Happy Halloween!!! LOL

Another Perspective On Investments

If you had purchased $1,000 of AIG stock one year ago, you would have $42 left. With Lehman, you would have $6.60 left. With Fannie or Freddie, you would have less than $5 left. But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of (since I don't drink, I am adding the word "root") beer one year ago, drank all of the root beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214. Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It's called the 401-Keg...............it's okay, go ahead and chuckle. LOL

A Friend Loveth At All Times

A friend is one who sees through you and still enjoys the view.

- Wilma Askinas

It's Gonna Get Ugly!

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan , Minister of Migration Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if military actions against Iraq continues, authorities intend to cut off America 's supply of Convenience Store Managers and Motel 6 Managers. And if this action does not yield sufficient results, Cab Drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL Customer Service Reps. Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened to send us no more candidates for President of the United States ! It's gonna get ugly!!!

DISCLAIMER: It's Just A Joke

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY, BRYN!!!

What a card!
Love that charm! LOL

Awww! What a smile!

She loved her dinner!

Wish made and candles are nearly out!

Fun! Present time!

Today my baby, darling, princess is seven years old. I have to admit, this has been the most fun seven years of my life. She is my lil partner. Where has time flown to and is there any way of slowing it down?!?!? This has actually been a "birthday week" for Bryn. Her paternal grandparents were leaving on a trip to Europe so we met them on Tuesday to celebrate Bryn's b-day. Yesterday, we celebrated her birthday with the rest of the family at our house. This is the first birthday, of all three of my kids, where I didn't cook. After Brian cooked for my birthday at the first of the month, Bryn decided to ask daddy to cook for her. She placed her order telling him, "We can first have Benihana soup and salad as the appetizer, and then the vegetables, Hibachi chicken and shrimp and fried rice as the main dish. Oh, I want a red cake, too." There is no way daddy was going to tell his princess, "No." LOL I should add, Brian has figured out several of the Benihana recipes including the ginger sauce and salad dressing which is sooooo good! Bryn enjoyed her dinner, cake, and excitedly opened presents. She is such a doll and brings so much joy to our home.

Californians Vote "YES" On Prop 8

This link shows the importance of your vote on California Proposition 8
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815825713

I AM GETTING MAD

Below is an Associated Press article that caught my attention. First, let me establish one thing. I don't agree with the Catholic Church stand against contraceptives, but I do believe they have the right to teach such to their parishioners. Furthermore, I think people of the Catholic faith have the right to establish pharmacies as stated in the below article. Why are religious freedoms being fought so ferociously??? If you want birth control, don't shop at the below pharmacy. You can usually find a pharmacy within 10 blocks of any location. Pick a different one. But DON'T try to block the pharmacy that practices their religion. Let me give you an example. There is a doctor in our community who refuses to perform circumcisions based on his religious beliefs. Infant boys have been assigned this pediatrician in the hospital. If the parents want their son circumcised, they are instructed to select a different pediatrician. This doctor has not been sued nor had boycotts to suspend his license. Instead, parents choose a different doctor. I am sick and tired of having beliefs and lifestyles crammed down my throat with which I don't agree. You have your right to your belief but don't force it on me. Furthermore, why steal my freedom of religion and force me to violate my convictions? Is freedom only granted to those who share the same view?!? ABSURD!!!

Oct 22, 12:28 AM (ET)By MATTHEW BARAKAT
CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) - A new drug store at a Virginia strip mall is putting its faith in an unconventional business plan: No candy. No sodas. And no birth control. Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy is among at least seven pharmacies across the nation that are refusing as a matter of faith to sell contraceptives of any kind, even if a person has a prescription. States across the country have been wrestling with the issue of pharmacists who refuse on religious grounds to dispense birth control or morning-after pills, and some have enacted laws requiring drug stores to fill the prescriptions. In Virginia, though, pharmacists can turn away any prescription for any reason. "I am grateful to be able to practice," pharmacy manager Robert Semler said, "where my conscience will never be violated and my faith does not have to be checked at the door each morning."

The store only sells items that are health -related, including vitamins, skin care products and over-the-counter medications. On Tuesday, the pharmacy celebrated a blessing from Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde. While Divine Mercy Care is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, it is guided by church teachings on sexuality, which forbid any form of artificial contraception, including morning-after pills, condoms and birth control pills, a common prescription used by millions of women in the U.S. The drug store is the seventh in the country to be certified as not prescribing birth control by Pharmacists for Life International.

Entire article here: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20081022/D93VAPIG0.html

Maxine On Cows, The Constitution, and The 10 Commandments

CO W S - Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N - They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq .... Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

T H E 1 0 C O M M A N D M E N T S - The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this: You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.

What Group Are You In?

"People can be divided into three groups:

those who make things happen,

those who watch things happen,

and those who wonder what happened."

~~ John W.Newbern

Investment Tips

With all the turmoil in the market today and the collapse of Lehman Bros and acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, this might be some good advice. For all of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG bucks. Watch for these consolidations in later this year:

1.) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W R. Grace Co.
Will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2.) Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers
join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
3.) 3M will merge with Goodyear and become:
MMMGood.
4.) Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining
will merge and become: ZipAudiDoDa .
5.) FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become:
FedUP.
6.) Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become:
FairwellHoneychild.
7.) Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become:
PouponPants.
8.) Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become:
KnottNOW!
And finally...
9.) Victoria 's Secret and Smith &Wesson will merge under the new name:
(Welllllll, I don't know that it would be appropriate on a public forum, but a hint would be it rhymes with "ChittyChittyBangBang)

OH, YOU KNOW YOU WANNA LAUGH!

Prayer Request

It was about four years ago when I thought I must have some "gunk" on my left eye because it seemed foggy but there wasn't anything on/in my eye. This fogginess was intermittent and the optometrist and then the opthamalogist could not "see" anything. I knew something was wrong but felt frustrated the eye doctors could not figure it out. What was just a couple times a week became more frequent and now my left eye is foggy about 85% of the time. I cannot read or see clearly with my left eye. I am quite nearsighted and my right eye has changed from -800 to -900 because it has been compensating for my left eye. The last week of September I saw my optometrist and, again, she could not figure out the problem. She referred me to the opthamologist and on Wednesday he took pictures of my retina, optic nerve, etc. He found nothing but thought my retina may be wrinkled, swollen or have a mucous membrane laying on it and he referred me to a retina specialist. While my eyes were still dilated, my husband drove me to the retina specialist where they took more pictures of my retina, took pressure readings with a hammer like probe, and finally saw the doctor. He further examined my eyes with his bright lights and magnifiers causing tears to stream. Then, he said, "I see what you are talking about." WOW! After five hours at the doctor's office, we had a diagnosis. The doctor wanted to dilate my eyes further and look into my eye with more bright lights. He finally told us there was an opacity in the vitreous gel between my eye and the retina. This opacity was causing the fogginess in my central left eye vision. Many people experience "floaters" which are small bits of protein in the vitreous gel. People who are very nearsighted or sometimes age, causes the vitreous gel to form clumps. These clumps block vision and can eventually cause the retina to detach. The surgery is very risky and the doctor wants to run further tests before he determines my only option is surgery. Now let me build your faith - - - about 20 years ago, I had first stages of glaucoma and had lost a small amount of peripheral eyesight. At one of the camp meetings in Santa Maria, California, I went into a prayer line and received a miracle. God restored the lost vision and my eye pressures returned to normal. I KNOW God can heal and I am asking you to join me in prayer for another miracle. There is no cure or medicine that can help opacity of the vitreous gel but I know a God who can clear my vision. Thanks in advance for your prayers.

Wise Words

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them,

what they could and should do for themselves.

--Abraham Lincoln

A Few Quotes

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed
-Mark Twain

Suppose you were an idiot; And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat myself.
-Mark Twain

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-Winston Churchill

Get Going

Don't wait for your "ship to come in"

and feel angry and cheated when it doesn't.

Get going with something small

- Irene Kassorla

I have often said, "With my luck, I'll be at the airport when my ship comes in!" Guess that means I better work with whatever I have regardless of how great or small.

Economic Lesson

This came from someone who works for Fidelity Investments:
Subject: Economics
OK, you don't have to drink beer to appreciate this.
Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them curve. 'Since you're all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost ofyour daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100%savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got'. 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'' Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!' The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them forbeing wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Behavior In Small Moments Count

Character may be manifested in the great moments,

but it is made in the small ones.

- Phillips Brooks

Step Outta Your Box

To achieve what you've never had,

you must do what has never been done.

- unknown

10 Predictions

The below predictions were sent to me via e-mail and I thought I would share them with you.

TEN PREDICTIONS (ABSOLUTES) NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION:
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.
ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?

LOL

A friend sent T-shirt art in an e-mail and I thought I would share a couple with you. LOL