Month: September 2010

I hate cowards. There I said it. I despise people who do not have the courage of their convictions, I detest people who don’t have the gumption to say what they mean, mean what they say and lay it on the line. I hate liars. I hate people who go behind others backs and do and say hurtful things. If you have something to say to me, then I suggest you say it to me, not about me to someone else. People who do that suck royally. And the world is full of people like that, the world is not full of noble people, it is not filled with people who speak their minds, it is not filled with truthful people. It is filled with the liars and hypocrites who hide behind cultural differences and political correctness.
Rant over, I am spent. Potato sale went spectacularly well, made tons of money for United Way and fed people as well. Also sold tons of raffle tickets, so excited, the coffee basket drawing is Friday. I hope I win.

Soapbox, check; indignation, check; full on rant, about to begin.
Today’s subject is Jimmy Carter, yes you read correctly Jimmy Carter, our 39th President of the United States of America. I was a child of a certain age when former President Carter took office, young enough not to be able to vote, old enough to listen to political dinner conversation in my house. In my home no one ever referred to President Carter as an ignorant peanut farmer, I didn’t hear that until after he left office. My parents were not huge fans of President Carter; they felt him ineffectual as a president, however, my dad used to say that he was impressed by his intelligence.
I myself believe that Jimmy Carter was not a good president, however, I do believe he is a great man and has done more for humanity outside the political arena than any other president we have ever had. He is also an amazing historian; I highly recommend any of his books on the Revolutionary War. His point of view is from the Southern states, we tend to forget there were other states that fought for our freedom, more is focused on Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and people forget that the Carolinas were formed as was Georgia. Please, run out and buy Jimmy Carter’s book The Hornet’s Nest, it is about the Green Mountain Boys, it is a fictional work but an amazing account of the Revolutionary War.
I do think he gets a bum rap, he is a great example of how a Christian man should live his life, with honor and dignity and an ability to admit to failings and also exhibiting great family loyalty.
When I heard someone call him a stupid peanut farmer from Georgia for the first time, I remember asking them since when did farmer and stupid become synonymous? I come from a long line of farming people and none of them were stupid, my dad grew up on a farm and went on to become an airplane inspector for McDonald Douglas, however, his main love was the land and farming, growing things. Why did people see this as a bad thing? Why was he put down for this? If you will take note it was the “enlightened” people who did the putting down. I am so very tired of “country” people taking a bad rap. I want everyone to really think about what former President Carter has managed to achieve since he left office, Habitat for Humanity, peace missions abroad, a highly successful marriage and children who have managed to keep themselves out of the gossip columns.
I highly recommend you include some of his books on your reading list, I myself will be adding more of them. My next one will be A Government as Good as its People.

There is so much on my mind it is hard to choose one topic. I think I’ll go with the following. I have been seeing on Facebook (we all know this is a great knowledge base) “My Kids are my World”. That small phrase really made me think. While yes, if you have children they should be your main priority, however, and there is a however, should they be your whole world?
When I had Michael someone gave me the advice of “don’t lose Angie”, I really didn’t understand at the time what that meant. As I grew up and grew older and hopefully wiser I came to understand what that meant. It is so easy to lose yourself in your children and your husband and the world you are creating; however there is still you to consider. Your interests and likes and dislikes, it is ok to be a little self-indulgent and retain your own hobbies, as long as they do not become your universe.
I like reading, scratch that, I love reading, I read more than the average person, if it were up to me I would do nothing all day long but read book after book after book. Of course when I became a mother this became something that went on the backburner of life. Then as things settled down, nap times became regular and bedtimes became stabilized, I realized I could get in some much needed me time with my favorite things, books.
You should never lose the essence of who you are, I will fully admit I lost Angie for a while, not because of being a mother, but because I was married to someone who wanted to suppress the things that made me well me. It took a long time after the divorce to get back to being Angie.
I like who I am today, I like being opinionated, bossy, well read, articulate and well let’s face it darn cute. I take pride in my ability to read over a thousand words a minute and being able to type ninety-five words a minute. I also like that I can adapt to almost any situation, it is a talent, maybe a gift, and I get those two confused. Maybe the reading and typing are talents and my personality quirks are gifts. Interesting, perhaps I shall let you all decide.

This past weekend was actually very productive for me. I got to spend time not only with Tessa but with my daughter-in-law, it was a great time. Tessa is so funny, I know what you are thinking, great, another bragging grandmother, or in my case Gigi, but you are incorrect. She is amazingly funny. Friday night she was climbing into bed when the Wookie looked in the doorway at her, she points and yells “monster!” as loud as she can, then she bursts out laughing. She was cracking herself up.
Saturday was spent cleaning up after the hurricane that is Tessa. Then Sunday was off to do doggy shopping, grocery shopping and making gift baskets to raffle. Oh yes, and let’s not forget making the taco meat for our first food sale that is today! It was a very busy Sunday.
I recorded the VMA’s to watch later, I don’t really like commercials. I did see the season finale of True Blood and Entourage, and also watched Mad Men. All excellent shows, however, I do wonder how Vinnie Chase is going to dig himself out of this one.
Don’t forget to come by and get your nachos and buy your raffle tickets for our amazing items!

It is Sunday September 12, 2010; it is the first game of the real season for the Dallas Cowboys. I know what you are wondering, why on earth is she writing about sports. Well I am and I’m not. I am really writing about Don; Don donated a Cowboy’s Jersey, Christmas Stocking and Santa Hat for our United Way raffles. I am very excited about this, first off, this was Gladys’ first donation item and no it doesn’t matter that Don is her husband; he did not have to be this generous. Secondly this is Dallas, so we have a ton of Dallas fans out there and I know they will want to win this incredible offering. Ticket prices will be the same one ticket for $1.00 or 6 tickets for $5.00. We will be drawing for this amazing item on October 22, 2010. So buy early and buy often and buy tons of tickets!
Don has a business selling professional sports team jersey’s so if you have a need or want for one please give me your email or if Don posts a comment and leaves his email you can contact him directly. Let’s support his business as well as he has supported United Way!

September 11, 2001, I believe everyone in America who was alive at that time can tell you exactly where they were when the planes hit or when they first heard about it. I remember I was at work, having just come back from a medical leave, I was busy trying to untangle the mess that had been made of my accounts. My co-worker in the cube across from me said Angie a plane just hit one of the twin towers in New York. I remember saying Jason what station are you listening to? It must be a radio prank. It was just that unbelievable.
Then the second one hit. Then the plane went down in Pennsylvania. Then we heard about the pentagon. Then disbelief was replaced by terror, terror was replaced by horror, then anger, then profound sadness. The country seemed to stop, then mobilize. We are after all a nation that mobilizes incredibly well.
We are also incredibly self-sufficient, I don’t remember any other nations offering to come to our rescue, if I am wrong in this please correct me. We have rescued so many countries, however, where were they on September 11, 2001?
These days when I think back on that day I am still sad, sad for the incredible loss of life, sad for the families that were personally affected and proud. Yes, proud, I am proud that Oklahoma was the first state to send help to New York, we are after all a state that knows terror attacks first hand, and the heart of an Oklahoman is not to be dismissed lightly. I am proud that as a country we did not admit defeat, we continued, we were not immobilized. We picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and carried on, all the while not forgetting, never forgetting.
So this day, I look to New York and salute you, my heroes are not sports figures or actors, my heroes are the everyday people who persevered and stood up and said “We will not give up, we will continue to be Americans and we will continue to live our lives to the fullest” .
My hero is a country that always does what it thinks is right, even if sometimes we go overboard, I love you America and I am way proud to be first an American, second an Oklahoman.

I am exhausted; it has been a long week, the weather, the news reports, plus first time to have the Irishman’s children for an extended period of time, just tired. Please do not read any more into that than there is. They are good kids, but as anyone knows when you have not been around young children for a long time you forget how diligent you have to be, and how much work is involved in just the everyday things, like meals and laundry.
I hope it rains this weekend, I love the rain and would love for it to rain when I am able to stay home and enjoy it. Monday is our first food sale, Nachos, I hope everyone loves them and buys them!
Sunday is a huge announcement on one of our raffles; I hope everyone will be as excited as I am!
I had Starbucks yesterday so may not have it today, as I have already had it twice this week. Sssssssshhhh don’t tell on me!

Today is officially Gladys Day. Today is Gladys’ birthday and it is a momentous one, I won’t say which one as I do not like people saying which one I am having at any given year. So today Gladys I tip my hat to you, and want to thank you for being such a good friend.
Gladys is a transplant from California, however you would never know it, and she fits in with the native Texans like she was born here. She is kind, generous and friendly, however, don’t cross her, she has a machete, or so she threatens, I have yet to see it. Don’t tell her this but I think she is a big talker in that area.
All talk no machete. I am so blessed to have her in my life, she a good person and an amazing friend. She listens to my rants and even reads them here. I am very happy I get to work with her this year on United Way fund raising.
So when you see Gladys today tell her Happy Birthday and please for the love of all that is holy, do not call her Cuban, Mexican, Spanish or Guatemalan, she is pure, old fashioned Nicaraguan, she will bring out the machete for that mistake.

It is dark and rainy here today, a perfect day, have I mentioned how much I really don’t like sunshine? I love the rain, I love the snow, and I love the ice, sleet, all of it! I am so ready for cooler temperatures, I did not ask for summer. I asked for winters, and yes, don’t say it, I know I live in the wrong state.
Today is the day we start our raffles, well two of them, the one for the Rangers Tickets and the one for the Kindle. Please let me know how many you would like.
I am still very much getting used to someone being here besides me the wookie and crazy eye. It is an adjustment, he likes to come in and wake me up when he gets home from work, which is about midnight, so of course, me not being used to an adult male in the home wake up screaming. I think the first time it happened he felt a little bad but since he continues to do it I think he finds it amusing. Not so much for me. Does he not realize I am old and my heart may explode by him doing that?
He better stop he is not my beneficiary. Yesterday I learned how to access Netflix via streaming video to my television; no one will ever know the happiness I feel by having Dean Cain right at my fingertips. On that happy note folks I will end today’s post. Not a lot to say but maybe I got my important point across… Dean Cain….

Nancy Regan it, that is my motto. Does anyone remember her just say no campaign in the 1980’s? I do, it was awesome, and she was everywhere, even on Different Strokes. She was an incredibly classy lady that is not a word I use lightly. Well two words, classy and lady. I have known very few ladies in my lifetime; Webster’s defines lady as a woman of refinement and gentle manners, that was Nancy Regan and that was my great aunt Effie,  my mother and more recently Almetta. In my life I have known very few women who fit that definition, me included. So it begs the question, where did all of the ladies go? When did we lose our refinement and gentle manners?
From what I have seen the generation coming up has never been taught manners, children are asking inappropriate questions, eating with their mouths open and talking with their mouths full of food! Where are the parents who enforce good manners and why are children not being taught said manners? I see it in young adults as well, typically with 20 something males, not my son of course, he was taught manners from the time he could walk and talk. I have never seen him talk with his mouth full. But at work, I see a lot of young men who have absolutely no concept of good manners; they belch and expel gas then laugh about it. This is not a good thing people, not only is it in incredibly bad taste it is unprofessional. I once had a manager who actually had to address the issue in a; team meeting. Seriously, these people should have been taught at home not to do these things.
So if you are the parent of a young child out there, please understand that one day you will unleash these beings into the world, we expect them to behave, so teach them accordingly.
I had the good fortune of being taught manners not only at home but at school, in Owasso, in 8h grade English class, I wish I could remember this teachers name, she taught etiquette, she said you never knew where you were going to end up, you could be having dinner at the White House one day and she expected each and every one of us to know how to behave. Greatness. Where are the great teachers? Where are the parents that teach their children how to behave in any social situation? Have parents become lazy? Or are they too overwhelmed to care about good manners?