth! I am probably one of the most realistic people on the face of the earth!

On top of this we found out that family members have went to my mother and step father with personal and private information about one of our children. Information that honestly was none of their business, information that they obtained by convincing our child that they cared about them and wanted a relationship with them and asking him to add them on MySpace. Within MINUTES of him adding them they were on the phone with my mother and step father reading their MySpace, word for word to them.

No, the information was nothing bad, and nothing that would hurt or affect their lives. It was personal information that they honestly did not need to know, and their finding it out served no purpose other than to cause problems between my family and my step father and his family. It doesn’t surprise me, as a matter of fact I expected it as soon as I had found out that they had asked to be added to the MySpace page. I even called my sister asking her if I should call our mother myself with the information, to which she replied no because if mom was going to find anything out, she already would have. I guess hindsight is 20/20. I did call mom tonight after talking to my sister, mom is OK, just concerned. I assured her that I watch what my kids do online like a hawk, I read their comments on MySpace, as well as their private messages and emails, I monitor them very well, I always have been. I know better than anyone about the slimy people out there in the WWW that are looking to do things to harm people, and this is the reason I monitor my kids as strongly as I do! She tired to assure me that what was told to them was not meant to be vindictive, it was meant with care and concern. As much as I’d like to believe that, I know my step family well enough to know for certain that nothing could be further from the truth. NONE of them do ANYTHING out of care or concern for anyone but themselves, they never have, and they NEVER will!

I’d LOVE to rent a moving truck and move far, far away from here, I really would. But unfortunately, I won’t! I love my mother too much to be further away from her than what I already am! Honestly, I’m sitting here tonight waiting for my world to come crashing in around me! I know it really won’t, but after days like today, it sure feels like it’s going to!

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With the reality of knowing that tomorrow could very well be our last Labor Day cookout/family reunion at moms house, I wish I had been able to invest in a nice camcorder this year! The last camcorder we owned was back in the mid 90’s and I swear to you it had to have weighed 50 pounds…LOL!

But that’s what’s so fantastic about technology! Today’s camcorders not only weigh less, they also don’t record to over sized VCR tapes. Now you can use a camcorder to record to DVD’s, which are so much lighter and easier to keep on hand! I LOVE the amazing features that this nifty Hitachi offers! Not only does it record to multiple DVD formats, it also has a 30x optical zoom, it weighs less than 1 pound, and it offers a nice sized 2.7 inch LCD screen for viewing what you are recording!

Another thing that makes this handy little camcorder even better is the fact that it is one of the items offered at a fantastic sale price in this weeks Weekly Deals on Buy.com. What, you ask, is their fantastic price for this? You can pick it up this week for just $277.37, which includes shipping!

So whether you’re in the market for a new camcorder, or maybe a Samsung mini bluetooth headset, or even an HP laptop be sure to check out the great prices on this weeks Weekly Deals at Buy.com!

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Tomorrow is my moms annual Labor Day Cookout/Family reunion. She’s been doing this for so many years that I honestly can’t remember when she started them! In some ways I really look forward to them, but in other ways I do also dread going to them.

My family is a “mixed” family. My father passed away in 1979 and my mother married my step father almost 4 years to the day later. Along with my new step father, I also inherited two step brothers and one step sister. So between my mother and step father, there are 6 of us kids, ranging in age from a few days away from turning 50 to a few months past turning 39, and between the 6 of us we have 16 children and then my eldest niece has 2 children of her own, making a total of 32 people, and that doesn’t even count the boyfriends/girlfriends that our kids have. To say we’re a HUGE group is putting it mildly…LOL!

Anyway, the grandchildren of my mother and step father are getting older, with 6 of them already out of high school, 6 more currently in high school, 2 in middle school and 2 in elementary school. As the grandkids have gotten older, we’ve seen where one or two aren’t able to make it to moms on Labor Day. This year, the word is that there are 6 that won’t be able to make it. And according to my mom there is now talk between my two step brothers about wanting to rent a cabin together for Labor Day weekend next year.

Mom is taking it all in stride, she realizes that at 70 years young, she’s lucky to have been able to have this for this many years in a row. But you can also tell that she’s kind of bummed out about it! She said it makes her realize even more just how old she is getting, and that it’s hard for her to believe how grown up her grand children are now!

So, tomorrow is going to be a very special reunion. Granted, not everyone will be there, but everyone that is realizes that this could be our final reunion. It’s kind of sad for me to think about it. Yes, I do complain quite a bit about some of my family members, but I also know that it’s very important for my kids to have a good relationship with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! I know how much it meant to me to have the wonderful relationship that I had with mine when I was growing up!

Anyway, I need to get my butt in gear, I still have about 200 more tortilla chips to make, then I have to get everything ready so that I can put the peach cobblers in the oven first thing tomorrow morning!

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I was wondering if you could explain to me HOW a person who is a virtual toddler when it comes to politics, can sweep this nation with wonderful words of nothingness to win the Democratic nomination for President?

It’s not that I’m anti Obama, and it’s not that I’m a disgruntled Hillary fan. But there were SEVERAL other candidates than the two of them, some with more years of experience in politics than Obama has been alive, that would have served this country MUCH better than a man that is full of nothing but falseness!

It’s a sad day for this country and a sad day to be a Democrat! And before you start in on your racial bull crap, this has NOTHING to do with race, it has to do with the fact that this man has little so little political experience and has NO business running this country!

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