Knocking it outta the park...

in blog posts this year!

Here are my stats:
2011--52 posts
2010--70 posts
2009--56 posts
2008--31 posts

This year 2012 I have posted over 150 times!  And I still have a couple of months left!

Wow...
that's allot of hot air!!!!

I have to thank  Blog Her.com/NaBloPoMo whose challenge, to blog every day for a month, I participated in for 3 separate months.  These challenges got me into the habit of regular blogging and of keeping a list of things I want to blog about.  Thank you NaBloPoMo for a good habit.  Even though I don't blog everyday, I regularly check out their site and maybe again when I'm up for it, I'll take the challenge again!

It's the little things. . .

When someone dies, you grasp and grab and hang onto everything "theirs."  You save their clothes, their notes and handwriting.  You save voice mails and messages.  You save everything you can, just to remind everyone in this world; he was alive, he was here, he mattered.

As memories begin to fade and time ticks forward, you hang onto everything "them."

"Effects of. . .", it's never an envelope you want to get,  but you know you grasp and grab and hang onto everything "theirs."

Just a thought. . .

Sometimes we want something so bad 

that we have to close our eyes and not see what is really there, 

but you can't expect everyone else 

to have their eyes closed too...

Beautiful family & other pictures. . .

According to Mapquest it is only 8.62 miles to Grandma Janet's house, that's just enough time to fall asleep when you are really tired!!!

Finally a girl cousin!!!

Blessing day for an angel. . .

Very cute lady bug appitizers 

for my birthday party,

Cherry cheesecake birthday cake;
look at all of those candles!

Beautiful family. . .

 Pictures with sister. . .

 Sisters are better than brothers. . . just ask him. . .

 Beautiful sweet boy. . .

cousins. . .

Car Accidents

Yep, the BMW was crunched again.
Second time in 5 months.
Seriously annoying.
Neither was my fault, both times I was hit from behind.

The second accident happened and the poor lady that hit me was so shook up.  She was having a tough day to begin with and I felt really bad for her.  After she hit me, she called her husband and he came to the accident scene.  My son-in-law offered to come, but I told him I was okay and I didn't really need him.

I found myself telling this young woman, that this  bumper smash was just a bump in the road of life.  She had insurance, wasn't drinking, no one died, no one was hurt, and didn't hit me and run, so really this was in essence no big deal in the whole scheme of things.

That
is
pretty
sad,
when you look at a car accident with that criteria!

Now, the BMW is all put back together and looking just fine.
(I must admit both insurance companies I have had to work with have been great--thank goodness.)

The Dishes Gotta Get Clean!

Don’t get me wrong, I love nature and the environment and I appreciate and respect the fact that I cannot just go around desecrating what God has created for us.  I realize how fragile the environment is ----HOWEVER, yep, however…sometimes in people’s quest to MAKE everyone comply and to conform to their beliefs there ends up being unintended consequences, in this case, extra water and chemical use.

I am so irritated about the dishwasher detergent phosphate ban!

What once used to be a simple task, throwing my dishes in the dishwasher has now become a nightmare!

When I run my dishwasher, I currently use both cups full of detergent, Jet Dry, Lemi’ Shine and a cup of vinegar on the top shelf.  The dishes that get clean look like crap with white hard water deposit powered substance covering every single dish.

Seriously, we are not allowed phosphates so we get this!

How eco-friendly is my having to pre-wash AND wash AND re-wash every single dish I use?  I used to run my dishwasher once a week and maybe do a quarter of a sink of dishes twice during that week.  I am now running my dishwasher once a week, doing three full loads of dishes, pre-washing, and re-washing every single dish I put in the dishwasher.  Explain how that is more environmentally friendly than the old dishwasher detergent?

Yep, go you environmentalists!

Here is what I propose, I save the environment and conserve in my OWN way and I’ll allow you to do the same.  Keep the articles, the studies, and the research coming because I want to be informed and I want to know of ways that I can help out, however, quit taking away my choices, because YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR EVERYONE. 

After reading the reasons phosphates were removed from dish washing detergent, I have decided to quit using fertilizer on my plants and in my yard and, I will opt to use manure instead.  According to the articles that I have read, fertilizers also contribute to the damaging environmental effect on waterways.  So, now GIVE ME BACK my dish detergent!

 Don’t even get me started on the new light bulbs!

Sources:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/science/earth/19clean.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/06/16-states-ban-phosphate-laden-dishwasher-soap/1

http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/clean_living/faqs_phosphate_and_dishwasher_detergent.aspx

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=172&sid=12598586

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21697644&nid=1010&title=diy-dishwasher-detergent-recipes-put-to-the-test&s_cid=queue-10