Happy Halloween!!

Start spreading the news...New York, New York

Well, as expected, Hurricane Sandy, Super storm, Frankenstorm is doing excessive damage to the Northeast. Hurricanes always do... I guess the thing that bugs me is that New York City and Washington D.C. are like the most popular kids in high school - if it happens to them, it's a BFD (as Joe Biden says.) Hurricanes happen down here in Texas and along the Gulf coast all the time. They are always horrible, people always die and there is always damage. Some hurricanes like Andrew and Katrina have damage that will never be repaired...
And yes, I get it, there are millions of people in a concentrated area up there and yes, it's worse because of that and yes, I have already prayed for them today. It's just that so many things are headquartered in those two areas including the media, that when it happens to them, well it's all that matters. Down here at the Gulf coast, or as they call it, the "Redneck Riviera," the media comes down for the hurricane shots out in the pouring rain and wind, stay a couple of days and leave. We are left with the devastation and the rebuilding and no one talks about it anymore, unless there are political ramifications as in Katrina. Oh, and the occasional movie star like Brad Pitt who wants to continue the liberal rant about George W. hating blacks and poor people.
But I suspect we'll hear about Sandy (Frankenstorm) for months, if not years, because it's affecting all of the "popular" people and their homes and their lives.
Sigh...

"Bad news travels fast and worse news, faster"

What a weird Monday so far... It's still morning and at work, it's our busiest day of the week and somehow we had a power surge, which my boss is never prepared for, so half of our electronics are fried. Including my phone and the credit card machine and several of our computers. We run a weekly newspaper and a printing shop here, and our lives revolve around computers. I guess everyone's business does... I'm having to use my personal cell phone to make sales calls. Ugh.
It just seems like everything is off kilter today. We have the "Frankenstorm" heading to the Northeast which newscasters are saying is the "Storm of the century." Who knows if you can believe the media anymore?? Everything these days is bad news, and everything is so exaggerated to sell advertising. I know. I'm in the media. Just on the other side. The side that brings in the money...
And yes, I've prayed as many on Facebook are asking, for those in the northeast. And New York City and Washington D.C. are the hub of the nation, so it DOES affect us all. It just has me thinking... My pastor says that what happens in the physical is also happening in the spiritual. You know, like we've been in a horrible drought here in Texas, which is evidently also a spiritual drought as well? So... here comes Frankenstorm (get it? Halloween? Scary?) and you don't have to reach to see that this might indeed be true for them as well? We do have a gynormous election in 9 short days and this will affect voting somehow. Definitely for any early voting but also because this storm will do damage for weeks if not much longer. There are so many millions of people in that concentrated, congested area that might be without power for awhile. And I just read on the news that the gangs are already saying they will start looting up there.  So all of you second amendment people should be okay.
Just sayin...

Our band is going to state next weekend!!

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me..."

Here's where I'm at right now.... I really think that Mitt Romney is going to win the presidency. I know the country has been dumbed down. And I know that the younger generation just doesn't get it. And I know that this country is suffering more than we ever have in my lifetime. Which is why I have to believe that common sense will prevail and everyone's answer will be no to the question of "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
Here's my texts with my grown son from today:
Son: Have you voted already?
Me: Nope, too busy til paper is out but I will cuz I HAVE TO CANCEL YOUR VOTE!!!!!
Son: Obama gave me a special phone number to call for people like you....

He always has known my buttons to push!! He was kidding of course, but I guess living in Austin has taken it's toll. He says he's a Democrat now because he wants healthcare AND he's been unemployed for over a year and is afraid Republicans will hurt his situation. I'm blue in the face trying to tell him that if Romney wins, jobs will start to open up again and he will be better off than now.
Poor Bubba... He started regurgitating back to me all of what the mainstream media has brainwashed him with - that Obama came into George W's mess and it will take longer to fix it. I said that Obama and Dems have made it a million times worse (or should I say TRILLION?) with all of the stimulus' and healthcare, etcetera ad nauseum. This is the problem. All of the Obama voters are deceived because they've been lied to. If you only watch liberal media, you will have only heard the lies.
As I am praying so very hard these 40 days before the election, I am interceding for this nation because, for many, "they know not what they do." And maybe, just maybe, if Romney gets elected as I think he will, that things will get so much better - drastically so - that I will be able to say 'I told you so.'
Sigh. I certainly hope so. I won't get any pleasure by saying it though. If this country can keep from falling off the upcoming cliff, then I will only feel relief. Huge relief. And I will give the glory to God, who is the only one who can fix this.
Was thinking today that Romney and Ryan remind me of the old actors in TV shows of my youth. Like  "Leave it to Beaver" and "My Three Sons." They look so clean cut. And trustable. And smart. And capable. And decent. It's so refreshing after this hip-hop, "cool" president who has even admitted to doing cocaine, and hangs with questionable people and questionable pastor and questionable associations. I blame the media for getting him elected four years ago. But he can't run on sizzle anymore. There is a four year record.
And it ain't good....

What's in a name?

I STILL can't decide on a grandmother name... Nothing feels right... Everything sounds too old or too weird. I like Grammy but my son-in-law's mother has that name. I kind of like the Hawaiian grandma nickname of Tutu but my kids hate it. My mother was Mimi and my great-grandmother was Mammy but as far as I'm concerned, I can't fill those shoes. My other grandma was Memaw but she was a tough old boot, so no to that one. I like Zsa Zsa, kind of fun but my kids refuse. Sugar is southern sounding but Alex said no to that. I have a friend that is Gigi and another is Honey. Sigh. They just don't feel right. For awhile I liked MeMo but changed my mind. Then I liked Lulu but then.. no. Today I'm liking a new one because its funny. I laugh every time I hear it -- Big Mama.
What do you think??

"Say no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil"

Well.... I was right.... just a little late. Last night's debate went just like I thought the first one would go. If you're a liberal, you thought Obama did great and if you're a conservative, then Romney was the winner.
Ugh.
And on Facebook I am "friends" with about 75% conservatives, so the 25% for Obama is, of course, very vocal and very rude. And I'm choosing to not be argumentative with them because they are : DD's dance teacher, a high school friend, women "of color," my grown niece, and an artist, among others. Most of them are choosing to obsess over Romney's throw-away comment about women in binders. They are posting all kinds of (wrong) rude, sarcastic photos, which are extremely irritating.
That's what's the problem is with the electronic media, twitter and the quick sound bites that the state-run media love to use in our hurried society. Unfortunately they can spin the news and choose what they deem as important in the quick news cycles, which drive the conservatives batty. Evidently half of Romney's staff when he was governor of Massachusetts were women, and he was not sexist in private business matters either. But the liberals hear what they want to hear, and spin and lie and stay deceived. You can't argue with them and you can't win them because you can't reason with unreasonable people. They have to have a 'heart' transplant to 'get' it.
Sigh.
We can only hope that most Americans will vote their pocketbook in this economy that is teetering on the edge of complete collapse and that those who are deceived will have their blindfolds ripped off.
Early voting here in Texas starts October 22nd.
I. Can't. Wait.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1

Is anyone else getting weary or is it just me? Weekends used to be a time of rest but no more. And I don't just mean physically, but also mentally wearing. Maybe it's because I'm an older single mother? Maybe it's the worrying about money? Maybe it's the worrying about my unemployed son or ex-husband or brother-in-law or the non-family members who are unemployed. Maybe it's the stress of the upcoming election and the frustration of watching the 'state-run' media in the bag for the liberals.
So today I had to go to my special place to talk to God. I usually do my praying as I drive around all day, and predominantly on my 30 minute commute. But when I take it a step further, I go to this special place.
Sigh.
I know I have MUCH to be thankful for. And I did start with my thank you's for many, many blessings. But critical times call for critical prayer, and that is certainly now. Most pastors that fall in the 'born-again' category say we are in the End Times, and our gut tells us that. Something is off-center. Something has shifted in the heavenlies. I don't know how else to say it.
But here's my good news. We win. I can feel it. Conservatives are going to win this election. I can just feel it in my gut. And it will start turning around. Are we far down the road of no-return? Unfortunately yes. But at least we can start heading in the right direction. And it will give business owners hope. Because small business owners HIRE the middle class. And it's those of us here in the middle that are struggling the hardest. So just remember -- we also vote.

And THAT, my fellow American, should give you hope...

Biden: "Two Beers Short of a Six Pack" - Texas saying

Worst. Debate. Ever.
Just watched the vice-presidential debate... I am (almost) speechless. So many thoughts, where shall I begin? Hmmmm, I guess the moderating. Martha Raddatz let Biden continue to interrupt Paul Ryan, and then SHE would cut off Ryan, so it was basically two against one. But I guess I can't complain too much because she let Biden flap his gums which made him look like the BUFFOON that he is. He reminded me of a Cheshire cat with his (crap) eating grin and was the epitome of SMUG. Yes, a smug, smirking, schmuck. He really comes across as unstable with his laughing like a fool. And CLEARLY it would be SCARY  if he were ever to assume the role of president. Joe is very rude, very unprofessional,  and very undisciplined.
Alex and I texted a few things during the debate, here are a few:

Alex: Biden would be as bad a president I could ever think
Me: He is scary...
Alex: This is very very frustrating
Me: I'm ancy and want to pace
Alex: I want to slap Biden; so smug, so stupid
Me: What a blowhard
Alex: Did he really just use his wife's death to lead into a political topic of cars?!?!
Me: Ugh, yes
Alex: Biden's smug laughing is so distracting
Me: He's an ASS
Alex: She (moderator) only interupts Ryan!!!
Me: Exxxxactly
Me: All Biden does is flap his gums
Alex: I am pissed!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me: Stop him!!!
Alex: This is rigged!!
Me: They said it would be on ABC
Alex: He has talked 3x as much
Me: She's such a jerk
Alex: Interrupting
Me: He seems unstable
Alex: Ryan is doing great given the circumstances
Alex: Biden is just a used car salesman
Alex: Ryan comes across as professional
Me: True

The biased moderating made a bad debate worse. But then Obama went to ABC moderator Martha Raddatz's wedding...
Gentlemen may we have a verdict???

Go West Young Man...

I'm sitting here at work waiting for the paper to go to the press and staring at my paintings on the wall. I realize I chose them because they remind me of family vacations when I was young, as my parents always wanted to head West. They loved Colorado and New Mexico, so all of our trips were to Santa Fe, Durango, Ruidoso and towns in the Rockies.
Sigh. Good times...
I'm even staring at a beautiful picture of the Guadalupe River and remembering when we didn't live in a constant drought where there's always a burn ban, and it's hard to even go tubing for the kids, since there is so little water. So I'm asking God, is this the new norm?? And yes, we are in the worst part of the political cycle when the real crazy is unleashed, but what will it go back to on November 7th? This country is so divided that whoever loses is going to be really depressed and really angry. And if the Democrats lose, there will be civil unrest because they will make it a racial issue when nothing is further from the truth. The truth is, that most people are NOT looking at skin color, they are looking (and feeling) the pain from this terrible economy and lack of jobs. My son has been unemployed over a year, and my ex-husband for six months. My brother-in-law has been unemployed for two years, and his son can only get bartender work.
In my thought process, I'm wondering when all of this began? I guess I go back to the election in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore, when it hung in the balance for weeks, with lawsuits and hanging chads and for the first time in my lifetime, an election was not decisive with results late that evening. As a matter of fact, the year 2000 was ushered in with the fear and craziness of y2k. For some reason, NO computer programmers had foreseen that a new millenium was coming, nor had included that in the timing process?? Go figure... (If I screwed up like that, I'd be fired, but I digress.)
Anyway.
Then the election afore mentioned happened, and the craziness continued. By the time the terrorism event on September 11, 2001 happened, it was clear to most that something permanently had shifted, and life as we knew it was never coming back. I've heard lots of theories on what happened, but I guess the one that makes the most sense to me, is that God has had His hand of protection over our country but is lifting it as we go deeper and deeper into sin and away from Him. There has been a slow process removing God from our schools, from our government, and from our lives. And like in the Biblical story in Sodom and Gommorah, God was going to relent if Abraham could find 10 righteous people, but he could not.
 I hope we can turn this country around. There are a lot of Christians praying now, and claiming II Chronicles 7:14 for God to relent and heal our land. There is so much hanging in the balance as there was at the election of 2000. The choice is clear -- Good or Evil.
Choose wisely...

"Give me liberty or give me death." - Patrick Henry

Actress Stacey Dash (I remember her in the movie "Clueless") tweeted that she's supporting Romney for President, and all hell broke loose.
I guess it comes as no surprise that Hollywood is dissing her, blacks are rejecting her as "not black enough" (and much worse) and the crazys are telling her to kill herself... Aren't we always told that it's the Democrats that are the "tolerant" party????
The last time I checked, we still live in a free country where we are free to do what we want until it infringes on someone else's rights.
The last time I checked, we still have freedom of speech and are free to say who we support.
The last time I checked, we are still free to vote in our democracy for the candidate we prefer.
And we had all better support Stacey Dash and her freedom to state her choice so that these freedoms can continue for our ancestors (and us, for that matter.)
Because the liberals/Democrats/Progressives are for freedom of speech (and choice) only if we think and act like them.
Otherwise, like the jihadists, they want us to die...


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/twitter-explodes-after-black-actress-endorses-romney-as-the-only-choice-for-your-future/

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle...

As you probably know if you're a regular reader of my blog, I live in a small town in Texas. This town is conservative, relatively speaking, and votes Republican for the most part. My 15 year-old goes to public school in our one high school town. She earns high honor grades and is a leader at her school. So it was with, well sadness, that I hear her say yesterday that she doesn't know the difference between what Obama stands for or what Romney stands for... Ugh. I'm failing if she doesn't know this. I guess we're too busy with the every day responsibilities in my single parent household. But politics interests me greatly, because  it affects me greatly, and I think of myself as very informed.
When DD said the above statement, we were driving to one of our many activities, so I tried to give her the quick synopsis - I said that Romney is for independent freedoms and Obama is a socialist. She stared at me blankly and said she hasn't had the government class that teaches on those subjects. And then I remembered. As a Baby Boomer, I was taught that communism and socialism were bad things; they are not being taught that. As a matter of fact, the text books make the communists out to be heroes and great leaders, even here in Texas. And she informed me that text books and public schools no longer use the B.C. or A.D.  for  "Before Christ" and "After Died." Now they say B.C.E. and I don't know WHAT that stands for. But I'm sure it removes the word "Christ" - that's a given.
I went on to say that Obama (and the liberals) are for same-sex marriage and abortion. Again, met with blank stares. Those things are already here and really aren't issues for her age group. They assume anyone can get an abortion any time and gays are in many TV shows, not to mention "out of the closet" at her school and most others. They are not scorned at her school (nor should they be.) On the contrary, they are pretty popular with their over-the-top clothes, feminine movements and flambuoyant lifestyle.
As we drove up to our destination, I threw out that the Democrats want to redistribute money so no one will want to work hard if it's all taken away from them. DD got out of the car staring at me blankly saying, "I guess we can talk about this later."
Sigh...

Freaky Friday - Redneckcognize

 Honey Boo Boo, aka Alana Thompson, of child pageant fame has taken the nation by storm... with her pet pig, her regular feasts on junk food, and over-the-top phrases -- and has become the celebrity du jour. This country's penchant for this type of fascination is what's wrong with America. We are bored and mean and looking for someone to entertain us.

The dumbing down of America is on full display...

The Great Debate

Like many other Americans, I sat down to watch the first American presidential debate last night with fear and trepidation. As a matter of fact, as soon as I saw Romney, I prayed for him, knowing how critically important this debate was to reach the "independents."
Right off the bat, I noticed that Romney looked more presidential than Obama, and that he seemed relaxed while Obama seemed, well, super tense. Both had too much makeup on, and both had eyes that looked darkened like the kid on the Adams Family TV show from the my childhood.
Jim Lehrer seemed like a patient grandpa who was trying very hard to be respectful, although everyone in the know, knows that he's from PBS and is a liberal himself. I will say that even he surprised me in his moderating because I expected him to throw out the Katie Couric jerk questions to Mitt that would throw him. But he didn't and Mitt stayed on topic, relaxed and confident the entire time. I guess that's how I would sum it up as a matter of fact. That Mitt was super confident (in addition to being super knowledgeable) and Obama was sweating bullets. The contrast could not have been clearer.
As my (now liberal) grown son said, Romney was prepared in his answers and took full advantage of his 2 minutes with machine gun rapid-fire answers, while Obama was bumbling and fumbling for his words. My son even went so far to say that some of the conspiracy websites he reads are saying that Obama doesn't want to win, and did poorly on purpose. I couldn't agree LESS. I told my son, No... he just didn't prepare because he thought he had this in the bag. He's so used to the media accomplices and his celebrity status, that he didn't feel it was necessary. At least that's what I think.
I stayed off of Twitter during the debates so I could concentrate on the answers but later found that most conservatives were in agreement with what I was thinking. I did think that liberals would still lie and say Obama did great, and although some did, many were honest and said he stunk. Because he did. It was viewed not only in the States, but in countries around the world. It's not just Americans that have a dog in this hunt. Countries like Israel are waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of this election. And of course the European countries have a vested interest as well, since the global economy is interdependent on each other.
Earlier when I spoke with my son, he said, "You sure are in a good mood... Oh, I know why. Because Romney beat Obama hands down in last night's debate."
Yes... yes, I am... Finally I have hope for change in our future.

And the world turns...

Well, computer has been in the shop being "upgraded." It's these electronic company's way of continuing getting money from us... Kind of like having to get a new iPhone every year, or at least every other year. It's also like the contact lense business. I've had the same hard contacts for 15 years, but my 15 year old wears "soft" contacts and thus I have to pay $70 every month and expensive solution for her to do this. Ugh. I could go on but I digress.
The first presidential debate is tonight and most in the state-run media have already called it for Obama. Wow. What a surprise... And Jim Lehrer will be the moderator, and he's just like the rest of the state-run media - a stuffy, Ivy League sounding, academic-loving liberal. So... let me guess. The conservatives will say that Mitt wins and the libs will say that Obama wins.
Sigh.
I think many will tune in to this first one just to watch their candidate, and independents will watch and still be undecided because they can't make a decision if their freakin' life depends on it. I mean if you don't know now after a full year of campaigning, then you never will. These stupid people who wait to see which way the wind is blowing the day they vote, are scary and shouldn't even be allowed to vote. But mostly "moderates" just wait to see what is the "popular" thing to do, and vote like the media tell them to. Thus the problem...
May I also add that I usually love to watch the fashion at award shows and my oldest daughter and I critique them like Joan Rivers and daughter Melissa, but this year I couldn't even bring myself to even watch the Emmy's, much less the prior red carpet. I look at most of these fake stars in the dresses that designers have provided at no charge just to get the attention, while they go up and bash Sarah Palin or Romney or Ryan, and I thought, No. Not this year. You bunch of punks. You lead these fabulous celebrity lives, all the while trying to influence people with your liberal rants.
No thanks. My country is going down the toilet and you're contributing.
Suck it Hollywood...

Traveling Texas....

I'm sorry I'm too tired to post. Here are some photos I took on Saturday about 15 minutes away..,