Another Stupid Driver

This morning as I was driving David to work and we were coming up to an intersection in the road, we were on the main road and I saw the !@#$%& driver coming up to the intersection from the side road to our left. We were almost to the intersection, I had cruise control on, which I usually do because there's usually no traffic, when I saw the person come to the intersection with another car behind him/her.

Okay, fine, no problem I knew they were there so I kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't pull out in front of me since I was almost to the intersection. Well, you can probably guess what happened next, yep, they pulled out just as I was coming to the intersection and I not only let on the horn, but swerved out of their way to hopefully avoid getting side swiped by them. David said that the person wasn't even looking our way, but had they hit us, there would have been serious damage and both David and I would have been seriously injured because the impact would have been on my side and the force of the impact probably would have sent us rolling into the ditch on our side of the road meaning David would have been injured if not worse.

Thank God someone up there was looking out for us. I guess God still has plans for us because He deemed that it wasn't our time yet, thank you Lord! I'm not ready to go yet. I'm still hoping for my first grandchild and I want to be around to see him/her if Kenneth and Elicia decide to have a kid or two. I won't say that I'm too young to die because my dad was my age when he passed away, so I know better.

One thing this morning reminded me of though and that is that my reflexes are still fast, so that's a good thing. If they hadn't been or if I had been distracted, well, we all know what could have happened. Thankfully it didn't.

So, moral of the story, make sure you keep a watchful eye out for stupid drivers and don't become one yourself. If you already are, STOP IT!

Another Puppy Mill Busted

This one was here in Iowa. That is great news, There were 88 dogs in all with many suspected of being pregnant; this makes my heart break. Many were cocker spaniels. I love cocker spaniels. We had several when I was a kid. I remember when we got our first one. My dad brought it home in a picnic basket. So cocker spaniels bring back special memories for me, especially black ones, as ours were.

Don't forget people, places like these are where puppies in pet stores come from. Thankfully they are becoming fewer as more people are becoming aware of where they exist. The people who run these places are just as bad and cruel as those who raise dogs for fighting.

One of the shelters that helped in the rescue yesterday was the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. They do a lot of good. On Facebook, they showed one of the dogs, a black male cocker spaniel they rescued before he was cleaned and groomed. That poor dog, his fur was so matted with doggy waste that it looked like he had giant tumors hanging off of him. How people can do this is beyond me. Yes, I know they're in it for the money, but they don't have to keep the dogs in such deplorable conditions. But I know, they don't care just so long as those poor dogs reproduce so that they have puppies to sell. They will have their special place in hell along with the ones who raise dogs for fighting.

Apparently puppy mills are not uncommon here. Who are the people buying these puppies? Are they all pet shops doing the buying? I have a hard time believing that. If these people with these dogs in conditions like those ones rescued yesterday called themselves "breeders" and people were going and buying the puppies and saw those conditions, why didn't they call the authorities? I'm hopeful that's how the authorities got wind of this one, but I don't know. I would hope that a responsible person did just that. Please, if you suspect that someone is running a puppy mill, call the authorities.

There are so many purebred dogs in shelters across the country. Before you go to a breeder, check out your local shelter, you may come home with the perfect dog, even if it isn't a purebred. As the ASPCA says, "If you can't decide between a Shepherd, a Setter or a Poodle, get them all. Adopt a mutt!" I personally am fond of them. :) But in all seriousness, don't buy from pet shops, you don't know where those puppies came from and don't buy from so called "breeders" who keep their dogs in deplorable conditions, instead, turn their asses in to the authorities.

Goliath Has Fallen!

The Packers aren't going to the Super Bowl this year, beaten by a team ironically named the Giants. Am I happy, you bet!

David said that they were undefeated at home this year. He didn't think they could be beaten at home. But I was confident, they had been defeated before by a team no one thought could beat them. I was confident that they could be defeated again and at home no less and I was right!

I had no doubt in the world that they would not be going to the Super Bowl this year. I am one happy Steeler fan right now. Yes the Steelers may not be going to the Super Bowl, but neither are the Packers!

The Giants just made my day, thank you guys!

Football Season is Over, But That's Not All

Football season is over for me anyway. The Steelers lost on Sunday to the Denver Broncos. I hear it was a good game, I didn't watch, but they lost just the same. It took me this long to be able to write about it.

Okay, truth be told, the reason I didn't write about it was not because I was that upset. I was upset that they lost, yes, but I'm  pretty much over it and wish Denver and Tebow well. I wouldn't mind seeing them go all the way, but it's a long shot. But hey, it happened to the Steelers and if Greenbay gets beaten in the process, that'll make it all that much better and make up for Pittsburgh losing. Do I hold grudges, you bet!

Anyway, the reason I'm upset is because I've been busy trying to find a laptop bag big enough to fit my laptop and not cost an arm and a leg. I also don't want a boring black one. I would prefer a Mickey Mouse one (I have a Mickey Mouse sleeve found on eBay), but they are also few and far in between plus don't fit my computer. I found a bag that I can use as a laptop bag, but it's on eBay, which is fine, but the seller is in China and has a 97.5% approval rating. I try not to buy from China and definitely not from anyone with less than a 99% approval rating. So there lies my problem.

That and the fact that my laptop has a 17 inch screen and there aren't that many bags out there that fit that size. The ones that do are boring black and/or cost more than I want to spend. Since I don't have a job that I have to take my laptop to thereby not needing a black one, heck, I don't have one at all and the last job I had, my boss acted like I was stealing company secrets or clients because I was bringing my laptop (not this one) to work. She finally told me that I wasn't allowed to bring it three weeks into the job. I lasted another week after that. Actually it was by mutual decision that I left. What a great weight lifted off my shoulders!

Anyway, that still doesn't solve my problem. I have looked and looked until I've had a headache, but no luck. If anyone has any ideas of where I can find a laptop bag, not black, at a decent price, please let me know. In the meantime, I'll keep on hunting for one. Wish me luck.

Christmas is Officially Over at the Ballard House

Yep, if you haven't guessed already, I took down the outside Christmas lights yesterday. The stuff inside had been down since before New Years.

It's always sad to have to take it down, but once it's done, it's like a great weight lifted from my shoulders. I'm the one who does all the holiday decorating. It's not that everyone else refuses to help, they do by bringing in the boxes from the storage building, also known as the piggy building. Don't worry, there haven't been any pigs in it for years. Anyway, they do that and I do the decorating then they take the empty boxes out to the storage building until it's time to take all the stuff back down then they do it all over again.

That's why over the years I've cut down a lot, especially outside. This year the lights on the house consisted of lighted wreaths in the windows on the inside so that they could be turned off and on from the inside. I also had two of the swirl trees in front with the power cord plugged into the front porch light, so that they too could be turned off and on from the inside. The only lights not controlled from the inside were the ones strung from the flag pole to form a Christmas tree, but after something chewed through one of the strands (I bet whatever it was got a good jolt), I discontinued plugging those in. Next year I'll have to come up with a better plan, which I've already been thinking about. I also found a timer so I plugged the lights on the fence into that, so I wouldn't have to worry about stepping outside to unplug them, it gets downright cold here at night.

Yesterday in taking the outside stuff down, I think at the most, it took me an hour to take it down and pack it away for next year. Not bad, huh? But it officially puts an end to Christmas for another year, or less if you think about when they all go up again, which is usually the weekend after Thanksgiving. If you consider that, then it's another 10 and a half months, but whose rushing, right?

Is It Spring Already?

It sure seemed that way yesterday. The high got to the mid 60s, just gorgeous. I could have sworn I even saw a robin. It sure didn't look like my background picture, which by the way, is our yard back in 2008 during a big snow storm.

We've had some snow this winter, but nothing compared to then. I think that so far, adding up all the snow we've gotten this winter, we've had something like five inches. Mind you, I'm not complaining, but it's far less than what we're used to. Dave and I would like to do some cross country skiing before winter is over too. They say that it's supposed to get really cold at the end of the month and in February, but we'll just have to wait and see if they're right.

Today is another gorgeous, warm day. Days like these make me think of longer spring days with lots of sun where I can get outside and have all day to enjoy it. Oh shucks, I just realized that I need to take down the Christmas decorations outside. The inside ones have been down now for over a week. Thankfully I didn't put up a lot and didn't put them up high so they'll be easy to take down. They will have to wait another day though because today I'm stuck inside doing laundry. They're not turned on anyway. I did unplug them, at least the lights on the fence.

Speaking of laundry, laundry day is the day I also clean the bathroom, do I hear a Yea!? If I did, the person who said it is sick. Who actually loves cleaning the bathroom, certainly not me!

Anyway, if you're having the same gorgeous weather we are, I hope you can get out there to enjoy it, even if it's just taking a walk at lunch time. Have a great day!

The Day After

Wow, just eight votes! That's how many votes Romney beat Santorum by. I would think that was the closest margin in Caucus history, but I may be wrong. The caucus did have a record breaking showing, which was great. Santorum actually won more counties, but Romney won some in the more populated areas. To see the end results, you can check here.

I think a lot of people in other parts of the country were confused by the changes in the front runner  coming into the caucus. In my opinion, it showed that Iowans were paying close attention and not taking the candidates at face value, but rather were researching each candidate. I also think that calling Romney not "conservative enough" backfired. This country doesn't want a far right wing conservative in the White House. It can also be a result of who were asked and what questions they were asked.

The caucus also had the second casualty of the Republican race, Michele Bachmann. I'm not surprised, she had slipped in the polls dramatically since her Straw Poll win. She got only 5% of the votes last night. Even her place of birth, Waterloo, didn't support her.

Rick Perry was thinking of dropping out but then decided not to. I really don't think he'll last after New Hampshire or South Carolina. I'm surprised that he didn't drop out after his disappointing showing last night, coming in at fifth place. I believe that two things sunk his campaign here, his attack ads on the other candidates, Iowans are tired of them, and using the religion card, telling people that he's not afraid to say that he's a Christian. I'm happy for him, but people want to hear realistic solutions for the problems this country is going through and he had none. Making Congress part time is both unrealistic and if I'm correct, the president has no power to do it.

Ron Paul was pleased with his third place showing, which is higher than he showed four years ago. He cannot be counted out. Our county was one that went for Paul.

One thing last night's caucus proved is that this is going to be an interesting quest for the Republican nomination. I wonder who will end up with the prize at the end. We'll just have to wait and see.

Caucus Day

It's finally here! After listening to political ads on TV and getting countless telephone calls for a year or so now, most of which were recordings, they will finally stop after today, at least until the general elections anyway.

Finally! I am so sick of it all. We don't even caucus because we would have to declare a party and we refuse to. I don't like either party at this point. I'm sick of the mud slinging in this campaign and others before it. You can tell those who are the most desperate by the amount of mud slinging they do. I remember a certain senatorial race when they were last held, the one candidate, I won't say what party she was from, came out mud slinging from the start, she lost by 30 percentage points and she deserved to.

I know a lot will disagree, but I'm one of those who feel that your religious beliefs are private. I don't like people who throw their beliefs out there and declare themselves to be Christians. In my opinion, just because you call yourself one, does not make you one. Being a Christian in my opinion, involves a lot more than just believing in God. It involves doing as Christ did. Mother Teresa was a true Christian. The politicians I have seen on TV, in my opinion, are not. It also, in my opinion, does not a moral man make. Someone they interviewed on the news last week said that she could tell that one of the candidates was a moral person because of his faith. How does she really know? Look at all the crooked politicians out there and I will bet that if asked, most will declare themselves to be Christians because they believe in God.

I also don't agree with those who signed the marriage pact, or whatever it is and those who are saying that allowing gays to marry ruins marriage. If you are married, did it ruin your marriage? It didn't make it any less important to you or less legal, did it? No one you know has been denied being able to get married if they had the proper license in states where gay marriage was made legal, have they? We have enough bigotry in this country and the world, we don't need it from our president or congressmen/women either. We need to work to get rid of it, not make it worse and not endorse those who openly show it.

Okay, that's enough of me getting up on my soapbox. I know that a lot of you won't agree with me and that's okay, that's your right. We will just have to agree to disagree.

Anyway, I hope that you all have a great day. Make it special for someone you love.

De-Clutter Day

Man, you would not believe the fabric I decided to give away today to clean out some of the clutter I've made over the last 12 years. I had fabric that could be used for quilts, drapery fabric, and upholstery fabric; all were from projects I either did or meant to do, but never got around to doing.

I decided that I was probably never going to get to those projects for one reason or another, so since I just bought more fabric for another project, I decided that since I bought more fabric, I would get rid of fabric I wasn't using. I will try to do that from now on. That's one of my resolutions, in order to buy fabric, I have to get rid of some fabric I already had for awhile. It only seems fair and it cuts down on the clutter.

I cleaned out my closet this past year, but you still wouldn't know it. I don't know why, I got rid of a lot of clothes. Maybe I need to rid myself of more. That, I know I have to do. There are some things I bought this past year that when I got them home, they just didn't work, so they need to go to someone who they'll work for. I will try to get to it tomorrow, but I kept swaying that all last week or so about the fabric, but at least I got it done. It's still a pretty good start to the new year, at least I think so. I can kick myself for all the money I spent on all that fabric though.

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping and praying that the new year is better than the old.

We started out the new year cold and windy with a little snow on the ground. The cold isn't expected to last though, temps are supposed to go back into the 40s by mid-week.

We stayed home last night, which isn't unusual. We didn't even stay up to watch the ball drop and ring in the new year. We're not big party animals anymore. To tell the truth, we've become pretty boring in our mid-age. I resolve to change that a little bit. Don't ask me how because I haven't figured that far ahead yet.

I wonder if we'll get any political calls today. I pity the people who are trying to sleep off a hangover this morning being woken up by one of those calls. Thankfully in two more days the caucuses will be over and the calls and TV ads will stop, for awhile anyway. I'm glad that they're being held on January 3rd for that very reason.

Well, not much more to add at this point, so I guess I should finish my oatmeal and get on with the day. There is nothing I dislike more than cold oatmeal. I even heat the milk in the microwave before I put it in so that my oatmeal won't get cold.

Oh man, here I am going on about oatmeal. See what I mean about being boring? I definitely need some fun in my life. I need to get on it right a way. While I'm coming up with fun things to do this year, have yourselves a great day and year. Also, if you have any suggestions, as long as they're not too dangerous, let me know.