• Fancy book-lernin'! Although not the most useful degrees, at least I earned a B.A. in European Studies/Spanish and an M.A. in Hispanic Civ. from reputable universities. I've been to NUMEROSOS museums and historical buildings. (Don't quiz me, I forgot it all.)
• Traveled across the U.S. and throughout Europe and some of Latin America (even Tijuana, orale!)
• Completed 18-month missionary service, all en espanol, among Hispanics of D.C. area. (VA Daddy, I'm not bragging, but it was a rigorous and self-sacrificing thing I was actually able to accomplish only with the Lord's help. I wasn't a breeze, let's say.) 
• Survived two c-section births and hope to also survive serious congestive heart failure.
• Went to New York City in 1998 with $300 to my name and left in 2004 making a very nice salary as an assistant to highly demanding financial executives.
• Survived the 1988 San Francisco earthquake.
• Survived 9-11.
• Survived sleepless nights with newborns.
• Saw, interviewed or met numerous favorite bands or musicians, went to some incredible concerts, even saw Michael Jackson one foot away from me, trying to keep his nose from falling off his face. Met Alice Cooper, who was really down to earth.
• Lived in Livingston, Montana; Orange County, CA; Utah; Tucson, AZ; San Francisco, CA; Maryland; Madrid; New York; Los Angeles...
• Saw the ruins of Tikal, Guatemala and heard howler monkeys roaring through the trees.
• Read all of The Brothers Karamazov and Atlas Shrugged and LOVED them. (Was unsuccessful with James Joyce's Ulysses.)
• Still look younger than my age (I actually got 'carded' for buying Nyquil!)
• Learned to play and sing Bohemian Rhapsody quite well on the piano at age 13 (sadly, lost that talent... But I've still got "Chopsticks.")

I know it’s Reagan’s birthday, and the day after a sad Super Tuesday, but I’m going to do an entry on something totally different today.

 

Just a quick note on Super Tuesday: It drove me bonkers that McLame kept winning so many votes and maybe it pushed me over the edge because I went to the emergency room AGAIN for my heart. (In reality, it was because of some changes to my medications that caused a big setback, but current politics DO stress me out!) I did bother to vote on the way to the hospital, though. :)

 

Anyway, here’s the question I have for all of you:

 

Is there a male and female side of the bed? I’d never heard of such until I married my dear husband. Have any of you heard that males and females must sleep on a certain side? My husband thinks it's against the rules for him to sleep on the 'girl' side. I'm flexible, so it's nothing to cause a fuss over, in my opinion.

Ya know, my family has had a large share of trials lately. We've had enough for the whole year and it's not even February yet. What more can happen?

• I got a major illness that takes several months to see improvement.
• I can't ever be pregnant again or it will literally kill me.
• It's cold and icy outside,
• my baby has serious eczema all over,
• our basement flooded,
• my husband is out of work from the Writers' Guild strike,
• a close family member killed his wife and is going insane, doing things to ensure a more severe judgment and penalty, perhaps the death penalty.
• He left two little boys without parents and now there's a battle between both sides of the family for custody.
• Another family member has been threatening suicide...
• I'm still trying to lose pregnancy weight. Losing 80 (!!!) pounds takes a long time when you are only 5'3" and can't do much physically. 30 more to go...
• Our three-year old says his favorite band is KISS when it SHOULD be something cooler like Joy Division or British Sea Power or even the Cure!
• Uh, what else... my husband gets very bad back pain...
• I'm afraid for results of the 2008 presidential election...

So why do I feel so blessed? I'll admit, maybe the Lexapro is finally kicking in. With the severe anxiety and depression I had after being in the hospital, I was fantasizing about dying. That's not a good feeling. I guess some people have been praying for me, and now I'm feeling better!

I look at my own marriage and think, yeah, we've had our squabbles, but we've never cheated on each other or killed each other, so we're doing pretty good!

We have two adorable and healthy sons. There was a time in my early 30s when I wondered if I would ever find someone to marry (and I was dang cute, too!) and then after a couple years married, we thought we couldn't have children because we tried so hard to get pregnant with no luck. Now I have a great husband and two natural sons who bring so much love and humor into our home.

My husband's lack of work has allowed him to be home to help with the boys while I recover. He was here to help with the relative who committed the big crime, to support fellow family members at an extremely difficult time.

Although we do not know when the next paycheck will come, we've been blessed to have resources for another two or threee months. And in the past, the Lord has always provided for us. We've had a difficult job situation over the past three years, yet we've always been able to make the mortgage payments and feed and clothe our boys.

We live in a time when medicine is advanced and merely taking a few pills each day will heal my heart. A couple decades ago, I would have died. I would also have died in childbirth both times were it not for clean hospitals and doctors who could perform safe c-sections to save the babies.

We have clean, hot water every day. We have a variety of nutritious foods. We have electricity, computers, television, washing machines, etc.

I have steadily been losing weight, although not as fast as I like. But most people think I'm ten years younger despite an upcoming 40th birthday.

And the nation is still full of wonderful, kind, generous people! My TH blogger friends have good ideas, are aware of current events and have good values (as well as senses of humor).

Anyway... Dang it, even when life is awful and hard, there's still a God who loves us and allows us to learn and grow and helps us when desperate.

Now, for fun, I will reveal to you what the Squid REALLY looks like!

3rd Grade:


2001 before the ravages of pregnancy and sleepless motherhood:


What I look like now (with double chin and eye bags removed):


WITH double chin and sleepless, wrinkled eyes and another 30 pounds to lose:


My handsome husband now:


What I look like on the inside:

We've had a family tragedy recently. A certain relative did something very, very horrible and permanent, destroying more lives than just the one physically taken. We can now look back and see how events led up to this rash decision of his and can even see that he was not in his typical state of mind.

I am frightened because none of us ever thought someone we knew was capable of such things. I've seen all the shows on Court TV, etc. about this or that murder or heinous crime committed by someone everyone thought was a nice guy. Well, it happened to one of the 'nice guys' in our family.

He must take responsibility for what he did, yet my heart also grieves for him because his soul will be tormented, knowing what he did, and that he cannot just reverse it and apologize. No, only God can decide what mercy or punishment is truly appropriate, other than what is decided by the courts concerning his earthly existence. 

Children are left without a mother and their father will likely never be a free man. I know how it feels to be depressed or tormented inside, to feel lost or hopeless or trapped. I've done things that I've painfully regretted -- fortunately nothing too extreme. I also know what it feels like to know I can turn to Christ and receive genuine peace, comfort and forgiveness beyond what I could ever deserve.

I'm not sure what will happen with the eternal soul of the relative who did this terrible thing, but his family -- as well as the deceased wife's family -- are in hell. They will never see her again in this life. They see how he has destroyed his own life along with those of his wife and children.

There are already news reports and rumors circulating that cast blame every which way and spread erroneous information about both of them. People make blog comments like they are experts, when they've never even met the parties involved.

Anyway... it wasn't enough to have this heart problem, along with the writers strike making it so my husband has no idea when he'll ever work again. Now we have to try and help clean up a very tragic mess and keep both sides of the family united in love and forgiveness. So far, the victim's mother has been stalwart, brave, compassionate and broken-hearted for the parents of the man who committed this act. She knows her daughter is in a good place. But the son-in-law might never ever end up in a good place.

I'm just thankful for the peace in my own home, for a loving husband, for a God who is merciful and who will work everything out in the end for the good of those who love Him. There may not be perfect justice in this life, but there will be in the eternities to come.

Hi, just want to say I'm sorry I haven't replied to comments or visited the blogs lately. I've been in the hospital with congestive heart failure, so I'm just trying to get back to normal, which might take some time.

Anyway, if I don't chat with you soon, Merry Christmas and all of that to everyone!

                                                                       

A lot of people might not be concerned over losing current TV shows (for good reason), but the recent writers' strike in Hollywood actually does affect MANY others. On every television program or movie, there are hundreds of people employed by the show. Writers are one small (although important) part. You've got the editing department, grips, gaffers, lighting, wardrobe, makeup, sound, camera crew, caterers and people you've never heard of, like the Telecine colorist.

My husband is one of those Telecine colorists. With the Writers' Guild taking to the streets to ask for more money (on things that don't even really exist yet, like internet-shown pay TV) when they already are making enough to afford $3000-4000 per month for homes in the Hollywood Hills, hundreds of others are LOSING THEIR JOBS ENTIRELY!  And obviously the writers can afford to stop working for a few months so they can hang out on the street corners begging sympathy.

Would you go on strike if it meant losing your home or starving your family?

All but my husband and one other freelance colorist were laid off from his company. Certainly editors, lighting, sound and other professionals have been sent home without work as well. (For some reason the Lord has seen fit to provide some work each week for my husband even when colorists more skilled have been let go. However, we have stopped plans to move back to L.A. because his job is so iffy now.)

We do not live in the time or place of 16-hour sweatshop conditions where you cannot even stop to eat. The writers are not being abused. They are making a living as writers!! I know a lot of people who would love to be writers full-time and make a living at it. And I realize the fat cats at the top of the entertainment industry make more than seems fair, but c'mon, guys, you are making everyone else lose their jobs, NOT THE BIG GUYS!!!

My husband drove by a hoard of writers protesting last week and yelled at them, "Get to work, you lazy bums!" (or something to that effect).

Meanwhile, California's economy goes to pot even more than usual. Thanks, writers. Love ya.

I don't care so much about watching 24. But I care about people being able to make a living for themselves and their families. I guess the Writers' Guild does not.

(Rumor has it that in June, the actors will also go on strike. Yeah, poor, underpaid Hollywood actors...)

1. How many of you have ever been offered a "FREE" SAMPLE, only to be told you must pay $5-10 bucks shipping and handling? Doesn't sound very free to me. I was solicited by someone selling a miraculous weight loss product that makes you lose, like, 50 pounds in one week! "And we believe in our product so much that we will send you a five-day sample FOR FREE!" Just give us your credit card number so we can charge you $12.95 shipping and handling.

Since I've been nursing off my baby weight anyhow, and it seemed like one of those too-good-to-be-true tales, I said, "No, I don't want to pay 13 bucks for something 'free.' Good luck scamming other people!"


2. Okay, I've got to show off a couple of Halloween pictures of my boys. Their daddy happens to be a KISS fan.

What costumes did you see most often this year? I saw a ton of NASCAR racers and various Star Wars characters (ones I didn't recodgnize). Then there's always the one joker boy dressed like a girl.



3. How many Americans will vote for Obama because he can sort of dance? Or are those voters too dumb to find the voting locations to begin with? Didn't Clinton get a lot of votes after going on MTV and discussing the color of his underwear?

4. Speaking of underwear, ENOUGH of the Mormon underwear jokes already!!!!! 

5. And if dancing were indicative of someone's ability to run the country, wouldn't we all vote for Christopher Walken?

I've been absent on the blogs lately because I'm in a constant zombie-like state since this little guy doesn't seem to want to sleep at night:


I could try to sleep when he naps during the day, but then this little angel is awake and has needs too:


We're also trying to move to California and I'm doing my best to pack up the house while my husband is working in California and can't come home very often.

Anyway... I guess when the liberals whine about how we torture those poor innocent terrorists at Gitmo... well, if they are talking about sleep deprivation, it really IS torture!!! (Sure, not as bad as getting a stake through the eye, but lack of sleep does some nasty things to a person.)

Have you taken this quiz to see which presidential candidate most closely shares your political views?

Go ahead and find out who you should vote for!

http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

(I ended up a 92% match for Fred Thompson.)

This is a couple years old, but still quite interesting.  I'm sure the list does not change too drastically over just a couple of years. Anyone live in any of these cities? I live close to Provo, UT and grew up in Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley, CA --  both on the Conservative list! 

Americas 25 Most  LIBERAL Cities
1 Detroit Michigan
2 Gary Indiana
3 Berkeley California
4 Washington, D.C. Dist. of Columbia
5 Oakland California
6 Inglewood California
7 Newark New Jersey
8 Cambridge Massachusetts
9 San Francisco California
10 Flint Michigan
11 Cleveland Ohio
12 Hartford Connecticut
13 Paterson New Jersey
14 Baltimore Maryland
15 New Haven Connecticut
16 Seattle Washington
17 Chicago Illinois
18 Philadelphia Pennsylvania
19 Birmingham Alabama
20 St. Louis Missouri
21 New York New York
22 Providence Rhode Island
23 Minneapolis Minnesota
24 Boston Massachusetts
25 Buffalo New York


Americas Most Conservative Cities
1 Provo Utah
2 Lubbock Texas
3 Abilene Texas
4 Hialeah Florida
5 Plano Texas
6 Colorado Springs Colorado
7 Gilbert Arizona
8 Bakersfield California
9 Lafayette Louisiana
10 Orange California
11 Escondido California
12 Allentown Pennsylvania
13 Mesa Arizona
14 Arlington Texas
15 Peoria Arizona
16 Cape Coral Florida
17 Garden Grove California
18 Simi Valley California
19 Corona California
20 Clearwater Florida
21 West Valley City Utah
22 Oklahoma City Oklahoma
23 Overland Park Kansas
24 Anchorage Alaska
25 Huntington Beach California

(Source: http://www.govpro.com/News/Article/31439/)

"The vast majority of people tell me they have been inspired with new courage to be themselves and share their dreams."  -- Peter Pan (aka freaky Bunny Guy)

Okay, this guy just makes me chuckle a whole bunch, so I must post many photos of him in his 'fashions.'  He is over 50 years old and has even been on Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel (the TV shows, I mean). Why are guys in femmy clothes so hilarious?

(Here is his home page for more info or to order one of his exquisite outfits: http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/index.html )

Anyway... without further ado...

PETER PAN THE FREAKY DUDE IN FLORIDA!











Sexy, eh?

This one below is my fave.




Wowsers, do you love the sparkly tights with that purple velvet dress and lovely red ballet flats, or what?!



Just an innocent 'schoolboy' at heart.

Have a happy gender-confused day!

Something is DEFINITELY WRONG with this guy. Click on the link:

http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/photo_closeups_buny.htm

My mother doesn't realize how retarded Jane Fonda is. She doesn't understand what is so offensive about Barbra Streisand. But I do!

My husband was on a flight from SLC to LAX on Monday and had a dilemma. He said, "This is the definition of 'torn' -- Jane Fonda is on my flight. Do I pray for the plane to crash?"                                                                         

The plane arrived safely at LAX, which is good for my husband, but not for the rest of us when we have to witness more silliness from Hanoi Jane.      

You know, I really don't care that she was Barbarella or was great at aerobics or any of that. Good thing I'm not a fan of any of her movies to begin with. I can justify calling her TOTALLY USELESS.
               
                                                                                 

A blurb from the Patriot Post 9/3/07:

“A talk radio network launched last year by Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem that was supposed to appeal to women ended up appealing to no one. It signed off the air permanently last Friday. [T]he talk-radio network, called GreenStone,... claimed it would deliver ‘de-politicized, de-polarized talk radio by women hosts for female listeners,’ and Steinem said it would offer an alternative to current radio talk, which she described as ‘very argumentative, quite hostile, and very much male-dominated.’ What Fonda didn’t reckon with was the fact that there are plenty of woman hosts already on talk radio. It’s just that most of them are conservative. Carrie Lukas, writing in the New York Post points out that talk radio stars like Laura Ingraham, Tammy Bruce, and Dr. Laura are already heard on hundreds of stations by millions of people. They appeal to both women and men while showing that the sex of a host is less important than their entertainment value to listeners. It somehow isn’t surprising that Fonda and Steinem would have neglected that fundamental law of capitalism; give the customer what they want.” —Rick Moran

So who are the women that Jane, Gloria and even Hillary think they represent? These liberal bimbos often say they speak 'for women', as though we are all the same because we are WOMEN. All women obviously think at those levels of enlightenment and liberation that they do! HA HA HA.

I imagine many blacks are also offended when Je$$e or $harpton claim to represent 'all blacks'. (By the way, if we are supposed to call blacks 'African Americans', then what do we call them if they are blacks living in England, Japan, Guyana, etc?)

Anyway, I'm glad for the women who actually DO represent at least certain aspects of me: Dr. Laura and her no-nonsense views on family and marriage; Phyllis Schlafly and her wise insights on culture, feminism and politics; Ann Coulter and her sharp wit; Tyra Banks with her love of self at any weight (OK, I THREW THAT ONE IN TO BE FUNNY).

What other great wimmins am I missing here???

P.S. WHY is Oprah so insanely popular? Maybe Jane, Barbra and Ms. Sarandon really do represent most women, if shows like Oprah and The View are still around.

How many of you receive these scam emails? I get several a day, usually from someone in Burkina Faso, telling me they'd like me to act as next of kin to get several million dollars out of some African bank account. I'd of course get half of that for helping.

I even saw a news program exposing the scam (maybe 20/20 or Dateline?) a few months ago. These African guys work out of some makeshift office, emailing this scam to thousands of people, even duping some into helping them.

They make it sound like you don't have anything to lose, but will end up asking you to fly to Europe or somewhere to meet with them, then ask for a few hundred dollars in various 'fees', since, well, you'll be getting $20 million in a few days!

I got another one today, this time from the U.K. Same deal, though.

Anyway, don't fall for it!!! And feel free to email junk to Leo Maxwell.

***********************************
From: leomaxwell110@hotmail.com
Subject: plethora
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:53:57 -0400

Hello,
I came about your email address through the US Bureau of Commerce.
It is with trust and confidence that I make this urgent and important business proposal to you. I am the senior accountant with OIL & GAS UK, here in Aberdeen , Scotland. I have been assigned by my colleagues to seek a foreign partner in the transfer of US $46 million ( fourty six million US dollars). This money arose from a delibrate over-invoicing of a particular contract awarded the corporation in 2005.
We have been safeguarding this money since then awaiting an appropriate time when the money  can be transferred into a safe archive pending our arrival for the sharing and utilisation with the owner of the account. Now the government have ordered that all debts owed foreign contractors by the goverment be paid immediately. On the strenght of this order we wish to take advantage of it to present you or your company as one of the contractors being owed by the government. Meanwhile we have agreed that the money will be shared thus: 95%; 5%.  5% will be for you for collaborating with us and acting in the capacity of a contractor and providing the necessary assistance while the remainder goes for us. We shall take care of any expenses that may arise in the course of this transaction.
The nature of your company's business is irrelevant to this transaction. The money is still in the suspense account of my corporation ( OIL & GAS, UK ) with the Bank of England. You are required to email us the following info if you are willing.
 
(1)Your own name and address
(2) Your phone and fax numbers.
(3) Your State and Country.
We have estimated that this transaction will be concluded within 24 working days upon receipt of your acceptance letter to this proposal. Please reach me through the Tel number below.  This information is highly confidential and urgent. Further information will be conveyed to you as soon we recieve your acceptance response.
 Regards.
DR. LEONARD MAXWELL.
ACCOUNT DEPARTMENT,(OIL & GAS UK)
ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND.
PHONE: +44-704-573-1344