The pen is mightier than the sword

Dear Senator Lincoln:
I am extremely frustrated with our lawmakers at this time. And yes, this means you. I realize you are not in the House of Representatives, but you are in the equally important Senate. This $700 billion bailout is a crock. This should NOT even be considered. What have you guys been doing?! Let me try to explain our situation (the middle class a.k.a. the middle child)to you.
1. We struggle to pay for health insurance. We actually pay for ours (which is almost worthless) instead of racking up unpaid medical bills like a lot of other Americans.
2. We both work out of the home because we have to and want to. WE paid over 20,000 to the IRS alone this year. No tax loopholes for us and no economic stimulus check either.
3. We struggle under escalating gas prices while watching Gas Companies take in record profits.
4. We watch as BOTH candidates for President b...s... the American public. Those of us who actually pay attention to politics are losing faith. Which one to vote for and does it really matter?
5. We live in the greatest country on earth and are ridiculed by the gross mismanagement of our funds/resources/foreign relations, etc. This is NOT all President Bush's fault. Take the time to read the Constitution. WE have separation of powers AND checks and balances to ensure that!
6. Who checks our media's integrity? Where is good faith reporting? The average Americans do not get their news from newspapers which are held to a higher standard. They watch TV! Why should they report the truth? It's like the blind leading the blind.
7. Who gets paid from all the credit card interest rates? If it's the credit card companies (or banks), they are obviously NOT broke. Why not take a little donation from their coffers instead of out of the accounts of hard working Americans. Welfare is necessary, but how about cutting back a little on Medicaid? Our previous Governor Huckabee wanted to insure every child in Arkansas EXCEPT the children of parents who beg, borrow, and actually WORK to cover their children.
I could obviously go on and on but I will spare you. One final thought, why don't members of Congress (both houses) pledge this years salary toward our $700 BILLION bailout in a show of good faith toward the American people?
If you would like to share my frustrations with anyone you think might listen (probably noone), please feel free.
Sincerely, Stephanie Davis (American, Arkansan, Mom, Wife, Daughter, tax payer, teacher, friend, CONCERNED citizen)

P.S.
Please forgive any typos, grammatical errors, syntax, etc. I typed this from the heart.

To my blog readers: I sent this to Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln and to Senator Mark Pryor this afternoon. I realize it has flaws, but on the whole I am proud of the content. I hope this can inspire you to do the same, but it's OK if it doesn't. :)

My Saturday AND Sunday

SATURDAY
About the debate: I think both candidates performed quite well. Basically they both bs'd. I think McCain actually got Obama a little peeved. Obama irritated McCain as well, but not as much I don't think. I really can not wait to see Palin and Biden on Thursday. We shall see. Are you as shocked as me to learn that we OWE China 500 million (or billion)! !! ??? What has our DEMOCRATic Congress been doing?
About the Hogs: I really am having a hard time finding something positive to say about Saturday's game against Texas. Oh yeah, Bill Murray was there.
About Houston "MB" Nutt: I am positively nauseated that he beat Florida. I must not be living right!
SUNDAY
I would have to say that this is absolutely my most favorite day of this week. My laundry is all done, church was great, I took an afternoon nap, and tonight Anthony is cooking on the grill. What a life!

My Friday

TGIF! I mean I REALLY, REALLY LOVE Friday! I always have a little time to myself on Friday afternoon and I enjoy it! Blakely goes to MawMaw's to spend the night and Anthony is always flying this time of year. It's nice! I usually surf the net, have a cocktail, and read the newspaper. Heaven I tell ya!
School was great today. It's Football Friday and we had a pep rally. Today's pep rally was really well done. The cheerleaders are all really good this year, and they used black lights for their program. It was cool and the kids loved it. They all had glow sticks which made it especially fun for the elementary. I had every intention of going to the game tonight but I forgot that the presidential debate was on. SO, being a civics teacher and all, I could NOT miss the first debate. The kids will never miss me.
As usual, I will be watching the Hogs at the Vaccaro's tomorrow. I really hope we play well. And if not, I hope the snacks are as good as last Saturday. LOL Haley and Jeff will be there. I have not seen them in forever, so I am looking most forward to that. They have been married almost one year. Honeymooners. So sweet. No, really they are!
Note to Jake: Your life has to be more exciting than mine......so BLOG already! AND post the hair.

My Thursday

I am following the 700 billion dollar bail out. Ridiculous doesn't begin to express how I really feel. AnnClaire shared with me an excellent idea. There are around 300 million residents of the USA. Give each person 200,000 each and watch the economy get stimulated! I really like this idea! Beats the heck out of giving it back to the boobs that screwed it up in the first place.
School flew by again today. I think something must be wrong with me.
Can anyone tell me what gives a person an innate sense of responsibility, and explain just how two children raised by the same parents manage to pass on the responsibility gene to only ONE sibling? I am an only child so I just am flabbergasted when it comes to this phenomenon. I could write a whole book on this subject from observation alone, but I will spare you the torture for now.
I am thinking my Saturday is going to be a rough one football-wise. I will be watching the game. I am still holding out the possibility of a major upset. I am a glass half-full kind of gal when it comes to the Hogs. I started going to the games when I was 8 years old. My family had season tickets to all of the games including several out of state. I have sat through the worst of seasons and through the best. Been to more Cotton Bowls than I even remember (especially the ones when I was over 21! LOL) I even was a pen pal to a little known kicker named Ish Ordonez in the late 70's. I still have his hog wrist band. Cheezy, I know. I even grew up and got season tickets of my own. However, I married a non-Hog/non-football fan (gasp) and eventually gave up my tickets the year I got pregnant. I actually regret it from time to time. I had pretty good seats on the 35 yard line. I know I could always re-up my tickets, but it's no fun going alone. Either way, I am a strong Hog fan (especially now that Nutt is gone). Here's wishing all of the pundits are wrong about Saturday. Go Hogs!
Enough rambling. Good night.

My Wednesday

I have had a pretty good day. Yes, I said it. It's been a good day. When a day starts out fun it just makes the whole day better. Here's why: my husband is really cool. Now he usually doesn't fall into the "cool" category but this morning he really showed out. On our way to school in the big black Armada (aka gas guzzler) with the sunroof open, Blakely and I spot Anthony in the air. We flash our lights at him which is the signal to let him know we see him. Cheezy, I know. He banks a steep left turn and flies over us across the highway really low. It probably doesn't impress you guys, but it always thrills the heck out of me and Blake. He really made our day. Most people I know ask me how I manage with him being a cropduster. It's a very dangerous job they say. (like I don't know that) We have buried more friends than we would care to remember. However, I have NEVER worried about him. He is an awesome pilot and a very conscientious one. He doesn't hot dog. I truly expect him home every night. It's his job. He is very lucky to have a job he actually loves. How many of us can say the same?
School flew by today. Weird. LOVED it!
I am debating on cooking a full course meal tonight. I am not much of a cook. THAT is truly an understatement. However, tonight I think I will attempt a culinary masterpiece. Or maybe just some Hamburger Helper. Later....

My Tuesday

Note to self: NEVER, I repeat NEVER schedule yourself to give FOUR tests in one day. EVER. Giving the test actually makes for an easy day, but grading them is an entirely different story. Good grief!
I won my Fantasy Football matchup by one measley point. It's a win though. I have one manager emailing me. Not too sure about that. He seems kind of desperate. This is not Pick Up Fantasy Football. LOL He's probably 12 years old.
Well, that's about it for my blog today. Nothing to write about at ALL. I am off to yoga.....Have a good Wednesday!

My Monday

Monday....the day filled with possibilities....the start of a brand new week......occasional holiDAY and...the crappiest day of the week! Oh yeah, I think I will keep that final description. Mondays just blow. They are always long. Always boring. Always Monday. Every other Monday I have morning duty. I hate duty. There is always one duty Nazi that just is entirely too serious about duty. Go figure.
During the day I had to listen to the guys lament over the lost football game. Whiny Whiny Whiny. They seriously need a reality check as to what it means to be a "team". You win as a team and you lose as a team. Now that's not to say that some did not play their level best BUT at least talk about their shortcomings to their face so they can defend their position. I called them out on that but as usual they acted like they didn't hear me. LOL
The Hogs had a rough game. I am sure plenty of blame to go around there as well. I wonder if Coach Petrino feels the same way I do? I bet he points out all that was wrong about Saturday (that should take up atleast TWO days of talk!) but I also bet he points out what was right. They NEVER gave up. They did play their hardest. We still would not have won the game, but the score should have been 35-7. Like I said in an earlier post, "it's going to be a long year."
What's up with adult acne? Why is it that I have reached the big 4-0 but still manage to score pimples? This is sooooo not fair. I have pretty good skin but these mid-month breakouts are becoming a nuisance. And where did these "laugh" lines a.k.a wrinkles come from?
When would be a good time to suggest to my boss a 3 day work week? I am thinking this would really improve the morale of teachers AND students. Not to mention saving gas and/or gas money. I like Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday school. This totally eliminates crappy Monday, and just as crappy Tuesday. I like it! I'll let ya know how this turns out. Later......

Yoga and stuff

OK, I have to admit that I have not been to the gym in over ONE month. I just have not felt like making the time to go, even though my face is on their billboard for advertisement. That alone should make me go! I have to admit it IS pretty cool to be on a billboard. I am on there with several others but I am representing the 40 something crowd. That's a downer! Everybody always wants to know who the young blonde is holding the basketball? Note to all that are reading::: I am NOT the YOUNG blonde. LOL She is the size of godzilla (tall, that is) where I am the size of a munchkin on the billboard (no comments please). She is also in her 20's. It is nice to be included though. :)
I am really into yoga and there were no classes offered UNTIL this week. Believe it or not yoga is TOUGH. I mean it makes you sweat. It works parts of your body you seriously did not know existed. Needless to say I am sore. I mean I can barely get up or down. I sometimes totally realize that I am 40. I swear your body knows this but your mind is still in its 20's.
This week at school was actually a good one. It seemed like a short week to me. I worked the kids butts off. That makes the time fly and me happy. LOL They gripe and complain but in the end it's all good. I am going to miss these kids when they graduate next year. They are a good group. I had no drama this week at all except for the announcement of the Homecoming court. It was a big surprise for a lot of girls. Some were NOT happy. Which translates into some of the MOMMAS were not happy. Thank goodness I am not involved in that snakepit! LOL It all settled down though.
I am headed to the Vaccaro's to watch the Hogs take on the Tide this morning. I am trying to remain optimistic. The thing I love most about Arkansas is that we can NEVER be counted out, and they can surprise ANY team. We shall see...GO HOGS!
This weekend is shaping up to be much, much better than the last. Yeah!

Mood

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel disconnected? Disaffected? You know the kind of day you question your Maker as to just what IS your purpose in life? A glass half full kind of day. A torch song, whiskey and blue sort of day. This is that kind of day for me. I know the sun will come out tomorrow and all that jazz, but it's still a funky day.

The Weekend from H***!

We got up early Saturday to drive to Hot Springs to meet a realtor. We have been thinking of moving out of the Delta for a while, and I picked Hot Springs. Anthony would still work here but I would work there. Well, we spent all day looking at totally FABULOUS houses/neighborhoods/lakes/schools! If we could have bought a house that day... we so would have. Loved the realtor, loved the properties, ...just a freaking love fest all around. Fast forward to 7p. We (me, Anthony, and B) get back to our hotel which is brand spanking new and we are HUNGRY! I mean the kind of hungry where you are on the verge of a meltdown. All THREE of us were at that point. So we get in the car and head to Fisherman's Wharf where Anthony loves to eat. It is packed so Anthony of course does not want to wait. This is not good. Also, Ike has arrived in the area. It is pretty rainy and windy but not so bad just yet. 5 minutes later......We are in an all out family brawl in the parking lot of a restaurant. I will spare the details but it is ON. We continue the fight in the car for about 20 minutes before we screech into Red Lobster ( i hate rl). I, being 40 and soooo mature, sulk during the entire meal which I do not eat. We drive through hurricane force wind and rain back to the hotel which I forgot to mention that we were sharing with around 350 Hell's Angels. We get on the elevator with a motorcycle bride (in white no less) with a Miller Lite in her hand. She cursed... a LOT. Blakely was amused. Me not so much. She was with her husband (who looked scared and old) and 2 other very tatooed people (that were very polite). It's around 9p now and Anthony and I are no longer speaking which is a good thing. Outside Ike is bearing down and 45 minutes later we lose electricity. Then it got scary. I will never understand people that do not leave when a hurricane is coming to their area. Hot Springs got hammered. We were on the top floor and between me and Anthony we got maybe 1 hour sleep. It sounded like a tornado all night. We got ready to take a shower (in the dark, hot room) and discovered the hot water heater was electric as well. Great. We had to go down the UNLIT stairway using our cell phones for light to check out. The hotel gave us the night for free (which actually surprised me) and informed us that 41,000 were without power in the area. We just wanted to get something to eat (seeing how i missed supper i really wanted this) but discovered that nobody was cooking anything in HS! 1/2 way to little rock, Blakely realizes that she has left Orchard (her stuffed rabbit she always sleeps with). Are you freaking kidding me??????????? Oh, and I forgot to mention she started throwing up at the hotel that morning. I make Anthony turn around and take us back to get it. This was not a popular decision but moms just know when something MUST be done. I marched back into the hotel rescued Orchard then we headed home. Now around 10am we were nearing the hunger danger zone AGAIN. We stopped at Brown's in Benton for what we thought would be a late breakfast... wrong.... lunch time for Browns. Blakely picked at her food and then threw it up. Nice. At least she made it to the restroom. We left without really getting to eat what we paid for. I was never so glad to be back at home in my life. Funny how things work out.

Random

OK, what the freak EVER! That totally sums up my whole week. I feel like I am living in the wrong time period. I totally should have been born in the early 50's so I could have come of age during the 60's. Peace, love, and happiness man! Can we just lose the negativity AND attitude? The worse thing of all is that it actually rubs off on me. I have been so Negative Nellie. I am quite ashamed of myself. I tell my kids daily that life is not fair so get over it. I, of course, do not follow my own advice. I am pledging today to make my life better and if that means major changes then so be it. Now don't freak out. I am not going to leave my awesome (seriously he is) hubby and strike out for some hippy commune but I AM going to shake things up a bit.
Also, I uttered aloud for the first time today that I am voting for McCain. I plan on shouting it out in the middle of the Forrest City Wal-Mart. I am so brave! I can guarantee that looks will not be the only things thrown my way! LOL
Stay tuned......

HOGS

Note to Hog fans: I ordered pay per view for the game last night. I am a little disappointed in the quality of the ppv, so if you are thinking of ordering the arkansas vs texas game be aware that the feed may have problems. Also, the announcers on the radio are MUCH MUCH better than ppv. Not to mention that the radio broadcast is occuring in real time vs. delayed for ppv.
I am not shocked by our performance so far. I think Bobby Petrino has a big job on his hands. I am going to remember all year long that this is definitely a REBUILDING year. Honestly, I do not expect us to win another game (except ONE) but I do expect us to compete. The ONE game I expect/want/NEED for us to win is against Houston "MB" Nutt. I don't care how we do it but we BETTER do it. If you want to know what the MB stands for, you will need to ask me or any of my Lee Academy students. It is a name I chose for him last year, and it is not very nice of me.
I am going to enjoy today. Laundry is almost done, and my Aunt is coming for a visit. Always a good time. Hope everyone has a wonderful week---especially Jake.

I've been tagged!

OK, I have no idea actually what being tagged means but I am always game for something new. Thanks Jake!
My understanding of the rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules
3. Tell six unspectacular quirks about yours
4. Tag six bloggers by linking
5. Leave a comment for each blogger
Here go my quirks which I find to be spectacular!
1. I have bat-like hearing. It freaks me out sometimes. I really hear things/pitches/sounds etc. that others can not. It is weird. Not hearing voices yet, but it wouldn't surprise me. LOL
2. I can not stand for dishes to be left in my sink. They must be in the dishwasher. This really irritates me. Would it kill my family to actually put a utensil in the dishwasher?!?!?
3. I can tie a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue. Really it's not that hard to do. I learned how to in a bar in the Buffalo airport when I was layed over there for EIGHT hours.
4. My home must be picked up a.k.a. neat before I go to bed. This drives my family crazy but I swear I can not rest with a cluttered house. It doesn't have to be clean if you know what I mean..but picked up.
5. I only need 5 hours of sleep. This worked really well for me when in my youth I partied at night, and still managed to get to work on time. If I get more than 8 hours I tend to be cranky.
6. I work crossword puzzles daily. I usually work, and complete, the New York Times. It relaxes me.
I would love to tag someone but I have only ONE blogger friend. More people should do this--it's fun!

HaHaHa

Here's the deal: I have been totally depressed/down/whatever for the entire Labor Day weekend PLUS today. I have no idea what the deal is so I am going to blame it on Gustav. Sounds like a good idea to me!
I joined a Fantasy Football League. I am aware that I am a girl, but I swear I know more about football than most guys I know. My first game is this week and I am feeling good about my team....the Sweathogs! Yes, I lived through the 70's.
On a lighter note, I received a hysterical email. Miraculously this brought me out of my funk. I would love to forward it to anybody who reads this so feel free to leave your email in comments.
On the lightest note, tomorrow is Wednesday!!!!! So close to Friday I can hardly wait!