TENNIS n TRAINS

Thank You MENARDS for Your USA Sale

2012-01-30T13:34:00.002-06:00

THANK YOU Menards for Being PRO American

March 13 through March 20, 2011 were banner days for America workers. On Sunday, March 13, 2011, our Sunday supplement included a 20 PAGE flyer for Made in U.S.A items...every one!

274 items, all sporting a little America flag....MADE IN THE USA! and even indicating WHERE in the USA they were made.

Since we had been planning to put a new floor in our kitchen, this was the time to do it...we bought laminate flooring (Rustic Allure) made by the SHAW Company in Ringgold, Georgia. I will be proud of my American kitchen floor!

The flyer is crammed full of items that are used every day in every household in the USA...the prices are are excellent and quality is as good or better than can be found in comparable imported goods. But, many of us don't bother to look for American made products ...its takes tooooo much effort to turn over a container or bottle to see where it was made!!!! And, we just assume that foreign-made products will be cheaper...thats not always true. This week, Menards was doing it for us!

Its time we quit automatically buying imported items and start thinking about things that OUR OWN American workers make. Sure, it takes a little effort to look at each and every item from canned food to cleaning products....but you live in AMERICA, don't you think you owe it to our American factories and American workers to buy their products?

Someday it may be YOUR job on the line.....

NOTE: Its now Spring of 2012 and Menards has run this particular advertisement nearly every month since March of 2011. Diane Sawyer's nightly news program has shown how buying American Made Products has revived some of America's dying businesses. Now we need, for our health's sake, to look at the labels on CANNED PRODUCTS. China seems to be very lax in what goes into products for foreign consumption......check the internet...look at how FISH are raised in China...what and how they are being fed. Orange juice is not always from American oranges and pesticides banned here are used widely in other countries. My morning Tropicana orange juice is blended with OJ from Brazil....I always thought it was pure Florida orange juice. Now I know better.

College in NY

2012-01-30T12:07:00.002-06:00

Guest post by Gerard Mcdaniel

My daughter is trying to decide where she is going to go to college. Most of the colleges she is looking at are close to home, but she is also looking at a few in New York. She is interested in fashion design and apparently there are some really good schools in New York for her major. My parents own a second home in New York close to one of the schools my daughter wants to go to. They have offered to let her live there and then she would not have to pay rent. I know that rent in New York can be really expensive, so this would save us a lot of money. My only concern is that she would be living by herself and I don’t know how safe that is. I talked to my parents about possibly installing a security system if she moves to their house. I went online and searched “Total Alarm Systems” to show them what the options are for security systems. They said they would be happy to install one if my daughter moves up there. Now we will just have to wait and see if she gets accepted.

To My Children

2012-01-19T10:04:00.001-06:00

To Lisa, Christine, Jeff and Nancy

I've made mistakes being a Mom, more than I'd like to admit. I am not perfect at all. But I'll always be there for you, to hear you, to cheer for you, to laugh or cry with you, to protect you with my life and tell you things you don't want to hear.

I will love you even at those times when you don't love me. No matter how old you get, no one will ever love you more than I do, because I am and always will be your Mom.

Halloween of Years Gone By

2012-01-17T18:44:00.004-06:00

I borrowed parts of this writing from Mary Maxwell, a popular speaker at events throughout Nebraska and across the country. It reminded me so much of my childhood that I wanted to share it with you.

For those of us who grew up in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, Halloween was a fun time for children and for adults who made cookies, popcorn balls and gumdrop people for the goblins and ghosts who would come to their doors. When our kids were young we sent them on their way on Halloween night with older kids in charge of the younger ones. The little ones carried little sacks or plastic pumpkins and "trick or treat" and "thank you" was the norm when they came to the door and received their treats.

There was always at least one house where they would be asked to do a trick, sing or a little dance before getting anything in their sacks. That was part of the fun even if the older kids grumbled about it. And, one house which was avoided by the older kids who had been there the year before.... the owner would hand out Bartlet pears, green and as hard-as-a-rock as their treat. Unfortunately many of them did not make it very far....the kids generally pitched them away to make room in their sacks for goodies.

It was so much fun...the older kids would bring the little ones back after a tour around the block, examine their loot (the big kids used pillow cases as bags) then would travel three or four blocks away packing more and more candy into their bags till they finally reached the house where they knew that cans of soda pop were being given (in the early 70's and 80', a can of pop was considered a REAL TREAT! ) A few houses away was the little Granny sitting on her porch giving her homemade caramel popcorn balls carefully wrapped in wax paper. The kids wouldn't ever consider not going there, even if it was snowy and the blowing winds made them shiver.

Their pillow cases would bulge with various kinds of loot....at our house, the bags were dumped out on the kitchen table or a clean sheet laid on the floor and the kids would go through it...trading one piece of candy for another.."I'll give you 3 pieces of gum for a Tootsie pop"...."I don't like gumdrops, anyone want to trade?". Even Dad got into the act ..if he found a piece of candy he liked, usually chocolate, it was HIS...no argument from the kids, they knew when they had a good thing going.

Then years later things changed. On Halloween night vans and cars started to arrive on our street to drop-off 4 or 5 or more kids to go trick or treating in our neighborhood. They would race from one house to another, ring the doorbell and hold out their sacks....once they got their loot, they'd turn around and race to the next. Once in a while one would say "thank you" or "have a nice Halloween" ....that made up for the many who didn't.

Then the next thing we knew, people became very concerned about candy being laced with dangerous and harmful stuff. Hospitals and medical emergency rooms volunteered to x-ray the candies in case someone had inserted a pin or other dangerous item in them. The friendly folks who once treated with homemade cookies and popcorn balls were told "mama said to only take things that are bought at the grocery store".

The old tradition of trick-or-treating has nearly been abandoned in favor of home or school parties, malls and stores giving candies and gifts for the best costumes and for just being there. Many children will never have the fun and thrill of dressing up and being in their neighborhood long after "the street lights came on" and being almost scared by a ghost, vampire, Darth Vader or even Frankenstein himself as they went from place to place was part of the fun.

How sad that is........

The Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Disaster

2012-01-17T12:34:00.004-06:00

Ken and I have taken many cruises over the past 20 years on Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America and several others. The horrible accident that happened to the Costa Concordia has not changed our minds about cruising....the same way that a plane crash has not changed our minds about taking an airplane. We will, however, be more aware of where we are on the ship, know where our muster station is and how to get to it and I will carry a small flashlight in my purse or whatever bag I carry while on board.

We received this message from Alan Fox, Chairman & CEO,Vacations To Go

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt,

At approximately 9:30 pm local time on Friday, January 13, the Costa Concordia struck an underwater rock formation off the west coast of Italy, tearing a 160-foot-long hole in the ship's hull. The vessel began taking on water and power outages spread throughout the ship. Almost immediately, the vessel began to list, sending plates, glasses and other objects in the full dining rooms crashing to the floor. Alarms sounded and passengers were informed that there was an electrical problem that crew members were working to fix. It quickly became apparent to passengers and crew members that this was not merely an electrical problem, and those onboard began a frantic evacuation of the ship.

Some lifeboats were launched, but due to the severity of the ship's listing, it soon became impossible to launch more. Some passengers jumped from the ship into the cold water and swam to shore, while others clung to railings or other objects on the ship until the arrival of fishing boats and ferries that responded to the emergency. Some passengers were trapped in more precarious or isolated positions and were eventually hoisted aboard helicopters.

The ship continued to lean until it finally came to rest on its side, about half submerged, approximately 200 feet off the coast of the small island of Giglio, Italy.

There were more than 4200 passengers and crew onboard the Concordia and as of this writing, 11 are known to have lost their lives, dozens are confirmed injured and there is confusion as to the number still missing, with reports ranging from 11 to 24.

Firefighters and scuba divers began search and rescue operations early Saturday morning, and on Sunday morning -- more than 24 hours after the ship first hit the rocks -- two young South Koreans on their honeymoon were rescued from their cabin and a senior member of the ship's staff (see below) was rescued from the third deck.

Earlier today, several holes were blasted in the hull to allow rescue teams to search areas of the ship they had not been able to reach. The treacherous search-and-rescue operation has been suspended at least once due to worsening weather and concern that the ship could slip into much deeper water nearby, trapping rescuers onboard.

The Costa Concordia was built in 2006 at a cost of about 450 million euros (USD $569 million at current exchange rates). With 13 decks, the vessel towered 100 feet above the water and is nearly 1,000 feet long. It carried the very latest navigation and safety equipment, and the obvious question is, "How could this tragedy have happened?"

There are conflicting stories as to exactly what happened and why, but statements from both the cruise line and Italian government officials point to human error. An early Costa Cruises statement reports that "there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's master, Captain Francesco Schettino, which resulted in these grave consequences."

The captain has been arrested and is expected to face charges of manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Fortunately, the ship's black boxes contain the technical data and conversations from the bridge that should allow the facts to come out. It may take months to conduct the investigation but I will cover the findings in this newsletter as soon as they are released.

In the weeks ahead, news media will carry the personal accounts of fear and chaos from passengers and crew as they struggled to abandon ship. We will hear of the kindness of the people of Giglio, who opened their homes and schools and churches in the middle of the night to provide food and clothing and shelter to strangers dropped abruptly on their doorsteps.

There will be stories of heroism, including that of the ship's chief purser, Manrico Gianpetroni, who reportedly aided the escape of dozens of people before breaking his leg in a fall. He was found and rescued from deep inside the vessel nearly 36 hours after the ordeal began.

Cruise lines carried more than 15 million passengers in 2011. The industry is highly regulated and passenger safety is the number one concern of all cruise lines. Hopefully, as the cause of this tragedy becomes clear, new systems and procedures can be put into place to prevent an accident of this kind from ever happening again.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the dead and missing and injured, and to their families.

Sincerely,

Alan Fox
Chairman & CEO
Vacations To Go

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 -THE TRIP BEGINS! Page 1

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

Our CRUISE VACATION 2007 - THE TRIP BEGINS! - Page 1

Wednesday, March 29, 2007 Omaha to Chicago to San Juan, Puerto Rico

Lisa, John, Jenny, Austin, Ken and I were up bright and early on Wednesday 3/29/2007.

We left Omaha, NE at 6:17 on United Airlines...the plane actually took off on time. The trip to Chicago was very good, no roughness or bad weather. We were really anxious about flying to Puerto Rico.....its a 5 hour flight and none of had been on an airplane for that long a time. I kept drinking tonic water hoping that it would help with leg cramps....seems as I get older, they are more frequent. Stretching helps, but a long flight had me worried.

After landing in Chicago, we wandered through the terminal looking for the American Airlines area….WHERE WAS IT??? ...on the other side of the terminal of course. (hint: try to stay on the same airline if you're changing planes.....different airlines can be very far apart in the terminal)

We finally found the American Airlines gate and got ready to go ...a trip to the restroom, a few new books, cinnabuns, sodas and anything else we thought we’d need. The flight to San Juan was very long but smooth. We were happy when it was finally over and we landed safely in San Juan. Jenny decided that this would be the last time she was going to be cooped up in a plane for nearly 5 hours. She doesn’t know that her dad is already thinking of next year’s cruise.

In San Juan, we stayed at the Wind Chimes Inn. We had found it on the internet and were a little concerned about what we were getting into. At first glance it looked small and we were not sure we had made a good choice. It was completely enclosed by a white stucco wall—we had to buzz the reception area so they would open the door. The people were very friendly and helpful and we settled in.

Our accommodations were not quite what we expected. Both of the rooms were small and NOT like the photos we had seen on the internet. However, we had a "standard" room with a queen sized bed...costing $99.00 per night at the discounted high season rate. But, they were clean, the beds were good, the shower worked and had hot water plus a working TV set . Obviously this was an old establishment but we were satisfied.

Ken and I had rooms on the patio a few steps from the small swimming pool. The pool had a tinkling little waterfall on one side and just sitting in a lounge chair enjoying the sun beside it was Heaven!

A raised patio with chairs and tables was near the pool. There was a Inn room under the pool.....I don't think we would have been pleased to be renting that one

Lisa, John, Jenny and Austin were in a room around the corner from us….very handy. We could walk out our doors to the patio, swimming pool, lobby and Tiki Bar. The Tiki Bar served food and drinks....the kids loved the pizza and we were satisfied with whatever we ordered.

The Inn was fairly quiet, and the only tourists we met were several older people, a young couple and two girls from New York who were spending their vacation in San Juan. Our kids, Jenny and Austin were the only children staying there. We didn't spend a lot of time at the Inn, preferring to wander around San Juan and take in the "atmosphere". We did see more adults gathered at the Tiki Bar....just talking and enjoying the beauty of the flowers and atmosphere of the Wind Chimes Inn.

As soon as we settled into the Inn, we walked to the beach, about two blocks away. The surf was too rough for swimming---big, big waves. So, we just waded and walked along the beach picking up shells and looking the area over. There were several large hotels and condominiums on the shore. Later we were told that the water wasn’t safe for swimming due to the undertow. The beach itself was nice but if you plan to do any swimming, check it out with the locals. We didn't see anyone who was in charge...no chairs or anything. Just a plain ole beach.

That evening, we went to Fuddruckers for dinner. We all had hamburgers – no adventurous eaters in our group. The food was good, the French fries were very, very spicy…but the malted milks were wonderful!

click on Cruise Vacation 2007 for the entire story

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 -THE TRIP CONTINUES! Page 2

2012-01-11T20:05:00.000-06:00

Thursday 3/30/07 Our day at the beach!

We decided that, since the surf on our beach was too rough for the kids to be in, we’d go to a another beach that was more "sunbather and swimmer friendly". The desk clerk gave us instructions how to find a nice public beach in Isla Verde. She said that we should save cab fare by taking the city bus…it costs $.75 cents and "you’d better have the exact change because they won’t accept anything else." Although San Juan's currency is the American dollar, we had to find a bank to get change for the bus. We didn't have to go too far...it was right on the bus line!

San Juan has very narrow streets in this area, and cars park just about any direction they want to. It wasn’t uncommon to see two cars parked front to front on the “wrong” side of the street.

San Juan drivers zig and zag through the streets like crazy and we were happy to leave the driving to the San Juan bus company. But, we had a driver who drove like a potential Indianapolis 500 candidate! It was unbelievable; he started like a rabbit, sped through the traffic, and slammed on his brakes when he came to bus stops. Considering that this was a BIG bus, that was no small feat.

Once when we turned a sharp corner, Jenny was positive that we ran over a bicyclist who had been riding alongside of the bus….but, since we didn’t see a body in the street behind us, we figured he knew how to ride in this crazy traffic. Another car cut in front of the bus while we were making a left turn…..the bus driver barely slowed down. There wasn’t ONE car in San Juan that didn’t have at least one good-sized dent in the fender. Seems if you don’t hit someone, someone will probably hit you.

Isle Verda was a nice place but not a tropical paradise beach either. It was surrounded by tall apartment buildings and the usual assortment of Marriott, Holiday Inns and Sheridan Hotels. The surf was milder here but still pretty rough. Austin and Jean were tossed head over heels by a big one that they weren’t prepared for….we didn’t realize how strong those waves were. Another good one caught Ken and knocked his sunglasses off, probably the first of many sunglasses that would be lost this trip.

The day was cloudy and according to the San Juan natives, much cooler than normal. It rained a little but with no thunder or wind, the sky just opened up and the rain poured out. We had some sprinkles of rain at Isle Verda, which was only a 15-20 minute bus ride from Wind Chimes Inn. When we arrived back after the day at the beach, we learned that they had a really hard downpour. Water was everywhere and dripping off the trees and bushes. But, our rooms were nice and dry.

Jenny has an eagle eye for TACO BELLs and managed to find one near the beach. Our 2nd meal in San Juan….again nothing brave about our eating habits. We had a little problem at this point.....the TACO BELL staff couldn’t speak English, and we couldn’t speak Spanish. But, it's their country so we did the best we could.

I ordered a chicken sandwich by pointing at the photo on the wall which was labeled #2….well, I got my order alright…2 chicken sandwiches!

Rather than try to explain that I only wanted 1 sandwich which happened to be a #2 on the menu, I kept it. Its a good thing Jenny was hungry because she ate her taco and one of my extra chicken sandwiches. She's a growing girl!

We also did some souvenir shopping in a small drugstore/souvenir/miscellaneous store. Austin bought a boogie board figuring that he would be able to use it somewhere during the trip. We stocked up on snacks, sodas and candy to get us through the day and early evening.

We caught the bus back to the Inn…again an adventure in bus riding. But we arrived safely. And, it was time for supper! After being at the beach most of the day, we were hungry! The desk clerk at the hotel suggested a nice Puerto Rican restaurant, but when she started talking about beans and rice and some foods that we had never heard of, we chickened out. John and Austin were willing to go to the Puerto Rican restaurant but was outvoted by the rest of us…..Ken is iffy about eating strange foods, Lisa and I were concerned that we’d come down with “Montezuma’s Revenge” and Jennie’s feeling again was “If I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it!”

We decided to explore San Juan in the hopes of finding a restaurant that everyone could agree on. A few blocks down the street was an Old Chicago restaurant …. do it yourself pizzas for the kids, good ole American Style pizza for John and Lisa, fish for Ken and chili for Jean.

Friday 3/30/07 The Hunt for a beautiful beach and a visit to the Rain Forest

John and Ken left the Inn at 8:00 am to pick up a mini-van for the day. John couldn’t find a tour or anyone to take us on a tour for less than $90 apiece (WOW!) so decided that since he has had lots of driving experience in different cities, he would be the designated driver. No problem with that….he was willing and worked cheap!

Wednesday and Thursday had been cloudy, but today was sunny and hot. Yesterday we all got a little bit tanned, but today will definitely be a sunburn day.

John rented a new mini-van and we drove to the El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as The Caribbean National Rain Forest. El Yunque is less than an hour's drive from San Juan and John did an excellent job of avoiding collisions with various people who obviously didn’t know how to drive. Once we were out of the city (?) and onto the highway, we just rolled along.

Then, up in the middle of the highway, we saw a big tent with 20 or 30 Puerto Rican policemen and women lining the highway…standing there with their guns and night sticks ready.....great. At first we thought it was an accident, but it couldn’t be an accident since they probably wouldn’t have erected a big tent over the wreck.

Then we realized that it was some type of protest .......on one side of the highway were a group of people waving flags and on the other..... the police who were lined up on the other side glaring at them. I had visions of “Americans go Home” and being hit with tomatos or something, but got we through it without a scratch.

Later we found out that the highway had recently been completed and this was the ceremony to name or take credit for it. The protestors were there because their Puerto Rican political party, which had been voted out of office, had originally drawn up the highway plans and began work on it. Then an election was held, and another party was voted in. They did a little work on the highway and then it was their turn to be voted out. Finally the newest party completed the highway and they were claiming all the glory of the finished highway. The protestors were from party #1 and party #2 who wanted recognization for beginning the whole thing in the first place. Sounds logical to me. We were out of there before we found out who won....the 1st, 2nd or 3rd party...and who the highway was named for.

Several miles on, we were slowed by a group of horsemen following a white hearse. The horses were beautiful Paso Fino horses....the Paso Fino horse reflects its Spanish heritage through its proud carriage, grace and elegance. It has a lively but controlled spirit, natural gait and presence and responsive attitude and when we saw them, we knew right away what breed they were. (we're from Nebraska, we KNOW good horseflesh!) I’ll have to tell Jim Yeck about them, he owns a gorgeous white Paso Fino mare.

We were told that one of the San Juan Paso Fino horse club members had died and these riders were his honor guard. Paso Fino horses were originally bred in Puerto Rico and the people are very proud of them.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 -THE TRIP CONTINUES! Page 3

2012-01-11T18:31:00.000-06:00

THE EL JUNQUE RAIN FOREST

The El Junque Rain Forest was about an hour or so out of the city and the road to it wasn’t very well marked. We took a couple of wrong turns before finding the way to the forest. No one was particularly concerned about getting lost except Lisa, who thought John should have been watching the road signs. (wives have a bad habit of blaming the husbands for getting lost)

However, we were not exactly lost, just off the beaten path and ended up in a little village, which turned out to be in the direction we had to go anyway. Personally, I think Puerto Rico could do a better job of marking their highways and roads, especially if they expect tourists to find anything. Luckily, we were in between rainstorms. They told us that it really pours and thanks to the narrow roads, etc. can be really dangerous. Obviously they don’t call it a “Rain Forest” for nothing.

After looking around the Welcome Station, and finding nice, clean restrooms, we drove to the top of the mountain to visit La Mina Falls. We wanted to see the falls, and also wade in the pool at the base of the waterfall. After parking the van, we, and several hundred other tourists, made the 30-minute walk down to the falls. The path was narrow and had steps made of concrete and stone. Down we went, one step at a time. These were not little dainty steps, they were made by men FOR men....big steps! I'm getting way too old for this kind of sight-seeing!

It took us 30 to 40 minutes to climb down to the falls…the pool was not very big and there were probably 50 others who were there. On the way down, Jennie had slipped off the path and turned her ankle on one of the rocks. We were worried that she might have sprained it but after soaking it in the cool water of the pool, it was still a little grouchy but not badly hurt. Austin and Jen had a great time in the pool, but the rest of us just watched.

On the way down we had seen little gazebos along side of the path and thought that it was very nice of the park rangers to provide a place for people to rest on the way up and down the path. Later we learned that they were shelters in case it started to rain...as they say "when it rains it pours" and water rushing down those steep paths would have swept you right along with it. When we left the parking area and headed for the path to the falls, we were told to remember the way we went down so that we would be sure to take the same path back up.

There were some paths branching off from the main one, so it was good it was brought to our attention. I imagine they all eventually lead back up to the top of the mountain, but somewhere in the jungle may be a little band of tourists who took the wrong path....and are will wandering around.

Going back up the path did not seem as bad as going down. Going down gave you the feeling that if you stumbled, you’d roll clear down to the bottom of the trail. Going up was just a matter of climbing and climbing and climbing. Remember those BIG steps! We (the adults) are expecting to have stiff and sore leg muscles tomorrow. Of course, Jenny and Austin just hopped up with no trouble.

We got back into the van and started down the road towards civilization. On the way down, we stopped at the Yokahu Tower, a 69 ft observation tower. The tower was made of stone, and the stairs wound around the inside. From the top we had a wide view of the north side of Puerto Rico from coast to peaks. We thought it was built to watch for pirates, but it was too far inland…later we were told that it was a weather observation tower but there were no instruments up there, so it must have been a visual observation tower.

Our next stop was to be the beach at Luquillo, but couldn’t find it. John was given instructions to “the prettiest beach in San Juan” but after an hour of driving through low rent and very poor districts, we gave up. Everyone was getting anxious about the area we were in. The only nice beaches were those affiliated with hotels, and were fenced in.

That evening we had dinner at a Chinese fast food restaurant…at least John, Ken and I did. Lisa and the kids opted for Subways.....the place was right next-door. The Chinese manager gave us the "evil eye" when they walked in with Subways but since the three of us had ordered food, and all of us ordered drinks, he didn’t say anything.

Our orders turned out to be biggest plates of Chinese food I’ve ever seen…Ken and I would have been stuffed with food had we ordered one dinner and shared it. But, we had our two-legged garbage disposal with us! Austin made a good dent in all of our dinners….a little rice here, some chicken there, a couple of hunks of broccoli….but, even he couldn’t eat it all!

When we got back to Wind Chimes, we began to pack our luggage and check our room to be sure we didn’t leave anything behind. Later on we played UNO for a few hours on the back deck of the Inn. It was a really neat place and close to food and the Tiki Bar. We played and relaxed, and then it started to rain....really rain. There was no thunder or lightening just buckets and buckets of rain. Gradually the deck started to take on water from the awnings and Lisa said, “My feet are getting wet!”

Yep, water was accumulating on the floor....time to head for home. We all got soaked running through the rain to get to our rooms...it wasn’t far, but we couldn’t avoid the raindrops. (we sang the B. J. Thomas song "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" as we zigged and zagged across the courtyard.)

Tomorrow we board the Golden Princess.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 - BOARDING THE GOLDEN PRINCESS Page 4

2012-01-11T18:29:00.000-06:00

Saturday, April 1, 2007

We had to vacate our room at the Wind Chimes Inn by 11 am so we packed everything and took the bags in the lobby of the Inn. We wanted one last look at the beach and to take some photos. So we played beachcomber for a little while and said goodbye to several of the people who were sunbathing.

At 12:00 we called a taxi to take us to Pier #4 where the Golden Princess was waiting. The taxi ride was the usual hair-raising ride through the small, crowded streets, weaving back and forth as we swerved around the cars, taxis and trucks.

Since we were platinum Princess members, we all were allowed to go to the “fast lane” of the checking in process. However, it didn’t do any good in the check-in line to the ship. It was long and slow. Since we were early, Ken wandered around the ship taking photos before the majority of the cruisers arrived….it is 3 football fields long, and there was a lot to see.

Everyone was pleased with their rooms and felt that they were bigger than those on the Royal Caribbean ships.

The first thing Lisa did was to take photos of their room while it was in “perfect” condition. Both of the rooms had nice balconies. We spent most of the afternoon exploring the ship, finding the food courts, bathrooms and common areas. The Golden Princess is a very pretty ship, but I felt the Royal Caribbean ships had more spectular dining areas and lobby.

At 4:30 we went to the Wheelhouse Bar where we met many of the people John had corresponded with on the Meet and Mingle site. It was nice to meet them and know that every once in a while we’d see someone we knew…..there were about 18 of us.

If you plan to take a cruise go to your cruise line website and look for the Cruise Critic or a forum. Type in the name of your ship and sailing date. Leave a message "Hi, we'll be sailing on this ship....I'm _____, who are you and where do you come from?"

After that, we went to the dining room and had our first meal aboard the Golden Princess. When people say that the food is great, the waiters are friendly and you don't have to clean the dishes, they are RIGHT!!! Most of the staff on all of the cruise ships are from 3rd world countries...India, Philipines, Yugoslovia, etc. and speak fairly good English. They are very attentive and do their best to make your dining experience the best in the world.

Back in the stateroom, Jenny fell asleep after a couple of minutes. I think Austin was nodding off too. Austin had a top bunk bed and thought it was really cool. Jen had a fold out bed and she was happy with it too.

John, Lisa, Ken and I stayed up until 11:15 to attend the Bon Voyage party. This ship’s main pool is completely enclosed with a glass roof. It opens like the roofs do at some football stadiums….if the weather is bad, the roof is closed, when it’s good, it’s open. Ken thinks the ship probably goes to Alaska sometime during the year….so, if it’s cold in Alaska, its nice and cozy inside.

It has been raining pretty steadily and the water is rough…not enough to make a person seasick, but almost. (It didn’t bother Lisa, so if the ship had been rockin’ and rollin’ she would have been the first one to notice it)

The Bon Voyage party was great....more food, a live band and ships' crew dancing around with their trays of drinks. After a while, the whole ship was rockin' and rollin' to the calipso beat.

If you've never been on a cruise vacation, there are many things you can expect....every morning under your door or in your mail box you will find a list and times of activities for that day. They are fun things that will introduce you to some of the other cruisers...."Name that Tune", "The NewlyWed (and not so newly wed) Game" (be prepared to answer the question "where was the oddest place you made Woopie?" -- you'll be surprised how many fellow passengers will remind you of your answer!), basketball throw, (won a neat visor doing that one), or how to salsa dance, fold napkins, plus shoot pool, climb a rock wall, play miniature golf, the ever popular gaming tables and BINGO!

At 6:00 am the exercise room opens and classes begin. Not for you??? Ok, the breakfast buffet is open and you have a multitude of choices from hot or cold cereal to omelets, scrambled, fried, or hard cooked eggs, a variety of meats, fruits, breads, juices, yogurt, coffee, tea....just about anything you would want. Eat it in the buffet room or go outside and sit on deck....salt sea air gives you a great appetite.

But, if a buffet isn't your choice...the dining rooms are open for breakfast and you can order off the menu....be brave, order something you've never had. If you don't care for it, the waiter will remove it and you can order something else. One morning I ordered an "English breakfast"...it was a real mistake. It started with lamb kidneys and went downhill from there.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 St Thomas and St. Kitts Page 5

2012-01-11T18:28:00.000-06:00

Sunday, April 2, 2007 We docked at the St. Thomas pier at 7:30 am. It’s a beautiful serene bay and the water was a beautiful sea green. The bay is full of sailboats … obviously we’re the first cruise ship in port. The island itself is hilly and has many homes dotting the hills. It is green, but doesn’t look very tropical, at least from the ship. I had expected palm trees, vines, and rain forest trees.

We are going snorkeling at Turtle Cove at 12:30…guaranteed to give us all our first sunburns of the trip. We’re prepared though…lots of sun block.

We boarded the Dancing Dolphin and sailed to Turtle Bay. John, Jenny and Austin were looking forward to snorkeling…..Ken, Lisa and I weren’t as enthusiastic.

We were given our snorkel equipment and basic instructions on how to put on the face mask and use the snorkel. The water was colder than I had expected. Ken and I snorkeled for a while, but found it to be very tiring, so didn’t stay out long.

We saw lots of turtles feeding on the grass on the ocean bottom. One of the crewmembers pointed out a huge turtle and said that it probably weighed 300 lbs….it certainly looked like it. John, Jenny and Austin snorkeled for a long time but Ken, Lisa and I were not that comfortable snorkeling….I tired out very quickly and began to have leg cramps so made my way back to the Dancing Dolphin. Ken didn’t do well at all and was only in the water for a little while.

After snorkeling for about an hour, the Dancing Dolphin headed back to the cruise ship…. it was a beautiful day, and there was a good breeze, so the captain turned off the engine, raised the sails and we FLEW over the waves.

I didn’t realize how fast a boat would travel using just the sails. It was cool! On the way back we were served orange juice and Bacardi Rum drinks, about half Bacardi and half orange juice.

John scarffed it down but Ken, Lisa and I had a few sips and decided it was yucky and not for us. Jen and Austin had soft drinks…they wouldn’t have like the rum and OJ drink…actually, I think they had a sip and made that decision themselves.

The captain of the Dancing Dolphin was a very nice man and he asked Austin if he'd like to be the boat captain for a while..he said he was tired would would like to take a break. Of course!!!! wish he would have asked me!!!

Austin really had control of the wheel and stood there watching for icebergs like the captain of the Titanic.

John, Jenny and Austin decided that this vacation wouldn’t be complete without a TATTOO! Jenny’s was a heart, John had a barbed wire around his bicep and Austin had a sea creature. The tattoos were not real…they were put on by an “airbrushed tattoo artist”, were FDA approved, and best of all, they are temporary!

Monday – April 3, 2007 -- St. Kitts

Ken and I stayed on the ship since we were not interested in shopping in St. Kitts. Our morning paper gives tips on what to look for each island....where the best buys are. But, if you aren't going ashore, there are still lots of things to do on the ship.....and its nice to have the pools and deck chairs to yourself. The ship does not close down when it is docked.....food, fun and parties still go on.

John, Lisa, Jenny and Austin walked into the town via the LONG dock. One of the natives came up to them with a baby monkey (wearing a diaper) and the kids had their photos taken with it. It was on their heads, climbing up their arms, and both of them just loved it.

Its a good thing they enjoyed it because the owner then asked $10.00 for taking photos, etc. Gotta watch those tricky natives. I guess John could have refused to play him but what the heck, they were on vacation.

When they got back to the ship, one of the other passengers was horrified that they would even touch a wild monkey…”it probably had fleas and lice”…”what if it had bitten one of the kids?”

Well, it didn’t .

This was the first formal night on the cruise. We were dressed in our best, tux for Ken, long dresses for Jennifer and me, suits for John and Austin and a cocktail dress for Lisa.
The photographers are situated in several areas of the ship, I think there were about 6 different ones, and each had a different backdrop....a beach scene, the grand stairway of the Titanic (spooky thought), an old time western theme...had to dress in costumes which are provided...and we had our photos taken. Lots of photos taken. You can walk from one photographer to another and they smile and snap your photo....that evening they will be displayed, along with a thousand or more others, in the photo gallery. If you like the photo...buy it. If not, put it in the "discard" box....there's no pressure from anyone.

I hope they turn out well…we all had been in the sun all day and have nice cherry red complexions. Oh well, if we don’t like these, there will be another formal day this week.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 Grenada Page 6

2012-01-11T18:27:00.000-06:00

Tuesday April 4, 2007 – Grenada

We docked at the Grenada terminal and did the "tourist thing".....wandered around looking the the booths full of colorful clothing and native wares. They were probably all made in Japan since they were identical to the ones at the last port....except they said Grenada instead of St. Kitts or St. Thomas.

Grenada is a very pretty place…green and lush just like a tropical isle should be. We didn’t have a tour booked so decided to see about arranging one from a tour company in the terminal. The natives are constantly grabbing at you wanting you to go with them on tours, sell you something or in general find a way to get you buy something.

It’s hard to keep saying “no thank you” every few minutes, but I’m sure they are used to being rejected. But, sometimes they get too pushy and you have to be somewhat rude and ignore them.

John, (our wheeler-dealer) was approached by a tour company employee who wanted $20.00 per person to take us on a tour of the area….but John bargained him down to $80.00 for the 6 of us. Joseph, our guide, had an 8 passenger vehicle so two other folks joined us. They were from St. Lucia, an island not too far from Grenada, and were both schoolteachers.

Joseph spoke English pretty well, and gave us some interesting facts about his country. He wore a big stripped knit hat and reminded me of Bob Marley, the reggae singer.
As we passed different trees, he told us what they were, cocoa, coffee, banana, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. and then stopped at a roadside "spice" stand - had a great demonstration of the spices and how they are prepared and showed us how coffee, nutmeg and other spices looked in their raw state.

He grated a cocoa bean and a nutmeg nut and gave us a chance to taste it. The cocoa was bitter, like dry Hershey cocoa, and the nutmeg tasted like…nutmeg. He tore some bark off a tree branch and gave that to us….it was cinnamon. Now I know where cinnamon sticks come from, they are pieces of bark that rolls up when cut off a branch from the cinnamon tree. We shopped in the little hut and bought spices and other items to take home. Every place we stopped, there were people selling spice-related things.

We then drove to Annadale Falls and walked another 5,000 steps down to the base of the falls to a nice little pool..
Several young men, probably employees of the park, would climb to the top of the waterfall, and do a “cannon-ball” down into the pool. They couldn’t dive because the pool was too shallow. We watched them for a while and then climbed back to the top. On the way, there were folks selling items….more spice necklaces, various hot sauces, handmade things, etc.

John decided to buy a CD of steel drum music, which was very nice. However, Lisa said that it needed a jungle setting with birds chirping and running water to make it sound really great. Soooo John is probably going to turn their family room into a tropical paradise.

The rain forest in Grenada is located at the top of a mountain, reached by a narrow, two lane winding road. It was a wild drive on the mountainous roads on the "wrong side" and we were glad to have a local driver - lots of shouting and horn blowing when someone blocked the road! If you are from the USA, my advice is to find a local driver.

The drivers in Grenada must be related to the San Juan drivers because they drive the same way, fast and furious. And since Grenada was once a British colony, they drive on the left side of the road, just opposite of what is done in the United States. Its really scary since you tend to forget that, and get the wits scared out of you when you meet a truck or car coming at you in “your lane.

On to Fort Frederick, the remains of an old fort where you could see two bodies of water from the top. It was interesting and you wonder who got the job of moving those huge blocks of stone up the hill and putting them in place. Fort Frederick was accidentally bombed by the United States …..they were supposed to bomb another fort a short distance away, but goofed.

Our last stop was a beach and recreation area with a good view of……our ship! We didn’t know about the beach but obviously many of our fellow passengers did because there were lots of blue striped towels on chairs and chaise lounges. There were some little open-air shops, which were selling the usual tee shirts, dresses and other souvenirs.

About this time, Jenny REALLY had to go to the restroom and we were told the "facilities" were next to the various seller's area. What the “information booth” lady didn’t say was that they wanted $1.00 to use the restroom. Poor Jen didn't have a dollar so had to find us and hope that we were carrying cash.

First time we’ve ever run into that situation….but I guess they have to buy toilet paper and paper towels so feel that getting money from the tourists was logical.....they have a captive audience...nowhere else to go!

Speaking of restrooms, be prepared for the toilets aboard ship. They are flush toilets, but flush like no toilet you've ever had at home. When finished using it, you put the lid down and pull the little knob on top and Swooooosh, it sounds like a big vaccum cleaner just exploded in the room with you. They have a standing (ha) joke about not sitting the john when it is flushed......you can plan on hearing those jokes from at least one of the comedians at the dinner show.

Every evening there is a dinner show...sometimes its a musical number, singers and dancers, other times it could be a comedian, a magic show, singer or any number of theatrical people. Some are very good, others are just so-so. Since there are many preteen kids on cruises, the jokes are generally not naughty or blue....there are two evening shows, and the one that starts at 10:00 may be a little more risque.

Most ships have special areas just for teens..no adults allowed...disco dances, scavenger hunts and fun get-togethers. Plus take a bunch of coins, they have game rooms that are full of arcade games.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 Isla Margarita Page 7

2012-01-11T18:25:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, April 5, 2007

Isla Margarita is called the “Island of Pearls” because of the large oyster beds in the area. It is REALLY flat ...it looks like a good-sized wave could wipe the island perfectly clean.

There wasn't a lot to do on the isle, so we decided to make it a "beach day" and also visited the little group of booths lined up on the "higher" ground. The booths all had pearl necklaces, earrings and anything you could think of made of pearls plus the usual assortment of tee shirts. I needed a pearl necklace and found a nice set for $15.00….after wading through all the other sales people who "has the best deal, lady".

Jenny bought an ankle bracelet and Austin found a really nice miniature domino set with pearl inlays. Both were pleased with their purchases, mainly because both Jenny and Austin were able to haggle with the shop keeper and get the price down to about half of what she was asking.

Jenny and John were really in their element….bargaining!! They would haggle with the store owners and end up paying a lot less than the asking price….which I’m sure was set high enough to make a profit either way. I think the salespeople enjoyed the experience....Jenny and Austin are really nice kids and were very polite in dealing with them. I, on the other hand, have never learned the art of bargaining or haggling. I just hand them the money and take my purchase. Yep, I'm the gullible tourist that they love to see coming.

We didn’t have a tour booked in Isla Margarita, so stayed on the beach, a short walk from where the ship was docked. Actually, it was one of the nicest days we spent on the cruise….there was ample shopping, food and drink, lounge chairs with palm shade and nice gentle waves.

We walked along the shoreline picking up shells and coral. Austin found a big blue crab in the water while he was swimming and he and I “herded” it back to land where he could pick it up to show to Ken and the other people on the beach. It was not happy about being picked up and grabbed Austin’s snorkel mask with its big claw…that made it easier for him to carry it to the beach and show off his prize. He then took it back to the water and released it.

John also found a sea creature to chase ….a manta or sting ray, we aren’t sure exactly what it was. It was about 18” across the top with a long tail. It swam next to the bottom in the shallow water and John and a couple of other guys were determined to catch it…no luck.

First it went one way, then the other, scooting out of reach….John did grab the tail but it slithered out of his grasp and got away.

We all got nice and tan at Isla Margarita and left quite a bit of money in the little booths. When the cruise ship left the dock, the trades people stood on the dock holding flags and waving good-bye. Not many cruise ships visit this particular port, and we probably increased their monthly income by a bunch!

One of the favorite things that we liked to do in the evening was to visit the piano bars.....great pianists and fun people. Liquor and soft drinks are not included in the "all inclusive" cruise .... for drinks, you use your identification card (which you are issued when you board....you charge everything and pay the bill at the end of the cruise) and can buy a soft drink card for the kids. Or not.

There are lots of shops aboard ship and if you wait until the last day or so of the cruise, you can get some real deals.....they have only a limited amount of space and are happy to sell the tee-shirts, jewelry, watches, hats, etc. at a reduced price knowing that they will receive a whole batch of new stuff once they get back to home port. Some of the ships may not be going to the same places they went on this one, and who would want to buy a Grenada tee shirt if the ship was going to Alaska!

(to be continued

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 Aruba Page 8

2012-01-11T18:24:00.000-06:00

Thursday, April 6, 2007

In our estimation, Aruba is a desert island, not as green as expected. And, lots of cactus! When you see a cactus FENCE and what looks like a Nebraska prairie, you begin to rethink "tropical paradise.

People we’ve talked to said it was the most beautiful island on the cruise….obviously we were not on the right side of the island. Either that or the cruise ship docked at the wrong one!

We were booked on the Aruba Jeep Tour .. guaranteed to shake up your insides. We were shown to an 8-passenger jeep and climbed in. One of the staff came over and asked which one of us was planning to drive!!!

Whoa, this is not what we signed up for. After being in the land of left side of the road drivers, we wanted no part of that idea. John firmly explained that we were assured that we’d have a “professional driver” and by gosh, that’s what we were determined to have.

The other jeeps were driven by cruise passengers which would have scared me to death once we saw the paths that we were going to be driving on.

Our driver, Wendell, said he had 17 years experience working for the tour company …so we had fun laughing as we bounced and jostled along.. At first we were on city streets and some country roads…..for this we paid good money!!!

Then, we went “off road”….right up a rut-filled, boulder strewn nothing of a road. We were jostled around and tossed back and forth on the seats….which, thank heaven, were thickly padded.

Wendell, our driver, did a great job in managing to hit every boulder, rock, hole and rut that he could….and lead the other 7 jeeps right to them.

About half way through the tour, Wendell stopped at a little museum that had a restroom….a one person, coed restroom where the shower was the biggest thing in the room.

Evidentially they had some sort of a touchy septic system because the sign on the wall said, “please do not put paper into the toilet” ….well, that’s special! They had a garbage can next to the toilet and that’s where the toilet paper was supposed to go. I don’t even WANT to think about what happens if somebody needed to really GO….and needed to wipe. There were no windows in the restroom.
*
There were several other tours using the same facility, and the restroom line was LONG. (I think a few of the men used the emergency facility…....a handy tree)

We finally made it to the top of the mountain and had a beautiful view of the ocean about a half block down the cliff. Wendell said that the beautiful natural pool was ….down there.

Again, we had to climb down a hand hewn path to the ocean….sooo where’s this pool? We had short walk along the beach and then had to climb and crawl over some really big boulders to the “natural pool”. It was a pool that was separated from the ocean by more big rocks…the surf would crash against the rocks, providing fresh seawater to the fish living in the pool.

Lisa was the only one who didn’t go into the pool….she was the photographer. I’m surprised that someone didn’t get hurt climbing over the rocks to the pool or climbing into the pool itself. The rocks were slippery and had algae on them. Once we got into the pool we could see tropical fish swimming around our feet…Angel fish, clown fish and whatever kind of fish “Nemo” was. We had a great time!

We stayed there for about a half hour and back up the hill we went….another sore muscle day tomorrow. Wendell had nice cold sodas waiting for us….since we hadn’t had any food since breakfast, we would have loved to have a sandwich.

The next stop was a “natural bridge” and a chance to buy a hotdog or sandwich….The natural bridge was interesting but not enough to keep our interest very long.

Oh yes, John ended up paying $.25 to use the restroom in the restaurant.....ha, he thought it was really funny when Jenny had to pay $1.00 the other day…..well, guess he got a bargain after all.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 The Ostrich Farm Page 9

2012-01-11T18:23:00.000-06:00

Our last stop was an ostrich farm….At this site they raise ostriches for the benefit of tourists but their main farm raises them for food. The meat is red like meat from cattle, not white like that of a chicken. We didn’t eat any, so can’t say for sure.

Austin and Jennie had a chance to feed the ostriches….Austin was not sure if he liked them or not and was scared he’d get pecked. I don’t blame him, they were about 6 feet tall and had big hard beaks and big eyes that stared at you. The feed was a small type of pellet and the trainer poured some into their cupped hands. The birds would reach over the fence and peck the food from your hands.

I didn't feed the birds.....they have very big, hard beaks and I had no desire to be pecked. And I never did like ostriches.

The trainer made a huge ostrich squat down and the children in the group were allowed to sit on it’s back so the parents could take photographs. One of the few places that didn't charge for photographs and the parents were clicking like crazy.

When it was Jenny's turn the trainer poked the ostrich to get it to get up and walk around the enclosure….well it was supposed to walk but it was more of a trot with the trainer hanging onto it’s neck.

Jenny didn’t know that it was planning to get up and go, and suddenly found herself 5 feet in the air on the back of an ostrich who was squawking and flapping it’s wings.....doing it’s best to get away from the trainer. Jen had a look of pure terror on her face!

The trainer kept telling her to hold onto the wings, but she was afraid she’d hurt it so floundered from side to side for three gallops around the pen before finally sliding off it’s tail. I don’t remember if she was laughing or screaming, but she was making a loud noise of some kind.

The trainer didn’t have a rope or leash on the bird, and I was worried that the ostrich would get away and go racing around the enclosure with Jenny holding on for dear life. I’m sure she’ll fondly remember her first (and probably last) ostrich ride.

After the ostrich farm, we were on our way back to the ship. Aruba has many casinos, boutiques and upscale bars – also the usual group of open-air shops. Ken and I went back to the ship, but Lisa and family decided to get in the last bit of shopping that they could. The kids had a few more souvenirs to buy for their friends.

This was our last formal meal…and it was lobster….great if you like lobster. Ken doesn’t so he had some type of fish. The lobster was good – and, since they were rock lobsters and only about 6” long, we were served two of them. Boy, talk about rich-- dip those things in melted butter and my gall bladder will be dancing on the ceiling tonight. And, as always, if you wanted another lobster, the waiter was happy to oblige.

Speaking of the waiters, your waiters tips and tips to the rest of the crew are usually added to your cruise card......if you are not concerned about costs, thats OK. However, the added gratuity can come as a shock when you are paying your final bill. It isn't mentioned unless you read the cruise book usually on a desk in your room. I don't remember exactly what ours would have amounted to.....$10.00 per day per person to the room steward (per child also), an amount to the head waiter, wine steward and several others. Just call the front desk and ask that they remove the charge. We prefer to leave money on the bed for the room steward and to shake hands and hand an envelope to the waiter and other crew members who have served us.

We also had our photos taken again…hope these come out better than the first batch. We’d go from site to site hoping that at least one of the photos would turn out to be BEAUTIFUL!!!! (and not show the pounds that we've packed on thanks to the ever present FOOD!)

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The kids are about two steps from being professional models.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 A Sea Day Page 10

2012-01-11T18:22:00.000-06:00

Our last day on the ship….we wandered around exploring one more time…finding places that we didn’t see when we first boarded her. We also went to the photo gallery and found our newest selection of photos. These were better and between us we bought $250.00 worth.

We had to have our luggage outside of our cabins by 7:00 so started packing. Hmmmm seems we have more luggage than we brought….guess those tee shirts and miscellaneous souvenirs take up more space than we expected.

The “March of the Baked Alaska’s” was held this evening. The waiters march around the dining room with huge volcano-shaped baked Alaska’s held over their heads. Something in the base of the Alaska’s was smoking and they looked like little volcanoes. The lights were dimmed. Then we all opened up our napkins and spun them over our heads.

It was Lisa and John’s anniversary, and the waiters brought them a little anniversary cake, and 5 of them sang “Happy Anniversary” to them. Lisa had no idea that John had put them up to it.

We told our two waiters how much we enjoyed their service, gave them an envelope with their “tip” and went to the “farewell dance party”. The kids enjoyed dancing and watching the various activities going on … we threw streamers at the dancers and then wandered off to see what else was going on throughout the ship.

I haven't mentioned the fairly recent movies, bingo, (won $200.00) and many, many places on the ship where you could quietly read, play chess or checkers with a new friend, learn to mix drinks, or spend your vacation simply sitting on a deck chair, something cool to drink, and a deck steward at your beck and call.
On some ships you can renew your marriage vows, get a temporary tattoo, go to church services and at the Captains's party, shake hands with the ship's captain and have your photo taken with him. The captains, depending on the cruise line, generally speak English or at least are bi-lingual. The crew and stewards are generally from 3rd world countries and one can usually understand them. On our 1st Princess cruise, most of them were from the Phillipines, on Carnival, they were mostly from the Slovic countries and our Carnival's waiters were from Slovica. All were helpful and did their best to please.

(to be continued)

OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 BACK TO SAN JUAN Page 11

2012-01-11T18:20:00.000-06:00

SATURDAY, April 8, 2007 Back to San Juan AND home

We were out of our rooms by 9:30 so that they could be cleaned for the next cruisers. Hated to say “goodbye” but had no choice.

We spent our waiting time in the Wheelhouse Lounge since we were “special”….we were Platinum cruisers! Whoopeeeeee! Breakfast rolls, coffee and juice were waiting for us. The plain ole generic card passengers had to find themselves seats in various sections of the ship. But could go to the breakfast buffet which was open.

When our “color” was called, we filed down to the gangplank, showed our boarding cards again and then disembarked the ship. Our luggage had already been unloaded and we had to find it amongst all the rest. Since they were put in color-coded areas, it wasn’t hard. (hint: look for the most outrageous colored luggage you can buy! Makes it so much easier to find among the thousands of blue/black or brown suitcases)

Then we boarded a bus for the trip to the airport. We found the United Airlines ticket counter, got our luggage checked in and then had a couple of hours to wait for the plane. So, we ate….this time at another famous Puerto Rican restaurant…..Taco Belle!

Lisa, John and Ken had some sort of taco sandwiches but Jean opted for a Nathan’s New York hotdog, which was delicious! Again we brought outside food into a fast food place….my NY hotdog and the kids had Subways! But, we all bought Taco Belle Pepsi’s.

Finally boarded our plane for Chicago….we were not all sitting in the same area of the plane, which was really strange…since we’ve had these tickets for nearly a year. Ken, Lisa, Jenny and Jean were in the very, very tail of the plane, the last seats in the row. Well, they were close to the restrooms and we were the first to get drinks and peanuts. Guess that was good.

In Chicago, we again had to hunt for American Airlines …”somebody” in our group was sure he knew where it was.….but he was looking at the United Airline departures and not American Airlines…..so headed us in the wrong direction.

Luckily, we had lots of time to spend in Chicago, so it really didn’t matter. We found the American Airlines pre-flight area and settled down to wait for 2 hours. Then, wham, here comes a group of 8th graders from Elkhorn, NE. Noisy and energetic. They had spent a week in Washington, DC on a spring break trip and were on their way home. They plopped down and were sitting and lying all over the floor, behaving like typical 8th graders.

When we boarded the plane, most of the kids were in the back, but some were intermixed with other passengers. And other passengers were in the back with them….too bad the chaperones weren’t! The kids weren’t rowdy, just really, really noisy.

The flight attendants went to the adults who were seated in the back of the plane and brought them to the front seats…and allowed the kids to go to the rear with the rest of their group....let the kids enjoy the last of their spring break as a big, noisy, funlovin' unit!

Epilogue… We have many wonderful memories of this trip.

Christmas cards

2011-12-29T16:41:00.002-06:00

Content by Mitch Osborne

Yesterday I came to the realization that I have to get our Christmas cards ordered. Every year I go online and design a card with a picture of our family and it always takes me forever to decide which card to order. This year I do not have an ideal picture of our family to use.

My son is two years old and he is so active. It is really hard to get a family picture with him smiling. I probably will end up using an action shot of him with our daughter who is six months old. I do have a good family picture from a couple months ago when we had professional family pictures made, but our daughter has changed so much since then that I would rather use a more recent picture. I am glad that we have Doyle Clear Internet so I can go online and at least begin to browse the cards that are available. If I do not order the cards soon, then they will not get here in time to send them out before Christmas.

Tennis ain't just for kids!

2011-11-25T09:15:00.000-06:00

First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Jean aka JeaneBee, a 73 year old retiree who loves tennis and plays 3 times a week at the 3.5 (used to be 4.0) level. I live in Omaha, Nebraska, smack dab in the middle of the great Midwest where we spend half our tennis life playing in the heat and/or wind, and the other half playing on indoor courts to get out of the snow….indoors is a great place to play, no wind, no sun and no low flying birds!

Years ago, when I was young and foolish, I used to snicker at senior players, watching them put on their knee braces, elastic arm bands, sun visors and after having a swig of water went ditzing around on the court, talking, laughing and having a good ole time, then going out for coffee afterwards. Then, somehow, much to my dismay, I turned into one!

I realize that although we’re not as fast on the court and our ground strokes aren’t as hard as they used to be, we’re out there hitting the ball with the same love for the game that we always had. And yes, we do a little giggling and talking between games (SOME of us even like to sit down---bringing our own chairs if seating isn't available on the court!!)

I took up tennis as physical therapy after having a stroke at age 29…. it was termed a self-induced stroke but a stroke nevertheless. My husband I were “finishing” our basement and my job for the day was putting plaster on the ceiling and making swirls in it with a sponge. It looked pretty good and I was at it for most of the afternoon. My husband found me unconscious, blood streaming down my chin from a bitten lip and limp as a dish rag. He called the rescue squad and I spent two weeks in a stupor, getting punctured from stem to stern. The final diagnosis was stroke, but cerebral hemorrhage and epilepsy were running a close second and third.

I was a healthy 29 year old, preparing for my 10 year high school class reunion. I rode horseback, took gymnastics for years, played softball and was an all-around tomboy growing up and kept at it after marriage. I wasn’t a couch potato, overweight or a smoker, and neither my doctors nor myself could understand why I had a stoke…shouldn’t have happened. Years later, while reading the health section of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, I found out why it did.

Having my head tilted backward and looking up for hours while putting plaster on the ceiling had caused pressure on the back of my neck…reducing the blood flow to my brain….wham, bam, thank you ma’m.... and.....hello stroke.

Physical therapy after my stroke was practically non-existant. This was 1968 and physical therapy wasn't as common as it is now. A friend suggested that I take tennis lessons to improve my eye-hand coordination.....so my physical therapy consisted of learning to hit the ball against the YWCA wall and playing on a hardwood floor. Gradually I got better and better. I had good reflexes thanks to years of gymnastics (helps a lot when you take a fall while running after a tennis ball…you learn to “tuck and roll” gracefully and not sprawl all over the court) and my tennis improved.

Fortunately the stroke caused very little residual damage to my body and general health. I occasionally have trouble with speech, sometimes the words just aren't there and I need to "search" for the word I want......I almost have to visualize it and can then say it (many people think that my sometimes halting conversation is because I want to emphasize a point.....WRONG) Also, my short term memory comes and goes….my doubles partners know that when I ask “what’s the score?” I'm serious, its gone, I’ve forgotten it. Even if I’m serving, the memory is gone and I have to rely on my partners. Guess that tells you why I seldom play really competitive singles!

Now onto our senior tennis. My teammates are great! We are all over 60, actually most of us are over 65, grandmothers many times over and play in a Super Seniors league…its not a “hit and giggle” league.. we are as intense and play as hard as we ever did.. We all play on other leagues with players who are younger than our own children. And we do our share of winning, I might add.

Hey, you’re only as old as you feel – and we are a pretty frisky bunch. Most of us have played with and against each other in tournaments for years. We're familiar with each other's families, children and grandchildren. We care when one of us is hurt, sick or has a family member who is hurt or sick. We keep them in our prayers.

In April, 2007, our team, the SOMOS SOMOS represented Missouri Valley at the Senior Nationals Championships in Charleston, South Carolina. WOW, is the Family Circle stadium a beautiful sports facility. We met some great ladies and hope to see them next year.

We didn't win, but fought a good fight. And, we looked great in our bright pink and black tennis clothes. Did I mention that when our group travels, the first place we look for is the nearest grocery for snacks and various drinks (soda, bottled water and WINE....we have a couple of players who really "whine" if they don't have wine with their snacks!) and the second place is shopping malls or any place where the best bargains in tennis clothes will be. We left a LOT of money at the Family Circle pro shop!

Our Super Senior team played in Oklahoma City in September again we didn’t win our Division of the tournament , (hmmmmm, I'm really getting tired of saying that! ) but did win the talent contest! I wrote the song, and the team sang….luckily the judges liked the words since our singing was awful!

Tennis A Sport For Everyone To Enjoy

2011-11-19T09:22:00.000-06:00

For the longest time tennis has been a sport that has become part of our family and even friends. Most people do not realize how tennis can do so many things for you besides just keeping you in shape.

My family has been playing tennis for over 20 years and as the younger kids get older we introduce them to the sport and they love it. Our oldest grandson, is on his college tennis team.... I proudly say that Mason learned tennis at our neighborhood park ... and that I was his teacher!
Today, more cities are introducing new tennis courts as the sport continues to grow. One of the biggest advantages of tennis is it is an easy sport to learn and kids really take to it very quickly as well. Once they learn the game they seem to want to play in on a daily basis. One of the benefits of tennis is it gives the family a chance to also get together. As we get older it seems we are always busy and tennis gives us a chance to reconnect through this sport.

More people need to realize that tennis gives you so much and taking up the sport will keep you in shape. It lets you also connect with friends and family on a personal level and those things are irreplaceable.

Just a Reminder

2011-11-17T14:15:00.002-06:00

Those informative little boxes on the right side of this blog are inviting you to "come and shop"....click on them and you'll be taken to that particular item. They are up-to-date and keep up with what's new in books, clothing, jewelry and miscellaneous items you may be interested in.

A Thanksgiving M-e-s-s

2011-11-16T10:24:00.000-06:00

This seems to happen a lot during the holidays. Several years ago, I discovered that my kitchen drain instead of draining away, was backing up into the bathtub in our main bathroom. This happened on Thanksgiving morning......the culprit being the drain pipe where the kitchen drain and bathtub drain "meet" (think of a "Y") on their way to the city sewer in the street. The garbage disposal couldn't handle all the potato peelings, lettuce and celery leaves, small pieces of stalk and other salad residue that I had been shoveling in it and they caused a mega plug resulting in water, ground up garbage backing up and floating in the bathtub.

Clogs in the kitchen sink are usually the result of excessive amounts of food being flushed down the drain. Before trying to get a plumber on a holiday morning, try dislodging the plug using a sink plunger, which is smaller and shaped differently than a toilet plunger. (in a pinch, use any plunger available.) Place the plunger over the drain hole, ensuring there's enough water at the bottom to form a seal. Pump the plunger up and down - while keeping a good seal - to help dislodge a clog.

If that doesn't work, try pouring hot or near-boiling water down the drain. The water's heat may break up the combination of organic products and soap scum within the clog. A mixture of vinegar, baking soda and hot water can add more clog-busting power to your drain-clearing efforts.

Although it may be tempting to pour in over-the-counter drain-clearing products such as Drano, many plumbers advise against it. Not only are the chemicals toxic if exposed to human skin, they can also damage drain pipes if overused. And, my plumber said that for their own safety, many plumbers hesitate to work on a drain that has been doused with drain cleaners or other concoctions.

A word to the wise, to avoid a clogged drain, buy a little sink drainer that fits over the garbage disposal drain in your sink. If you have a two unit kitchen sink, use a drainer in both.

Hummingbird Moth

2011-11-14T20:36:00.000-06:00

Our red Bee Balm flowers have gone wild...now I read that we should cut them in half so that they stay a nice size. Well, too late for that, they are 4 to 5 feet tall and are the very favorite flower of a whole bunch of big yellow and black bumblebees. I don't know if bumblebees collect necter from them and create honey like the little honey bees do. I would suppose so, but I'll have to check my favorite "go to" place, the internet.

Yesterday I watched several hummingbird moths sampling the Bee Balm flowers. At first I thought they were baby hummingbirds.....although I have never seen hummingbirds in our area. They hovered over the flowers just like hummingbirds, thus, I suppose, the name, Hummingbird moth or hawkmoth. They are about the size of my thumb and their little wings beat frantically. I looked them up on the internet and found that there are several species....since this little guy never was still and I didn't have a camera (photo here was from the internet) I don't know what species they were. I had never seen one before, and between watching the bumble bees and the moth, I spend a good half hour in the garden.

Later I found that they emerge from eggs laid by green caterpillers, probably on the honeysuckle vine which was planted last year. New vine, new visitors to the garden.

Edward Rosewater School, Omaha, NE – Class of 1952

2011-11-11T10:38:00.001-06:00

If you’ve ever attended a College World Series (CWS) game in Omaha, Nebraska, you’ve probably seen my grade school, Edward Rosewater.

It’s on 13th Street, just opposite the entrance to Rosenblatt Stadium, former home of the College World Series and close to the "Zesto" ice cream store that is ALWAYS talked about by CWS commentators (I think they get a discount every time they mention "Zesto" on the air!)

Edward Rosewater School, was named after an Omahan who is credited for creating the first Omaha Board of Education and was regarded as the father of Omaha (NE) public schools.

Rosewater was the editor of the Omaha Daily Bee, had a reputation for always being "aggressive and controversial" and was influential in Nebraska politics as one of the leaders of the state Republican Party. During the American Civil War, while serving at the White House telegraph office, Rosewater was responsible for sending out President Abraham Lincoln’s “ Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

I LOVE my old school, although in 1985 it was converted to apartments. I think of the thousands of kindergarten to 8th grade student’s running (excuse me) walking through it’s halls. Whenever I drive past it, I remember the wonderful teachers I had, the great friends we all were, and the love for America and the American flag that was instilled in us. I entered kindergarten at Rosewater when I was 5 years old (1943) and graduated in 1952. My kindergarten teacher was Miss Brown (all the teachers were called “Miss” if they were single or not). We learned social skills…how to not fight over a toy (yep, we actually had toys in kindergarten), played house in the little play kitchen complete with dishes and pans and discovered that being the “mother” had a lot more responsibilities than we ever knew about.

We napped on our little rugs every afternoon and learned that the teacher was “boss” even if our mother’s thought we were special and above reproach. Miss Brown gently but firmly molded us into good kindergarten citizens. I was in school during World War II, and patriotism was strong at Edward Rosewater. We stood each morning before class, put our hand over our heart and recited, “I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible with Liberty and Justice for all” . "Under God" was added in 1954, two years after we graduated.

To this day, I can’t watch our Flag in a parade, hear a patriotic song or recite the “Pledge of Allegiance” without getting teary eyed. Can’t help it….this is my country.
Next time you are watching a sports program TV or are at an event where the National Anthem is sung or watching a parade when the American flag is raised or is carried ...look around you. Those people with their right hands over their hearts were taught that many years ago in school......and haven't forgotten.

Miss Reilly, our Principal (“always remember that the Principal is your “Pal”….well sometimes anyway), would call a school assembly every Friday afternoon and each class from kindergarten to 8th grade would sing. We learned all the verses to “The Star Spangled Banner”, “America the Beautiful”, “America" (My Country Tis of Thee), and every patriotic song she could think of. We sang the songs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and probably some I can't remember....and we sang with gusto!

My brother Bobby, was in the Navy and at every Friday assembly, Miss Reilly would ask us to think about those who are fighting for our freedom. I don’t remember if she asked us to say a prayer for them, but at that time, she probably could have. I know my nighttime prayer always ended with “Please God, bring my brother Bobby home safe”

This is my kindergarten class…we must have been warned not to smile....I'm not in it. I don't remember why not..

Several of the kids left Rosewater after kindergarten.….the neighborhood Catholic school, St. Rose, didn’t have kindergarten so the Catholic kids started kindergarten at Rosewater and then transferred to St. Rose Catholic School which was just down 13th Street from Rosewater.

I believe this is the 2nd and 3rd grade combined class ...me, second row, 2nd from the right.

Finally, our graduating class of 1952.

We are planning to have a Edward Rosewater Class reunion in 2012....60 years! If you, or anyone you know was in the class of 1952 or if you can identify the boy on left in third row wearing dark jacket, please contact me!

jeanjb@cox.net

Favorite Bumper Sticker

2011-11-09T12:33:00.000-06:00

Thanks to those who fought for us in the past and those who are fighting for us now, ENGLISH is still OUR language!

Day of Chores

2011-11-06T11:08:00.000-06:00

Guest post written by my buddy Keith Kramer

I looked into tv options in my area by googling directv lodi and was so suprised by how much is available. Saturday (and sometimes Sunday, if I'm not lucky) is my chore day(s). To keep from feeling completely deprived, I have the tv on in the background and do my cleaning, cooking for the week, laundry (ugh ironing!), and all that other stuff that I don't have time to do during the work week. I've actually discovered some shows I never would have otherwise. For instance, Gossip Girls. Okay, so I hate shows where everyone is being mean to one another. But the fashion in that show is really fabulous! I can watch that show on mute! LOL! Seriously. I've also seen a bunch of episodes of Band of Brothers, which is truly excellent. The acting is just superb! And, Friday Night Lights (the tv show, not the movie) It didn't seem like my kind of show, but one Saturday, I saw a bunch of re-runs and really got into it. Thank you Saturdays!

Gullible Ole Me

2011-10-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

OK, usually I am fairly intelligent and guard my credit card numbers with care. But, I fell for this ad on the internet.

You’ve seen it lots of times both on the internet and on TV. A before and after photo of someone, often from your own area, (really doubt that) who has lost 25 or more pounds by taking a special berry … usually in any form. The berry diet is probably a great help in losing weight (although I haven’t as of yet) and has many genuine, honest sellers. This did not happen to be one.

The scam is the “try it free” offer.

I clicked on “try it free”, gave my credit card number for postage and handling and off it went. Unfortunately I did not read ALL the fine print on the site…be careful...if it mentions their monthly recurring billing….GET OUT… I should have clicked, clicked, clicked all the links until I found it.

I got my first bottle in about two weeks. A few weeks later, I received another bottle (I honestly thought the company had made a mistake and sent me two bottles instead of one) When my credit card statement arrive I was in shock! WOW! I had a charge of $79.95 plus four Foreign Transaction Fees! Several weeks after that, I received a bottle of colon cleanser.... I didn't order any colon cleaner?????

I called my credit card company wanting to know what was going on!

The Bank of America representative was very helpful, telling me that this scam happens often, you have to carefully read those Free Offers. The berry scams and many others offer a free trial of their product, but they ask for your credit card number for postage and handling. Stupid me, I typed it right in.

Somewhere in the fine print, they tell you that if you cancel within 14 days the free trial item is yours. If you do not cancel within 14 days,you will automatically receive a new bottle each month. But, you receive the first bottle shortly AFTER the 14 days have passed, and whoops, you are now in their system and your credit card is billed, in my case it was $79.95 plus four Foreign Transaction Fees.

I called my credit card company, Bank of America, immediately and said...."what is this?" The representative said to call the number shown on the credit charge and tell the person who answered that I wanted everything cancelled and to ask for the agent’s name, ID number and a confirmation of cancellation number. He said that often there are other companies attached to these “free offers” and more things may arrive. However, I would not be responsible for any charges made after the date I cancelled the account (which I didn't know that I had)

I called the phone number listed on the statement and had no problem canceling my “account” and as the BOA representative suggested, asked for the agent’s name, ID number and a confirmation of cancellation number. Obviously from her voice and pronunciation, I could tell this person was not from the U.S. - I asked where she was located and was told that she was "in Florida" but would not say anything else.

Just to be safe, I cancelled that BOA account and was given a new account number.

Now I sit and wait for my next statement….and mentally call myself many unkind names for falling for the scam in the first place.

Grandpa's Hands

2011-10-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, a poem or story causes me to remember and miss my parents and grandparents who have passed away. Tears begin to fall as I think of the love that filled their homes. And I cry because my own children and grandchildren never had the chance to love and be loved by them.

GRANDPA'S HANDS
By Melinda Clements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands.

When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat the more I wondered if he was OK. not wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK.

He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," he said in a clear strong voice.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK" I explained to him.

"Have you ever looked at your hands" he asked. I mean really looked at your hands?"

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.

Grandpa smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. "

"They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler and I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots."

"They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life. They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war.They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. "

"They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son."

"Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle."

"Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a plow off of my best friend's foot."

"They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand."

"They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer."

"These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life. But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again.

But I remember God reached out and took my grandpa's hands and led him home.
When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and wife I think of grandpa. I know he has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.

I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel his hands upon my face.

Here Kitty Kitty

2011-10-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

We have a nice-sized flower garden in our yard, complete with a pond with a little fountain. It’s Ken’s pride and joy. Every year we stock it with goldfish and once in a while, a tadpole or two. The fish are fun to watch, and will come to the surface if you twiddle your fingers on the edge of the water.

Unfortunately, this has been their downfall. We start off with two dozen goldfish, the ones that survive the summer are put into our family room fish tank to grow bigger for the next summer season. By the end of this summer, there were only about 5 or 6 goldfish left…we’ve seen a raccoon several times during the year (I even caught one in a critter trap..but released it…we were trying to catch the rabbits that have eaten our hostas and other flowers down to dirt level) I had always blamed the demise of the goldfish on the raccoon.

However, this morning, I looked out of our kitchen window and saw a big cat on the back fence..at first glance, I thought, “oh my gosh” there’s a baby mountain lion”….four years ago a big, fully grown mountain lion, aka Puma was taking up residence in our neighborhood park. He is now living in the Henry Doorly Zoo cat complex.

Anyway, this turned out to be a large, beautiful tan and black Siamese cat. I could see that it was wearing a collar, so I know it was not a feral cat…it jumped off the fence and walked around the edge of the pool…ha! Bet I know where our missing goldfish went….kitty breakfast.

I walked onto the back deck and called, “here kitty” and up he came. He stayed around for a while but decided to investigate the rest of the yard. I don’t know if he was a neighborhood cat that is allowed to roam or if he had escaped from home and was exploring. He didn’t have a name or license on his collar so there was no way to find out who he belonged to. And, he definitely did not want to come with me into the house…I didn’t want to be scratched or bitten so didn’t force the issue.

Life Insurance

2011-10-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

As a senior citizen I am well aware of the need to have a good term life insurance policy which will cover any expenses when I pass on. I don’t want to leave my family without any help in paying for funeral expenses….and, believe me, funerals are expensive. Unless you have a tremendous amount of savings and a paid-off home your loved ones will be responsible for them. I want to leave money to my children and grandchildren and without insurance, my savings will be eaten up with funeral costs. To me, this would not be acceptable.

But, term life or any kind of insurance isn’t only for the old…things happen. Young people with growing families can be killed in vehicle accidents, have serious illnesses or lose their lives in unexpected ways. Buying coverage while you are still young and healthy, seeking out renewable policies, and avoiding unhealthy practices like smoking and over-eating are wise choices when it comes to lowering your insurance premiums.

There is no such thing as a cheap insurance policy but there are companies that offer policies at a cheaper price than others..a company that will offer cheap life insurance quotes, family coverage, whole term life and life insurance plans. It doesn’t cost anything to get a quote. Take a few minutes to see what is offered.

Cho-Pat and Thera-Band FlexBar

2011-09-28T14:00:00.001-05:00

I play a lot of tennis…my body keeps telling me that I’m playing too much. Who listens to a few aches and pains. But, I finally gave in and went to a sports therapist. He recommended two products that I really do put a lot of faith in. One is my Cho-Pat, a band that practically every adult tennis player has in their tennis bag. It fits around the knee and gives support to the knee on those quick starts and stops. Wouldn’t play without it! It just makes me feel more secure…could be mental, but who cares!

The other is my Thera-band Flexbar. Mine is green, the medium strength. It reminds me of a swimming noodle, but is much tougher and only 12” long x 1 ½” in diameter. I have a multitude of problems with my right arm, my tennis arm….I’ve had rotator cuff and bicep surgery, tennis elbow, torn wrist tendon and the bane of all senior citizens, arthritis…I needed help if I was ever to play a decent game of tennis again. Plus, according to a medical article that I read, a person starts losing muscle strength after age 40…well, I’ve certainly passed that mark. I freely admit that I am not as strong or agile as I was 10 or even 5 years ago…although the United States Tennis Association seems to think so.

The Flexbar is simple to use and I usually do the exercises while watching TV. You basically just twist it…with your left hand on one side and right hand on the other. It comes with instructions but I usually make up my own. It really helped my tennis elbow and seems to help with the arthritis in my wrist and fingers, actually on both hands. I had problems making a fist with my left hand, fingers wouldn’t bend, but it is sooooo much better now.

If I could only convince the USTA that a 73 year old woman with two herniated disk surgeries, rotator cuff and bicep surgeries, tennis elbow, arthritis and assorted senior citizen type physical problems should not have had her ranking raised from 3.5 to 4.0 last year, I would be able to play competitive tennis again -- tournaments not hit'n giggle tennis. Unfortunately even the 4.0 Super Seniors, age 60+ would rather have players closer to 60 than 70. And, in our area, there are not many 4.0 women players who are over 70…Thanks a bunch USTA -- you've cut me off completely.

A DUMB thing to do

2011-09-27T07:15:00.000-05:00

Wow...I woke up with a really stiff neck on Saturday morning....I didn't do anything to cause it on Friday, so attributed it to sleeping with my head off/on the pillow, having no pillow or I just plain "slept wrong"....whatever....happens sometime.

By Monday it was really bothering me, aspirin and Ibuprofen wasn't helping...so decided to put heat on it (yeh, wrong, should have iced it) Anyway, I rolled up a hand towel and popped it into the microwave for a minute to warm up.

It did a nice job of warming and it felt great on my stiff neck.

Ken was reading the morning paper, looked up and said "are you cooking something?" By then, I could smell something.....actually it smelled pretty good. Then I saw a wisp of smoke float past my nose.

I took the towel off my neck and noticed that I had burned a spot on it. When I unrolled the towel, there was a smoldering fire in the middle...it was round, about the size of a dime and looked like a cigarette burn....the edges were red and smoking. When the towel was unrolled, it exposed the smoldering area to air, and wham, bang, I had a little fire in my towel.

I had absolutely no idea that the microwave would cause the center of the towel to catch on fire. I suppose that's how food cooks, from the inside out.

A little longer and it could have burst into flame, caught my hair on fire, and do some serious damage. At it was, I smelled like a bonfire ....

7 Wonders of the World

2011-09-19T08:13:00.001-05:00

Egging My House

2011-09-16T08:13:00.000-05:00

Contributed by Milford Woods

I am so glad that we got home security. Yesterday I was home alone. I was cooking dinner in the kitchen and listening to my favorite Elton John album. My husband was going to be home in a few hours and I wanted us to have nice dinner to celebrate his promotion. I heard crashing in the bushes in the front yard. I looked out the window and didn’t see anything. Pretty soon I heard the sound of eggs hitting my car parked in the driveway. I ran to the window and it was getting bombarded. I ran and hit the siren button on the key pad to scare the culprits away.

My neighbors down the street heard the alarm and ran outside. They saw three boys running as quickly as they could down the street. My neighbors stopped them and soon realized that they had been up to no good. They took the kids home. Today, the boys showed up at my front door with their parents. They apologized and offered to watch my car and windows. So here I sit, while those little boys clean my windows and car. If I hadn’t of caught them, it would be me in this heat

Meet Me in the Stairwell

2011-09-12T08:51:00.004-05:00

We will never forget the horror of September 11, 2001.....These pictures will break your heart but the message will help it to heal

http://www.winkmartindale.com/patriotism/page008.html

MEN...you gotta love 'em

2011-09-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

NICKNAMES:
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.

If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT:
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20,even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill,out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY:
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS:
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste,shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .

The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS:
A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE:
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS:
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE:
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP:
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL:
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should learn to forget his mistakes.

There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

Mom Raised Me Right...Thanks Mom!

2011-08-22T21:10:00.001-05:00

I was RAISED - I didn't just grow up.

I was taught to speak when I enter a room, say please & thank you, to have respect for my elders, lend a helping hand to those in need, hold the door for the person behind me, say excuse me when it's needed, and to love people for who they are, not for what you can get from them!

I was also taught to treat people the way I want to be treated!

If you were raised this way too, re-post this. Sadly, many won't, because they weren't, and it shows~

Credit Card Processing - Reasonable?

2011-08-19T16:48:00.001-05:00

Our son, Jeff, is starting his own business, RockCal, specializing in recalibrating pressure gauges. He is a 1996 graduate from ITT Tech in Omaha, NE and has worked as a gauge technician for 15 years. Thanks to the slowdown in construction work, he was recently laid off. He had a very good reputation with the previous company but their business has dropped off and they couldn’t afford to keep him and several other workers. He has recalibrated many pressure gauges in Omaha. However, he’s finding that owning a business comes with many responsibilities and expenses.

One of the biggest problems he’s had is finding an affordable, convenient way for customers to pay for his services. Almost all companies rely on the ability to process credit cards… he realizes that it will be necessary to setup a merchant account. Everyone wants to pay with a credit card…right now he accepts cash and checks from the plumbers, etc. who know he’s starting his own company, RockCal, but he’s looking for the best credit card processing he can find. Obviously this will be one of the first steps to making his company profitable. Credit cards are convenient and most people want to pay with a credit card and will expect him to accept them. When they find out he doesn’t, they may not have him do the work.

He will need a service provider who will explain in detail what a merchant agreement requires, help him to avoid hidden costs and offer cheaper transaction rates to get his company up and running smoothly. Even a small company, much to his surprise, involves many hidden expenses….once he gets the merchant account set up, his next step is finding an insurance company who will cover his company for a reasonable fee.

Rhubarb Strawberry Smoothies

2011-07-16T08:16:00.000-05:00

Guest post written by Annette Baker

It seems like just about every time that I went over my grandma's house, she had a pie cooling out for us to eat. But I think that out of all the pies that she would fix, that her rhubarb one was my absolute favorite. Well, I told her that one time and then it seemed like every time I went over there she just happened to fix that kind. But I know that she did it on purpose and I appreciated it that much more.

Well, I kind of wanted something made out of rhubarb the other day because I was reminded of that. I went online to try and find a good recipe and as I was doing that I saw the website www.ClearWirelessinternet.COM. After I looked through it a little bit I decided to change over my home internet service to it.

The one recipe that I decided on fixing was this rhubarb strawberry smoothie that just sounded so delicious and perfect for summer! Well I have to say that it was perfect for summer! I don't think that I could have dreamed up a better recipe!

Words Women Use

2011-07-01T02:56:00.000-05:00

While in Charleston, S.C. our tennis team visited many, many great eating establishments. One of our favorites was Hyman's Seafood Restaurant at 215 Meeting Street.......where we found these words of wisdom......along with some delicious food and fun-lovin' waiters!

(Men! this is for you!....it will warn you about future arguments you can avoid if you remember the terminology)

WORDS WOMEN USE:

FINE...This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

FIVE MINUTES...If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

NOTHING...This is the calm before the storm. This means "something" and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with "Nothing" usually end in "Fine"

GO AHEAD...This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it.

LOUD SIGH...This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A "loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing".

THAT'S OKAY...This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

THANKS... The woman is thanking you. Do not question it or faint. Just say "you're welcome".

Corn Syrup vs. Sugar

2011-06-23T13:33:00.001-05:00

You've probably seen the advertisements promoting the idea that corn syrup is the same as sugar. But there is a difference - high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has a slightly higher quantity of fructose than do traditional cane or beet sugars. But the big downside of HFCS isn't that it is much less healthy than regular refined sugar (sucrose) the real downside is that since HFCS is so cheap, it is widely used, you find it in nearly everything.

It's a primary ingredient in soft drinks and often hidden in processed foods including salad dressings, ketchup, jams, jellies, ice cream, bread or crackers. Actually, it is one of the biggest sources of calories in the American diet, and serves as a "marker" for identifying cheap, processed, unhealthy foods of all kinds.

Regular consumption of HFCS or the regular consumption of any sugar, may contribute to obesity. Obesity is a risk factor for several types of cancer and diabetes. HCFS should be avoided...try to avoid foods which contain it - read food labels carefully. Also be aware that the Corn Refiners Association wants to rename HFCS as "corn sugar" - if this is approved, you will need to look out for that term on food labels as well. I have already seen TV advertisements talking about corn sugar stating that "sugar is sugar". And we wonder why so many American children and citizens are F-A-T.

We have sugar coated this, sugar coated that...even my favorite salad dressing changed it's recipe and is now sweet ....no more Wishbone Italian Dressing for our family.

Relax, its Summertime

2011-06-22T17:17:00.001-05:00

Ah summertime…lemonade, watermelon, hamburgers and fried chicken. Imagine yourself sitting out on the deck or patio with beautiful glass tiki torches casting a gentle glow. Put a circle around your patio with either glass (which comes several colors) or metal and put a summer time feeling in the air. Tiki torches can be as tall as 6 feet or can be a table top size. The oil holder itself is usually about 17 inches. If glass isn’t your thing, and you’d rather have more of a “man-cave” look, metal tiki torches were made for you.

Both tiki torches will hold 36 oz of oil and will burn up to 10-12 hours per fill. More than enough time to cook your burgers, eat whatever food you’re having and they will still be burning as you put the cooled down grill into your back yard storage buildings.

The lamps can be filled with a standard lamp oil, or if insects are a problem, you can use citronella torch oil. Citronella used to have a disagreeable odor, but makers of this type of lamp oil have refined it to where it is actually pleasant. Both glass and metal torches have snuffer caps, powder coated garden poles and come complete with a fiberglass wick that will last a lifetime.

So far, we haven’t had the chance to sit on the deck and enjoy the evenings…we’ve had rain almost every evening, wind strong enough to blow trash cans down the street and loose branches from the trees. However, once the weather calms down, we’ll be lighting our glass tiki torches, stokin’ up the ole bar-be-cue and relaxing with something tall and cool.

Babysitting Oakley

2011-06-20T21:46:00.004-05:00

No, Oakley is not a new grandchild. She is our granddaughter's Westmoreland Terrier, a little bundle of energy. If you've ever seen the Cesar Dog Food commercials, you've seen a Westmoreland Terrier. Beautiful white silky hair and a sweet face. But poor little Oakley doesn't look like that this week....she had a run-in with a whole bunch of cockleburrs while at our river cabin (which has not been flooded thank goodness). Anyway, Oakley was so full of burrs and stickers that she had to be shaved...the groomer said that she had been rolling in sand too, and she practically ruined her electric trimmer on her. She looks awful.....

Lisa took Jenny and a friend to World of Fun in Kansas City, so Ken and I were in charge of their dogs. Nikki is a Gordon Setter and Cody is a larger than normal Brittney Spaniel. All we had to do for them was let them out in the morning and put them in at night The yard is fully fenced and they were accustomed to being outdoors. Oakley, on the other hand, is like Houdini...she can squeeze through or under anything, including the fence. She doesn't run away, but will sit on the front stoop waiting for someone to come home. Couldn't have that. So, I tucked her under my arm and brought her over to our house.

I am not used to having a little dog underfoot and Oakley was not used to our house. So it was clickity click, clickity click as she padded across my new wooden kitchen floor following me from the table to the sink. From the sink to the bedroom, from the bedroom back to the kitchen. Stop and turn, there's Oakley underfoot. Take two steps backward and practically step on Oakley. Sit down and Oakley was in your lap. I always thought that having a 2 year old in the kitchen was distracting.....Oakley was worse! Luckily Lisa and the kids were only at Worlds of Fun for two days...otherwise my hair would be grayer than it is now, and Oakley may not have survived dodging my feet too much longer.

Rafael Nadal wins 2011 French Open

2011-06-06T12:34:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful group of young men....plus a few older ones. Rafael is playing soooo well...he moves around the court like a butterfly....remember Muhammad Ali the great American boxer who was the Heavyweight Champion of the World three times between 1964 and 1979? Ali floated around the boxing arena like Rafael covers the tennis court...they both "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".

Rafa has the most beautiful smile.....what a great representative of professional tennis.

postscript....

He did it! On June 5, 2011 he won his 6th French Open Men's Singles title at Roland Garros by defeating Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1. Congratulations Rafa!

Keep Your Home Safe

2011-05-30T07:27:00.000-05:00

Wouldn’t it be nice to take a trip or vacation and not worry about someone breaking into your home while you’re gone? Home invasions are on the increase….yes, you can blame the economy but no matter what the reason, it happens. Many people are relying on home security butte to protect their homes…with ADT, a sensor on a window pane or door won’t necessarily stop them from breaking in, but the blaring sound of the alarm system going off will send them running. Once the alarm has been triggered, the reliably monitored wireless home security system will immediately send help.

Home security Butte, aka the ADT system, can also equip your home with a CO monitoring system. Carbon monoxide gas is a clear, toxic gas that cannot be seen, but can cause illness or death if not detected. If the gas is detected in your home, a loud alarm will go off, guaranteed to waken everyone in the house. And, the proper authorities will be notified.

Once your home is securely protected by ADT, sit back and relax ….www.localtv-satellite.com is a good way to do it. They have over 250 channels to choose from….enough to keep you clicking the remote all evening!

So You're finally a Senior Citizen - Part 2

2011-05-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

Getting back to this senior citizen thing....what are the benefits?

1. most restaurants will give you a discount. ASK !!

2. you can park in "senior citizen" parking spaces (if you can beat those 59 year olds to it.)

3. Goodwill and many thrift stores will give you a 10% discount--you have to tell them that you are a senior...their rules, they are not supposed to ask you.

4. If you don’t mind telling people that you qualify for senior discounts (Ha, just because I don't look it, I AM A SENIOR), seniordiscounts.com can be a good resource for saving on thousands of products and services including airlines, car rentals, travel, sports, recreation, shopping, restaurants, national parks, medical services, pharmacies, museums, and much more.

The Web site also offers a free weekly newsletter that focuses exclusively on senior discounts. When you log onto the Web site, search by your city, state, and the category you’re interested in.

5. you get a free checking account at your bank....usually no charge for cashier's checks either. ASK......the cashier won't ask if you're a senior.....some people are very defensive about their age.

6. you qualify for an America the Beautiful Senior Pass - LIFETIME PASS for U.S. citizens age 62 or over. The pass provides access to and use of Federal recreation sites that charge an entrance or standard amenity. Provides a 50% discount on camping, swimming and boat launch fees. Cost $10.00

Click on seniordiscounts.com. You might be able to take advantage of some of them.....and save yourself some $$$$$$$

Well, since you've discovered some the benefits of being a "senior citizen" suppose you get back to exercise so that you can live long enough to enjoy them.

Particularly the camping, horseback riding and hiking, some things we did in June at Estes Park. We hiked, hiked and hiked. Have to be in good shape for that. We lived in a tent for a week...no one told us that although the camp grounds had running cold water and flush toilets, there were no shower facilities....oh well. We were able to find 'pay' showers in Estes Park (connected to a laundry of all places) plus after horseback riding at the YMCA camp, we had showers there.....after being out on a horse for 3 hours, we needed them.

Two of our party of 9 (3 tents), were McDonald's addicts and the highlight of their day was when we drove into Estes Park and stopped at Micky D's. (they give senior discounts on coffee, dont'cha know) Our 13 year old granddaughter remarked that "if I NEVER see another McDonald's again it'll be too soon!)

If you enjoy golf, tennis, jogging or any other sport ....GET OUT THERE AND DO IT!

At this moment, you are the youngest you will be for the rest of your life. Don't waste it!

UP #844 Engine and the College World Series

2011-05-18T08:13:00.000-05:00

If you are both a CWS fan and a railroad buff, plan to visit Omaha, NE during the 2011 CWS series.

The Union Pacific Railroad will be rolling in a fleet of 19 historic train cars and the popular steam locomotive No. 844 for a new and rare attraction during the 2011 College World Series held in Omaha, Nebraska beginning on June 18.
U.P. will set up No. 844 plus a newer diesel engine and 19 pieces from its historic heritage collection will be featured. The display will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from June 17 through June 28 or 29, depending on when the championship series ends.

Union Pacific expects thousands of visitors to pass through the display. From its position right outside the new Omaha Ameritrade Park baseball stadium, the historic fleet also is sure to draw attention from the cameras of ESPN, with its millions of CWS viewers. The 19 cars are from Union Pacific’s heritage collection — 48 fully restored and maintained cars from the heyday of passenger trains.

Among the cars coming to Omaha are three domed lounge cars (named the “City of San Francisco,” “Harriman” and “Walter Dean”), five dining cars (including the domed “City of Portland,” “Colorado Eagle” and the “Missouri River Eagle”) and six sleeping cars.
No. 844, which was delivered for service in 1944 and was the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific, is followed closely by railroad buffs as it tours the Union Pacific system. The second engine will be a GE 4400-horsepower C45AC, delivered for use in 2009 and considered one of U.P.’s most fuel-efficient locomotives.
To get the display space ready, Union Pacific extended track 2,300 feet along Abbott Drive and Cuming Street, using 60 pre-assembled track panels whose rails needed to be welded together. The hospitality area and historic cars will not be open to the general public, although visitors can catch a glimpse from the public locomotive area. Union Pacific will use the cars and other parts of its property for private events for its employees, customers, emergency responders, community leaders and other special events.

Source: The Omaha World Herald

Songs and Memories

2011-05-17T07:59:00.000-05:00

You're listening to the radio when suddenly "that" song comes on. You know the one ....it was "your" song when you were dating that special person. You stop what you're doing and the memories come flooding back.

I am back in high school, walking down the halls of South High School in Omaha, Nebraska. I remember the joy of seeing my special guy and holding hands as we talked on the way to our next class. Somehow I knew that he was the "one". We dated throughout high school and spent many evenings in his car, parked in "lover's lane" (with about a dozen other cars) and listening to Johnny Mathis, Pat Boone and other crooners of our era.

We've been married for 52 years and that song can still bring tears to my eyes.

My special song is The Twelfth of Never by Johnny Mathis.

The Twelfth of Never

You ask how much I need you
Must I explain
I need you oh my darling
Like roses need rain

You ask how long I'll love you
I'll tell you true
Until the twelfth of never
I'll still be loving you

Hold me close
Never let me go
Hold me close
Melt my heart like April snow

I'll love you 'till the blue bells forget to bloom
I'll love you 'till the clover has lost its perfume
I'll love you 'till the poets run out of rhyme

Until the twelfth of never
And that's a long long time
Until the twelfth of never
And that's a long long time

(I'm crying ... this song always does it)

What was yours?

Happy Days Makes Me Happy

2011-05-16T11:34:00.001-05:00

You can't go back in time, but you can flashback with television shows. I have always been a fan of shows that make you reminisce over how life used to be. Happy Days is a show that does this for me.

Anyone that knows Ron Howard has probably watched him for most of this life. He has been on shows since he was a child and he practically became a man on Happy Days. This show had everything. The stereotypical cool motorcycle guy, the pretty girls with the sock hop dresses, and the cool guys that wore the letter jackets. They hung out at the same restaurant in most of the scenes, and most of the main characters played instruments.

I know this isn't the way that life was, but Happy Days just sucked you in deeper and deeper with every episode. Happy Days is the show that I love to watch on satellite TV.... I see it on www.direct.tv. There's a lot of TV to watch, but I like family shows. Everything is not kid friendly. I have a large family, and I like to make sure that the shows are appropriate for my children. Happy Days has never disappointed me in this area.

I recognize many of the characters in other movies and TV shows. It's interesting to see them in Happy Days and look at their acting progression.

Guest post by Lawrence Lester

Coors Silver Bullet model train

2011-05-09T21:41:00.000-05:00

The newest addition to Ken's model train collection is a Coors Light Silver Bullet O scale train. He can’t wait to take it to the train shows and store openings where his club displays their various layouts. The Silver Bullet has a flashy chrome engine pulling 4 shiny chrome-plated reefer cars and a reefer tail car.

As the train pulls into the station, the Proto-Sound 2.0 system plays arrival and departure sounds, conversations between the engineer and the stationmaster, and instructions to the men who are to unload the beer from the train itself. It also plays music but we can’t determine if it is well-known song or maybe a commercial for Coors Beer.

When the train stops, reefer car doors open, and frosty looking smoke billows out revealing the cans of chilled Coors beer.

The "smoke" is actually a liquid that is put into the individual reefer cars. It has a nice smell and I always know when Ken is messin' around with the trains because our family room/train room frosts up!

The Craftsman pliers walleye!

2011-05-02T02:30:00.000-05:00

Our son-in-law, J. J. Jones was a semi-professional walleye fisherman, was on the TRACKER fishing team, former President of the Nebraska Walleye Association and a really good fisherman. He frequently appears at sports, boats and vacation shows in the midwest giving demonstrations, showing off the TRACKER boats, etc.

ESPN had already taken shots of John fishing and catching walleyes, but after viewing the tapes, the producers of the show wanted more footage of John casting and "setting the hook" etc. So, he and our daughter, Lisa, went to a nearby lake to tape. John, figuring this would be a quickie, put a weight and lure on the line, cast out and promptly gave the rod a good pull - setting the hook.

Unfortunately, what he set the hook into was a sunken tree limb - snap went the line and the only "lure" that John had taken onto the boat. He hadn't planned to actually fish so didn't have his tackle box on this "trip" - result--no other lures.

But our John is a resourceful young man - he took a pair of Craftsman pliers from his back pocket and attached it to the line. Ok, so far, so good. He cast the pliers out and they made a nice ker-plunk as they hit the water. Then, John had his hands full!

The pliers opened up and gave him more of a fight than most walleye's do - they dove, swerved, bent the rod, went under the boat as the opened pliers were reeled in. All this time, John is laughing like crazy, not expecting this kind of action at all. Lisa is filming this from shore and is laughing so hard she was having trouble keeping the camera level.

John managed to land his Craftsman (pliers) and they presented the tape to ESPN (but didn't tell them about the big strike...they just let ESPN assume that they released the "fish")

The end of the story is that John has some of the best fishing action he has ever had on tape. The ESPN people will cut and splice shots of him casting and "setting" the hook, "fighting" the fish (pliers), and then show him bringing in and netting a nice walleye that he had caught when the ESPN guys were with him.

If you ever see John P. Jones from Nebraska on the sports network (ESPN) and he is casting out and battling the best fighting fish you ever saw, you'll know "the rest of the story".

John made me promise not to tell this story - but you guys won't say a word will you!!!!!

Why Didn't Someone Tell Me a Long Time Ago?

2011-04-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

If you wash your laundry using a gallon container of liquid soap i.e. Kirkland (from Costco), Wisk, All, etc. you have a little plastic cup that you measure with. And, that little cup gets goopier and stickier every time you use it. Its a mess to try to clean out. Plus, when you put the cup back on, the soap drains out of the cup down the side of the container, making an even bigger mess.

One day I was complaining about it to my husband, and, as he occasionally does, he looked at me like I had no brains at all. "why don't you toss it into washing machine along with your laundry?"

Well duh!

Yes folks, tossing the little plastic cup in with each batch of clothes was a brilliant idea, and it works! No more goopy, sticky plastic cup.......Hurrah!

I'm not sure if it would survive a trip through the hot dryer, so be sure to remove it from the washing machine before tossing the clothes in!

Trains Big 'n Little Models 'n Real

2011-04-26T08:02:00.006-05:00

My blog has wandered away from it's original intent...to talk about Ken's train hobby and tennis, mine. The main reason is that I have another blog, this one is 100% about model trains, places to see trains, train shops and why trains are a great hobby for kids.

We live in Omaha, NE which is the home of the Union Pacific Railroad. We grew up hearing the whistles of the huge locomotives and visiting the Union Pacific building itself. They had a miniature train set in the lower section that probably lit the spark for Ken's love of trains.

Come and visit.... Trains Big 'n Little Models 'n Real

Did an Angel help me?

2011-04-20T10:38:00.000-05:00

I have always believed in angels, well sort of. I've read about strangers who appear when someone is in trouble, in an accident, or just needing help.....and then when the problem is over, just disappear. Not fade away like a movie angel would, they just are no longer there.

In October of 2008, my husband and I went on a 12 day train trip, starting in Chicago and making a circle through Nebraska, Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Minnesota and ending up back in Chicago.

We met 8 of his model train club buddies in the lower level of the Chicago depot. Some of them had taken a train from Omaha but we had driven to Naperville, IL where our daughter lives and then took the commuter train into the depot. Most of us were retired and were looking forward to this trip,

We met in the lower section of the depot and lined up to take the escalator to the upper level. We had to carry our luggage with us, suitcases and duffle bags.....2 or 3 apiece. We should have taken the elevator. One by one we stepped onto the escalator. I was behind an elderly lady holding her suitcase and purse and behind me were other people with theirs. Suddenly about half way up to the 2nd floor, a older man who was about 8 feet ahead of me lost his balance and went down on his knees, his luggage tumbling down onto the people behind him. He couldn't get up, and the escalator kept going, taking him closer and closer to the teethlike end where the stairs disappear into the floor.

He sprawled onto the floor at the top of the escalator, still unable to get to his feet. But the escalator didn't stop. It kept going, causing the rest of us to fall on top of him. I was so afraid that someone would get their clothing or hands caught in the end of the escalator. The lady in front of me fell on top of the person in front of her, I fell over her, and the people and luggage behind me piled up on top of us.

The escalator kept going and I yelled out "somebody help us"....there were people walking around on the upper level but no one noticed us or made a move to come over to help. Then a young man came out of nowhere and said to me "push the red button"....by that time, I was at the top of the escalator well within reach of it. I slapped it, and the escalator stopped. When I slapped the button, it was about as big as a silver dollar and bright red.

We are all so fortunate that none of us were badly hurt....bruised, scraped and scared, but not hurt. The gentleman who had fallen was so apologetic and felt so bad about causing the accident. All I could think of was that old Lucille Ball TV show where Lucy and Ethel were working at a candy factory and they couldn't package the candies fast enough and the candy on the conveyer belt kept coming and coming and coming.

The young man who had told me to hit the button was gone. Maybe he had to catch a train, maybe he had somewhere else to be, but he was gone. All I could remember about him that he was about 25 or 30 and light haired...nothing else. And, none of our group remembered seeing him at all.

After the trip was over and we were back in Chicago, we had to take the same escalator up to the upper floor. I looked for the red stop button and there it was at the top of the escalator. But, it had a plastic cover over it and it was a pushbutton about the size of a nickel. Not at all what I remembered.

So, did we have an encounter with an angel or just a nice guy? Personally, I think whoever it was had wings and other places to go and people to help.

Black & Decker Juice Extractor.....New Experience!

2011-04-19T11:09:00.000-05:00

Although Ken and I are fairly healthy, we have heard about “juicing” for some time. Its a healthy way to get nutrients from fresh fruit or vegetables. Our friends Ron and Sharon recently bought a Black & Decker Home Juicer and are busily juicing all the fruits and vegetables they can find. So, being a couple of copy-cats, we bought one too.

Juicing is putting fruits and vegetables through a juice extractor….you put cut up pieces of whatever you want to juice into the top of the juicer and push them down with a plastic feeder (fits into the opening in the top so you don’t have a tendency to push down with your fingers and end up with a shredded finger). The extremely sharp cutter/strainer in the unit then grates the produce and the juice is spun through the strainer and comes out of a little juice spout. The remaining material slides out and fills up the pulp container. We find that juicing is a little messy so put the juicer on either a towel or newspaper to catch the drips.

I found some recipes online that I’ve tried…some are really tasty. I was disappointed that the B&D Juicer did not include suggestions on HOW to juice nor any recipes. So, we googled and found recipes that appealed to us. We made the V8 Juice one yesterday. We bought, onions, celery, carrots, beets, red cabbage, radishes, kale, spinach, broccoli and cucumbers. We juiced everything….and ended up with a little over a quart of V10 juice (10 vegetables = V10 juice)…plus LOTS of pulp. We put the pulp into a container and froze it for use in soups which I make on a regular basis.

The end result, thanks to the beets and red cabbage is a deep burgundy liquid which we laughingly refer to as “vampire juice”…. it was a little too “beety” tasting so added a tablespoon of Worchestershire Sauce which improved the flavor. From now on we will only used ½ of a beet. Juicing is a trial and error science. We have been drinking 4 ounces of it with our regular meals. Healthful living, here we come!

Tomorrow......we juice fruit!

Time to Buy a Label Maker

2011-04-04T23:13:00.002-05:00

The name “Brother” has always meant sewing machines to me. My mom had one and I do too. However Brother is also a leading brand in producing products for the office. Printers, Labellers, and Label Makers to name only a few.

What I am interested in buying is a Label Maker. Our grandson is now in pre-school and they want everything he brings to school to be labeled. Rather than printing his name on the items myself, a better idea is to buy a Label Maker and print up a whole batch. It comes with many characters and symbols in addition to the plain ole A, B, C letters.

Once I get his things labeled, I can start on labeling my own items. I enjoy canning fruits and vegetables in the fall and even dabble in making jam or jellies. A Label Maker would enable me to print labels with pictures of the items along with the name.

I have seen some really cute labels on homemade items at the local Farmer’s market. I’ll bet that some little ole grandma is sitting in her kitchen printing them on a Brother Label Maker.

Women Are More Prone to Mouth Wrinkles

2011-04-04T18:50:00.001-05:00

It's one of life's small injustices - women are more prone than men to form wrinkles around the mouth. There are a few reasons why:

According to a recent analysis by dermatologists in the Netherlands, women have fewer oil-producing sebaceous glands around the upper lip - meaning less oil to keep the skin soft and supple.
Women (particularly postmenopausal women) have fewer blood vessels in the upper lip area resulting in less blood flow to the region.
The muscles around the mouth are closer to the skin in women than they are in men; this can mean the skin is pulled closer, leading to wrinkles.

Short of cosmetic surgery, there's not much you can do to eliminate wrinkles, but you may be able to minimize them by not smoking, avoiding sun damage and keeping the skin around the mouth well moisturized.

Published 3/11/11 Ask Dr. Weil

Spring Housecleaning Time in Austin

2011-04-01T19:50:00.002-05:00

Spring Housecleaning Time in Austin

Your dog or cat is getting older and pet odor from urine is a very common problem. Although they once were “house broken” accidents happen from time to time. Getting pet odor removal from carpets in Austin is a lot more complex than just cleaning up a wet spot. Urine damage can be much deeper than it first appears, soaking into the carpet and padding underneath. Left untreated over a period of time pet odor can be absorbed into the porous materials in your home. Draperies and upholstered furniture are prime targets.

On average Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors. Pet odors are bad enough but the air conditioning and ventilation system can be a collection point for dust, mold, fungus and bacteria. The Steam Team can provide professional air duct cleaning in Austin that will thoroughly clean your heating and cooling system ducts. By removing the dirt and general gunk from your air ducts it can also improve air flow and increase heating and cooling efficiency.

Since you’re having your carpets and duct work cleaned, why not consider having your natural stone and ceramic tile made to look like new. Trust me, it will be a lot cheaper than replacing it. For porcelain tile sealing in Austin there’s no better company to have working for you than the Steam Team. The Steam Team knows special techniques and can restore your natural stone, Terrazzo, Saltillo, Slate, Granite and Limestone to their original beauty.

I guess the best thing to say is just call the Steam Team, Austin’s “can do” company.

Fashionable Scrubs for Nursing Staff

2011-03-24T10:54:00.005-05:00

If you’ve visited your local hospital lately, you’ve probably seen most of the medical staff wearing colorful scrubs, i.e. medical uniforms. The days of crisp white dresses for nurses are long gone. Now the nurses, doctors, technicians, aides and other personal are wearing scrubs, usually color-coded to their nursing area. Whenever I see someone wearing greenish blue scrubs I immediately think of the surgical staff. And, if she is wearing that funny looking scrub hat along and cotton booties with her hospital uniform, i.e greenish blue scrubs, my first thought is “I wonder why she’s wandering the hall when she’s supposed to be in surgery”…..

Even my doctor sometimes wears medical scrub clothing or a long lab coat which, to me, really means DOCTOR. I like my doctor to be friendly, smiling and comfortable, but also like him/her to come into my room looking like a doctor.

I can see why cotton scrubs are so popular and worn in many hospitals. Some are reversible, if you get a little dirt on your scrub top, turn it inside out and you’re good for the rest of your shift. Cotton scrubs are washable, although having 2 or 3 sets, or several scrub tops is a good idea. Its not like working in an office where you feel you need to have a different outfit on every day…everyone is wearing fashion seal scrubs, a step up from every day cotton scrubs.

Riding boots that will make me pick up horseback riding

2011-03-15T08:20:00.003-05:00

Guest post written by my friend Carla Brunswick

As much as I'm terrified to actually try out horseback riding, my husband got me a coupon for horseback riding lessons. I mentioned when we were watching some cowboy movie a few months back that I've always wondered what it's like to ride a horse. Somehow he missed the part right after that when I mentioned that my deathly fear of horses has kept me from pursuing riding horses in the first place.

But, when he got me that coupon for Christmas, I really did appreciate the thought, even though it was a little bit misguided. I thought that it would be great to buy myself some of the gear so I could get inspired to get up the nerve to use the lessons. i went online with my ISP to order some riding clothes.

I'm pretty excited about these riding boots that I found, but I'd almost rather wear them with my jeans everyday. If I don't take the lessons, I might do that actually, because that style of boot is pretty popular now anyway.

Where did our US jobs go??????

2011-02-18T18:05:00.000-06:00

This was sent to me by a friend who lost her job in October. She had worked at the same place for 15 years....but no longer. Her company could not compete with the foreign imports...many of which were actually American companies who chose to have their items made overseas.....cheaper? I suppose so. But in a way, we, as comsumers are also to blame. We want the best bargain, i.e. cheapest, items we can find....who cares if John, Helen, Tom or Doreen, American citizens, will lose their jobs....obviously we don't.

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6 am.

While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG ).

He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRILANKA ), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE ) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).

After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA ) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO ) to see how much he could spend today.

After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) turning off his radio (MADE IN INDIA ) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY ) filled it with gas (FROM SAUDI ARABIA) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day of checking his computer (MADE IN MALAYSIA), John decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL ) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE ) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA ), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in AMERICA.

Do you see anything WRONG with this story? You should.

Made in America

2011-02-18T08:36:00.013-06:00

I sell on several online auction sites....Ebay, Ebid, Bonanza and BooCoo. Many of my items are from my family, estate sales, garage sales, Thrift stores, and marked-down sales from big name stores.

I watched a news story last night that made me realize how I am contributing to the downfall of American industry....I looked at the items I have for sale, and was disappointed to see that less than 1/3 of them were made in America....made in the USA.

The ABC News reporter, Diane Sawyer said that if everyone in the United States bought ONE item made in the USA, thousands of Americans would still have their jobs. ONE item, costing less than $3.33. "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" is launching a groundbreaking series, "Made in America," focusing on American manufacturing and our economy.

The facts show that our nation is addicted to imports. In 1960, foreign goods made up just 8 percent of Americans' purchases. Today, nearly 60 percent of everything we buy is made overseas.

One of the results....the city I live in has a huge population of lower income families. And, our crime rate is out of sight...Why? There are no jobs and the possibility of getting one is slight. So, public assistance is a way of life and, if things get really tight, robbing or stealing is the alternative......they have families and families need food, housing and clothing.

At one time, we were known as the meat-packing center of the United States, we had the stockyards, Armour, Cudahy and other packing houses, Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, Union Pacific Railroad, public utilities, small businesses and factories where people could find jobs.....lets face it, not everyone is smart enough or wants to be a computer technician, retail sales person, teacher, doctor or design websites.

What are the young people in this area to do? Yes, there are some that will fight their way out of near poverty, but again, they are the exception....the majority have lost the desire to go to work even if work is available. And, why work when welfare checks arrive every month. In the past, one could always enlist in the armed forces.....not anymore. Their standards have gone up...no more "join the Army or go to jail" ... in my teens, I knew several young men who were given that option. And, they came back to live productive lives with education and purpose in life.

I have wandered away from my original idea with this article. Yes, I will keep my items listed on Ebay, Ebid, Bonanza and BooCoo....and hope they will sell. BUT, I will make it a priority to seek out items MADE IN THE USA which I will put up for sale (and list them that way on my auction sites.)

Look at items in your home or closet....are you helping America's industries by buying Made in USA? If not.....why not?????

And, to those American companies who have moved their factories out of the United States and by doing so KNOWINGLY put thousands of American workers out of jobs

....SHAME ON YOU !!!

Hey tennis friends.... effective March 5, 2009, HEAD Penn closed their Phoenix factory, and moved all remaining tennis ball production to China.

I am not affiliated with this store, but if you are looking for AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS, this is the place to start...... http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/

Custom Nameplates and Labels

2011-02-08T10:01:00.005-06:00

Custom Nameplates and Labels

Have you ever wondered where companies go when they want custom nameplates or product identification labels? You see them all the time…at a trade show or even an event like a Bridal Show or concert. You are handed a little bag with a booth’s custom label, lets say “Lionel Trains” or “Betty’s Bridal Boutique” printed on it.

As you wander through the various displays, you pick up more and more items with custom labels. A plastic water bottle here, a refrigerator magnet there or even a pen or two. All with the name of the booth’s owner or what is being offered there for sale. When you take the bag home, you have all these items….advertising, pure and simple.

Data Graphics, an American based facility located in Mount Dora, Florida has been providing nameplates, overlays and custom labels since 1984. They can provide you with many types of product identifications which will meet your needs and specifications. After all, if you have a company, business or need to promote yourself, why not get your name out before the public.

Back to juicing vegetables .. Make Soup

2011-01-26T16:36:00.004-06:00

Back to juicing vegetables……what to do with all the pulp left from juicing?

When we juiced the various vegetables (and there were a bunch of them) we had a lot of chunky pulp. I couldn’t bear to throw out all that food…and that’s basically what it is, de-juiced vegetable food. So, we made vegetable soup….about 5 gallons of it.

I started with four packages of dry soup mix….our favorite is Bear Creek…it makes ½ gallon of soup per package. To that we added more liquid, chicken stock and water, plus over a quart of vegetable pulp. Some of the vegetables were not pulverized in the juicer so it wasn’t like adding a paste…the beet stems were pretty much in one piece and the broccoli and kale were still in little bunches. Carrots and celery were “de-juiced” and spit out of the juicer strainer into the pulp container so they were a great addition to the soup. I added a little sea salt and some pepper to enhance the taste.

The soup turned out just plain delicious…we put it into 3-cup sized Ziplock containers and put it into our chest freezer along with the Navy Bean, Chicken Noodle soups and chili. Ken and I have “soup for lunch” nearly every day….its healthy and although we found the cost of juicing fresh vegetables to be a little expensive, when we can use the left-over pulp in making a delicious and nutricious soup, we figure we’re getting our money’s worth.

Jack LaLanne - the Godfather of Fitness

2011-01-24T14:29:00.001-06:00

This blog was written several years ago but I wanted to remind you of Jack LaLanne...the American fitness guru who died Sunday, January 23, 2011 at his home in Morrow Bay, California of respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 96 years old.

Remember the handsome guy in tight tights doing handstands on a chair on early TV? He promoted fitness as a young man and brought physical fitness and healthful living to TV.

Jack LaLanne, born Francois Henri LaLanne on September 26, 1914 in San Francisco, California, the son of French immigrants is an American fitness, exercise and nutritional expert, celebrity, lecturer and motivational speaker. He admits that as a child he was addicted to sugar and junk foods. He was very troubled as a teenager and prone to rages.

However, at age 15 he heard a talk on health and nutrition which was simple but had a powerful influence on the troubled boy. He decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits, concentrating on bodybuilding and weightlifting, which in the 1930s, was uncommon.

Jack gained worldwide renown for his success as a bodybuilder as well as his prodigious feats of strength. He had planned to become a chiropractor, but in 1936 decided to open his own health spa (gym) and encouraged clients to better themselves through weight-training.

He designed the first leg extension machines, pulley machines using cables and weight selectors which are now standard in the fitness industry. He also encouraged women to lift weights (in spite of the fact that at that time, it was thought that this would make women look masculine and unattractive.)

Between 1951 and 1984, LaLanne presented fitness and exercise advice on television. “The Jack Lalanne Show” was the first ever television program devoted to exercise Critics said the show would be off the air in six weeks, but it lasted 34 years.

After his TV show ended, LaLanne remained in the public eye with a series of fitness stunts, usually performed on his birthday. In 1955, he swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco, while wearing handcuffs.

In 1991, for his 70th birthday, he swam a mile while shackled to 70 boats carrying 70 people. Now in his 90s, LaLanne is still in excellent health. He says he has not missed a day of workouts -- or had a sugary dessert -- since 1930. He still appears on television, selling his Jack LaLanne Power Juicers.

At age 93, he continued to work out every morning for two hours. He spent one and a half hours in the weight room and a half an hour in the pool. Jack and his wife, Elaine, age 80, live in Morro Bay, California. "I don't care how old I live", he says, "I just want to be living while I am living!"

In a 2004 interview, at the age of 90, he said he has "an active sex life"

CCNA Network Certification

2011-01-22T19:10:00.005-06:00

CCNA Network Certification

Are you looking for a new career in networking or want to upgrade your present one? With the job market as tough as it is, you must be more than just good at your job, you must have a solid foundation and apprentice knowledge of networking.

These four schools are prepared to certify you as a Cisco Certified Network Associate, i.e. CCNA. This certification validates the ability to install, configure, operate and troubleshoot medium-size routed and switched networks. This includes implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN.

The Chicago CCNA Intense School offers a Dual Certification CCENT (Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician) and CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) training & certification that can help professionals get ahead.

The San Diego CCNA is a CCENT/CCNA training program that takes you through authorized Cisco curriculum, with the added value of materials and expert instruction geared towards certification success!

The Virginia Cisco Course is specially designed since most of our students come to Intense School because they simply do not have the time to study and pass certification exams on their own or through traditional local training centers.

Virginia MCITP teaches the MCITP Server Administrator and MCITP Enterprise Administrator course in Virginia . The instructors are superb and its one of the best courses you will find.

Worlds Greatest Hobby - Model Railroading

2011-01-18T13:26:00.005-06:00

Ken and I went to a model train show this week end….Ken’s hobby is 0 scale model trains and this was one of the biggest shows we’ve ever attended. Along with the detailed train layouts one of the things that really impressed me were the logo mats and especially the logo canopy over one of the exhibits.

The logo canopy pictured a beautifully detailed Lionel model train. It was so pretty that it caught everyone’s attention….”oh yeah, here’s where the Lionel trains are!” And drew people like a magnet.

I don’t usually pay attention to trade show carpet or trade show flooring, but I couldn’t help thinking that it really made the whole place look classy. Many dealers or sellers do not realize what a variety of colors, shapes and styles logo mats come in, and how a printed logo canopy can draw attention to their booth.

The “World Greatest Hobby – Model Railroading” show was full of colors….both on the floor and the booths. Of course, we bought, bought and bought. You know what they say “the difference between men and boys is usually the cost of their toys”…..men’s toys tend to cost A LOT!

Hello Florida, Beach and Warm Sunshine

2011-01-16T11:02:00.005-06:00

Its really cold here today and my mind is wandering…wandering to somewhere warm where I can play tennis every day and Ken can improve his golf game on the always green golf courses of Florida. I’ve been searching the ads in our local paper and finally went online with my search for a great resort hotel that would fit our needs.

I found a nice site at http://www.horizonmyrtlebeach.com. It offers a beautiful condo resort where we can walk along the beach or just sit in the sun (we haven’t seen the sun since October). Since there’s only the two of us, a one bedroom unit is all we’d need, although they do have two and three-bedroom suites.

This particular Myrtle Beach hotel has all the amenities you could ask for. A beautiful scenic ocean and coastline view, indoor and outdoor pools, hot tub and a lazy river for a nice gentle float through the resort. I’ll admit that the Myrtle Beach best hotels are in this area and it’s on my “places to go for fun and relaxation” list.

Andrew, The Future Amtrac Engineer

2011-01-14T11:51:00.001-06:00

Have a pint-sized train enthusiast in the family? Our 3 year old grandson Andrew loves his train cap, bandana and of course the wooden train whistle. He does his best to sound like a train whistle but he needs a little more ummpth when he blows! He chugs around the house pretending to be his favorite TV character Thomas the Train. Or sometimes Percy.....his 2nd most favorite.

I have two engineer train hat, bandana and whistle sets for sale....one with a red bandana and one with blue. They are new, never worn or blown.. The bandanas are triangular and are 29" x 19" x 19". They are one thickness since the square bandanas doubled over made it too bulky for a child.

The Engineer's hat is adjustable in the back to allow room for growth! The wooden whistle is 6" long.

The set costs $12.00 including postage. Contact me at jeanjb@cox.net if you would like one.

We Love... but Sometimes HATE...Our Computers!

2011-01-14T11:17:00.005-06:00

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives (!?!), read on....

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX),Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,

'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.

'In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash......... twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6 The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.

PS - I'd like to add that when all else fails, you could call 'customer service' in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!!!!

And that's why we love - but sometimes hate - our computers!

New Year's resolution for my health

2011-01-13T18:33:00.003-06:00

New Year's Resolution for My Health

Guest post written by Cindy Holloway

I really don't care of my health like I should. There are all kinds of things that I could improve upon when it comes to that stuff. I quit smoking years ago, which I should have done years before. But there are other things that I can improve on that I'm going to focus on in 2011 as a New Year's resolution.

I'm trying to eat healthier, including just eating more vegetables. But I'm not that crazy on vegetables so I looked up some new recipes to fix to include more veggies and make them tasty enough for me to stand. While I was looking for that I came across the website cleartvbundle.com and after I looked through it a little bit, I ordered one of the satellite internet packages that I found on there.

Another one of my healthy New Year's resolutions is to take stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible. I always like to take the elevator to the second floor at work but I'm going to try to stop doing that.

It's fun to believe in miracles

2011-01-10T08:06:00.006-06:00

Its Fun to Believe in Miracles
Contributed by Cameron Hodge

When I think of Christmas, the first movie to come to mind is that sensational film, Miracle on 34th Street. I'm referring to the original, not those remakes. It's not that they don't have their place, but it's the original that is the best and always gets my attention.

Not long ago, my family sat down with a toasty fire and some S'mores and watched Miracle on 34th Street as it played on DirectStarTV. We shut off the phones and just took in the original black and white version of the film.

Edmund Gwenn. Now he's Santa Claus, and did you know that he really did play Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade the year the movie was filmed? It's true, and that shows just how great he was at playing Kris Kringle.

Maureen O'Hara. She was magnificent as the career woman who wanted to teach her daughter to live life logically and rationally; that is, until she met Santa Claus herself. O'Hara is a great lady and a great actress.

Natalie Wood. This is the movie that opened the door for her to a long career that tragically should have been longer. As Susan, the little girl who didn't believe in Santa Claus, Wood made us believe in her.

The court scene with the letters to Santa always makes me laugh, too.

Who Doesn't Love a Train?

2011-01-08T18:12:00.005-06:00

Who Doesn't Love a Train?

Guest post written by Mikel Trevino

Like most stay at home moms, time can sometimes feel like the enemy as I try to get everything done. My three year old son is very curious and is more than willing to follow me around the house interviewing me on life, hobbies, nature, basically anything that crosses his mind. That is, unless his friend Thomas is on the TV with programming from TVByDirect.com.

We watch many children's programs, but the animated show, “Thomas and Friends” is my grandson's favorite. It miraculously holds his attention for the entire half hour. With satellite television, we get to watch the show twice a day.

Thomas is a little blue train, who lives on an island with his friends. What I enjoy about the show is the subtle way it teaches moral lessons. Each episode tells two stories about Thomas' adventures. The stories tend to share a theme, usually helping others. Thomas, or one of his friends, will be faced with an objective as simple as moving cargo, or as complicated as being envious of another. The friends come together in the end, offering support and advice to resolve the issue.

I think helps my son to be more social. If Thomas can make friends, he can too. It also makes my job a little easier. Even if I can't recall which Thomas episode is relevant, when he's angry or acting selfish, I can remind him of what Thomas would do.

Crazy Costumes Rings In The New Year

2011-01-06T13:18:00.005-06:00

Crazy Costumes Rings in the New Year
Written by my friend Judson Kelly

It is tradition to go out for New Years and have a good time at a local place. There is always lots of food, drinks and fun, which last into the wee hours of the morning. The closer it gets to midnight the louder it becomes, with people getting ready to ring in the New Year.

A band plays various types of music from rock to country, so everyone can dance off all of the food that they eat. They charge one price for the admission for the band and the food, if one wants any drinks those have to be purchased, but it is still worth going.

We always set the home security alarm with Home Security cellguard with before we leave, because with all of the celebrations it is just better to take precautions. At the stroke of midnight, everything from poppers, streamers, silly string, confetti and everything festive that goes into the air to announce the New Year. If you don't want anything in your hair, it is probably a good idea to stay in the bathroom. Of course, the couples kiss and then everyone gives each other a hug and wishes them a happy New Year. Dressing up for New Years is done a little wacky there and looks more like glitter and glitz compared to anything else, but all in fun.

Nature Causes Damage to Homes

2010-12-30T12:07:00.008-06:00

I feel so sorry for those folks who have spent their weekends cleaning up and repairing water damage from broken pipes or scraping mud and gunk from their outdoor furniture. Austin, Texas doesn't usually get a lot of rain, but when they do, it causes mud to get everywhere. You can't go into your home without tracking the stuff in....not even professional rug cleaning austin finds it to be an easy job. But if you have water damage insurance claims austin is there to help – they have an online carpet cleaner coupon that has specials so save you money.

On the other hand, they and surrounding areas could be digging out of snow. Personally, I’d prefer digging out snow. Although it probably cause folks in the Austin area no end of headaches, hiring professional rug cleaning austin to sop up the melted snow and get their homes repaired would take some of the pain out of doing it. (I have been in Austin when they received a "dusting" of snow....utter confusion)

Cleaning tips, austin has many good suggestions for cleaning dirt, mud, pet odors out of carpet, furniture, upholstery and soaking up water And they are as close to you as your telephone.

THAT Advertising Agency

2010-12-28T10:31:00.000-06:00

Lets face it, nowadays the world runs on advertising….Facebook, Twitter, blogging…yes they’re social media but when you get down it, they’re just plain advertising. Advertising what??? Why advertising YOU of course.

THAT Company is a social Marketing and Advertising Agency that can take Facebook beyond the chitty chat, recipes and family photos and will turn Twitter into a useful advertising tool. THAT Company has a creative staff ready to promote your company’s products, services and events using the social medias that are right now shaping the trends of today. THAT Company is not a typical Advertising Agency. They know what it takes to attract the customers you are looking for. The staff is young, experienced and has grown up in the digital age…their ideas embrace the media….shape it to what they know will sell.

THAT is a marketing agency that has taken the power of the Internet and molded it into strategies that other marketing and advertising agencies haven’t tapped into. Who isn’t familiar with Google, Yahoo or Bing….if your Advertising Agency isn’t using these powerful search engines to the fullest extent, you’re losing a rapidly growing segment of the market that uses the web to learn, shop and communicate. End result…you are losing money!

Whatever marketing plans you need or want, THAT Advertising Agency can build and create a plan that will achieve your marketing goals. Need an outstanding trade show display, how about an up-to-the-minute social media marketing campaign. THAT Company has the skills and creative personnel to bring your products, people and ideas to the top of the search engine ladder

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Driving In Bad Weather

2010-12-23T13:46:00.003-06:00

Use common sense before going Christmas shopping during what looks like bad weather. It's sometimes impossible to tell when roads are icy. If you're unsure of the conditions of the road, take a short test drive around the block to make sure that you're not going to get stuck in the cold or get into a car accident. Shopping is always important, especially around the holidays, but it's not worth dying for. It also won't do anyone any good if you never reach your destination and end up in a hospital around the holidays. Keep safe, use common sense, and have fun shopping on those days when the weather allows you to take an outing.

If things are all clear for a safe shopping trip, don't forget to set the home security alarm from TotalAlarmSystem before you leave for your trip. This ensures that you're safe outside the home and inside the home, which gives you plenty of stress-free shopping time to enjoy for the day.

If you do these few simple things that require nothing but common sense, you'll enjoy the kind of shopping trip that everyone deserves when it's time for Christmas to take over the hearts and minds of everyone in your family. You'll feel safe leaving and you'll feel safe returning home to a family that is very anxious to see what Santa brought them this year.

This is a post by my friend Kevin Beach

Hospitals are Colorful

2010-12-20T21:41:00.011-06:00

Have you been to a hospital lately…where are those nice white starched uniforms….now the nurses are all wearing nursing scrubs.

I’m not sure if I like the idea of everyone in the building wearing scrubs clothing instead of a white nursing type uniform mainly because when a person enters my hospital room, I like to know that she’s an actual nurse and not the orderly who brings my lunch. Or, worse yet, someone from OR who has wandered into my room by mistake.

I will admit that the new scrub clothing is attractive, comes in several colors and designs, and the scrub tops are nicely tapered. In fact, I have several tops which I wear around the house myself. They are very comfortable….my favorite one has a big front pocket that holds anything I need to have with me, i.e. my cell phone, a candy bar and handkerchief.

Old Age is a gift!

2010-12-15T18:47:00.000-06:00

OLD AGE IS A GIFT
Submitted by Charlene L.
Omaha, NE

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!) but I don’t agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life and my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.

As I’ve aged, I’ve become more kind and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie or for not making my bed or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so “avant garde” on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon - before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60’s & 70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love…. I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to—despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car?

But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it)

May our friendship never come apart especially when it’s straight from the Heart! May you always have a rainbow of smiles on your face and in your heart forever and ever!

Friends forever!

What is Beauty?

2010-11-21T07:03:00.008-06:00

What is Beauty? Its not about the lines on the face or the gray in the hair - it's about the wisdom behind them. Rather than lamenting the passing of the years, celebrate what you have achieved, learned and earned, for your benefit and the benefit of others.

Andrew and the trains

2010-10-28T07:21:00.000-05:00

Three year old Andrew enjoys playing with Ken's train layout. Its the first thing he wants to do when he comes over our house. "Grandpa!! Lets play with trains!!"

Grandpa has a big model train set in the basement and Andrew is getting to be a Master Engineer when it comes to adjusting speed, blowing the whistle and pulling into the depot.

Halloween Family Face Paintings

2010-10-18T13:09:00.002-05:00

This is a guest post by Wilburn Berg

The day before Halloween my family gets together with all of the children to have a face painting session. Everyone usually arrives at our house between noon and 2:00 p.m., once everyone is here we line up 6-10 chairs and seat all of the kids.

Before we start painting my wife turns on the satellite TV from www.CannonSatellite.com and tunes into a music channel that is playing scary music! Most of the children ask to have either a ghost or a pumpkin painted on their face, sometimes even a black cat. The painting process usually takes about 20 minutes and then the kids are all painted and ready to play...with us that is! It is a tradition that the kids always paint our faces after theirs are done, this usually ends up disastrous.

When its all said and done and everyone is fully painted, we head out to the back yard and get a family photo taken. Each year a new and unique photo gets added to the holiday photo album to be laughed about the following year. I am hoping that this fall activity stays in the family for many years to come.

Ebid Bonanza BooCoo - A Small Online Sellers New Hopes

2010-10-14T15:18:00.007-05:00

After several years of selling items online, I have decided to close my Ebay store. Ebay has changed their policies, resulting in higher listing and final value fees for sellers. I am a small seller, I do not have stacks and shelves of merchandise and although it was once fun and a little profitable to sell items, it no longer is. Remember when Ebay first started...."sell those unwanted items in your basement, attic or clothes closet" Its not that way anymore....the big merchandise sellers have taken over, and many of the "sell your unwanted items" sellers have been left behind.

Three new auction sites are on the market. I have stores on each of them.

Three new auction sites are on the market. I have stores on each of them.

Come over and have a look!

MJs Closet

Starchilds

Le Boicour Boutique

Do you sell items online? Have an Ebay, Etsy, Amazon store? Or do you find great buys on the internet for yourself?

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Need to sell your house FAST????

2010-09-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

You've taken a job in a new state and there's been a FOR SALE sign staked in your front yard for several months…..sound familiar? You've had lots of lookers, you've had "this is a great house, I'll be back!", (and you never see them again), you've lowered your asking price but the house still sits vacant.

Time to bite the bullet and get it sold.....you need money for a down payment on another home, and your insurance agency is getting antsy about insuring a vacant house.

Omaha Home Buyers has been in business for more than 25 years. They are certified trustworthy and will buy your house FAST! They buy real estate in any condition, location (not just Omaha) or in any price range.

All it takes is a quick click, put in your zip code, and see what they can do for you.

Will Enjoy Watching The Miami Dolphins On Satellite Television This Season

2010-08-12T11:21:00.001-05:00

Thanks for the guest post by Esteban Vinson

I am expecting a fun filled season in watching The Miami Dolphins on Direct TV this year. I have always been a Dolphin fan. I fell in love with their uniforms when I was a little boy. I even love the uniforms that the current team now wears. They made a few slight changes, but the original colors and concept of having a dolphin on the helmet remains the same.

Head Coach Tony Sparano is very optimistic about this season. Coach Sparano is a solid coach that has implemented some creative offensive schemes that have provided the team great success last year. Those same schemes will be complemented with some newer ones. This should help the offense put up more points on the scoreboard. We cannot forget that Bill Parcells is in the front office. Mr. Parcells is a proven commodity that has given this organization a needed boost in roster changes and play calling.

Everyone in the city is excited with the acquisition of Brandon Marshall. Brandon is an all-pro wide receiver that is full of rich talent. His ability will help stretch the offense. This will lead to more deep plays that were missing last year. One can easily expect him to score one or more touchdowns this year!

All of the fans are planning on enjoying themselves this year in the comfort of Sun Life Stadium!

The Train Engineer Wannabe

2010-08-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

Andrew's Grandpa Ken is a member of the Nebraska-Iowa RR model train club here in Nebraska and Andrew learned to love trains at an early age (yep, even earlier than his 2 1/2 years).

The club has a free train facility at Nebraska Crossing located on the Interstate between Omaha and Lincoln where the guys keep their trains and run them for the general public. Its a big place and has plenty of room for the trains and for the children and their parents to wander around looking at each of the modules. Members are always willing to discuss their trains, show them off, and invite the visitors to join the train club. The facility is open on Saturdays from noon to 4:00.

The facility has 7 different train layouts each suited to whichever size model trains the members own. Some are 0 scale others are HO, N and O27. Each layout has buildings and scenery, some have mountains and tunnels and enough track to run 2 or 3 trains at a time.

Andrew and I went to see the trains on Saturday. He was awed by the many different trains, but his very favorite was the Thomas the Train layout. Thomas, Percy, James, and Gordon were all there.

Chick, one of the train club members, was in charge of the Thomas the Train table. He showed Andrew how to press the red button that made the train whistle blow and from then on he was Andrew's best friend! Andrew would stand next to Chick and would gently tap his arm and say "I blow whistle now?", Chick would nod "yes" and Andrew would have Thomas toot tooting all around the track.

It was a fun way to spend a hot Nebraska afternoon....in an air-conditioned building surrounded by model trains, train books and guys who were more than willing to pick up little boys and girls to give them a better look at the trains going around the tracks.

And, if you're lucky, you'll see a real train engineer dressed in his striped overalls and cap....he'll make his train toot-toot for you too!

Myrtle Beach is only a month away!

2010-08-02T15:55:00.001-05:00

Ah, the hot and humid lazy days of our Nebraska summer are almost over….time to start planning our fall get-a-way to Myrtle Beach…that’s in South Carolina you know. We always look forward to the relaxing atmosphere where cool iced drinks and friendly people await us.

Oceanfront living for a week…heaven on earth! We love the sound of the ocean not to mention watching the sailboats as they leisurely float by. Towers at North Myrtle Beach has everything you’d want in a beach front hotel, including the most helpful and friendly staff you’ve ever met. Talk about Southern hospitality….you need something? They’re more than willing to find it for you.

After a day spent under the Carolina-blue sky, breathing the fresh Atlantic ocean air, and then enjoying the beautiful golden sunset, you’ll sink into that heavenly soft, inviting bed and dream that your vacation at Towers at Myrtle Beach could go on forever.

Need Premium Sporting Event Tickets?

2010-07-29T20:32:00.003-05:00

Ever hear of TicketAmerica? It’s only the world’s largest licensed ticket broker for some of the premium sold-out events in America, including concerts, sports events such as the Final Four, Super Bowl, World Series, theater and movie offerings. Want a ticket to Fenway Park in Boston to see the Red Sox play? Nooooooo problem.

We live in the Midwest and the St. Louis Cardinals is our favorite baseball team. A quick call to TicketAmerica guarantees that we will have tickets to Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri to see them play. TicketAmerica has the best selection of tickets for just about any major league baseball games no matter which stadium they’re playing in. Same for seeing the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York….just give TicketAmerica a call and order your tickets.

Of course, don’t forget Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois…..the home of the Chicago Cubs. One of the headliners appearing this year in concert will be the Dave Matthews Band. Since our daughter Chris and her family live in Chicago, we will contact TicketAmerica for 6 tickets…..much easier than standing in line.

Buying and selling made way easier

2010-07-28T08:21:00.000-05:00

There are few things that I don’t buy online.

It’s just so easy to use my wildblue internet to buy everything from books to clothing to groceries that I either go and pick up or get shipped to me. I’m kind of lazy, so that when I need to go and buy something in person, I try to work my way around it by postponing whatever I need the item for or borrowing an identical item from a friend.

I also sell stuff online too. I recently moved and instead of hiring a moving service to cart it all the way across the city, I borrowed a friend’s car and made a couple of trips with it loaded full of things like lamps, clothing and books. (I even made a trip with the mattress and another with the box spring to my bed on tied on top of it.) For the stuff that wasn’t worth keeping like old paperbacks and some end tables that I no longer wanted, I posted it for sale on Craigslist with wild blue at really cheap prices. For my old toaster oven, I just posted it for free and someone came and took it off my hands.

I just don’t see why anyone would do it the old-fashioned way, when doing this stuff on the Internet is this easy.

Cinnamon Rolls, Coffee and Free Direct TV

2010-07-26T20:21:00.001-05:00

Oh boy, is my husband a happy camper. In our area, we have a new state of the art restaurant that he and I visit frequently….its not a Starbucks, but it does serve excellent coffee and fresh, organic food. We learned today that as a courtesy to their customers, they are installing the dish business channel in their main dining areas.

Why would a restaurant want to install directsattv.com/business tv in their place of business….that’s a no brainer. This restaurant is full of business men and women who spend a lot of time on their computers while having a quick lunch or cup of coffee. They want to know what is happening in the business world, and will frequent places where they can be kept up-to-date with happenings and latest news surrounding their various industries, i.e. insurance, stock market, housing market, world news.. With over 160 channels there’s bound to be something of interest.

Ken and I no longer fall into that working world category, we just go for the delicious salads, yummy cinnamon rolls and all the coffee we can drink. Of course there’s always the sports channels and on the weekends he does spend some time there with his cronies watching, of all things car races. I think they are on the commercial satelite tv end of the direct TV channels. Why men enjoy watching a bunch of cars race around a track for hours on end is beyond me.

Personally, I think they are all secretly hoping for a wreck…..not a big nasty one, just a little fender bender kind. You know what I mean, the yellow flag comes out, the crowd jumps to their feet and the announcers get excited and all but climb over each other trying to see what car it was, who was at fault, and if anyone was hurt. It’s a man thing.

But, I do enjoy watching tennis occasionally....its there too!