Saving Star
I stumbled upon this new site Saving Star, you have got to give it a chance. No more clipping coupons, no more remembering to take them to the store with you, no more hassles of keeping track of them. You just simply sign up for the program, register your store card (IE.. Kroger card). Then you’ll get email alerts that new coupons are available. You go to the site, log in to your account and simply click on the coupons you want. You go shopping and you swipe your card like you normally do and you earn cash.
I joined and went shopping at Krogers. I purchased an item that I had activated a coupon for and a couple of days later I checked my Saving Star account and I had 55 cents in it. Each time you activate a coupon on the site, purchase that product the savings go into your Saving Star account, once you have $5.00 in your account you can cash out!!!
You can find a link to this amazing site on the side of this site. You won’t be sorry.
Birthday!
Just a quick post to let everyone know that today is a very special day. It’s my Birthday!!!! I spent all last week asking God to once again give me some birthday snow and its snowing. 
Everyone please have a wonderful day today in celebration of ME.
The Today Show
I named this the Today Show because this is the show I was watching that really pissed me off. This show isn’t the only guilty party. Every show like this one is guilty, Good Morning America, etc.
I understand that there are some people who are totally fascinated with celebrities and the rich and famous. I know that celebrities, such as, actors, actresses, singers, etc they know that they live in public eye and they know what’s in the future for them, but at some point the people reporting on these people and the American public need to take a step back and look really hard at themselves and what they are doing.
This morning they on the Today show they were talking about Pippa Middleton. Her boyfriend dumped her after a year. Okay, that’s probably news to some people and if the story had ended there, I wouldn’t have thought another thing about it. I don’t really know who Pippa is, they said who she was, but I don’t really care about who Kate is either. Anyways, the story went to hell when they not just mentioned that her boyfriend Alex broke it off, but stated numerous times that he dumped her. Then they went a step further and actually said that she was seen being comforted buy one of her close friends while crying somewhere. Oh come on, seriously?
It’s bad enough to announce that this woman was dumped by her boyfriend, but then to make it public that she’s really hurt over it to the point of crying? Why do that? You know that has to be humiliating. When you get dumped the last thing you want the other person to know is how bad it hurt, to know how badly your taking it.
I can’t even understand why a show like The Today Show would even spend so much time on such a story. Was that the most important thing happening in the world? Was there not some regular Joe or Jane in the world that maybe did something special, helped out another human being, something that could have filled that space? Maybe instead of reporters following and snooping on celebrities they could actual search out people who do good things for no reason, maybe if there was more stories like that, it would inspire everyone to be better people.
My opinion of the Today show, seriously went downhill today. If nothing else, show some respect for people.
Octoberfest/Fall Festival
No matter what they are calling it now, it was a flop!
The local newspaper here in town started a yearly tradition to help raise money to help provide coats for children here. It was an Octoberfest. It was huge! Both sides of downtown Hartford was lined with booths selling everything from food to face painting. There was live music going and carnival rides. It started Friday night and ran all weekend. Living a couple of blocks from downtown, I could hear the live music and people were walking past the house headed for downtown. It became the highlight of the year. There was a parade on Saturday morning and it had horses, floats, motorcycles, a bit of everything.
Then about 3-4 years ago the newspaper decided to turn the festival over to the City of Hartford. Turns out that was the beginning of the death of the festival. This year instead of having the booths up and down main street, they had them around the court house square. It was a good idea, that way the few booths they did have in the smaller space looked like more. Of course the majority of the booths were different groups in town selling food. There was only about 4 or 5 booths selling crafts and stuff. I know the stage was set up for music, but this year I didn’t hear it and I didn’t have anybody walking by the house.
As for the parade. It lasted about 10 minutes and it was kind of sad. I think there was basically one float type participant, 2 motorcycles, no horses, and on about 4 classic car/trucks. I sort of understand, what’s the incentive to create a float or anything? They no longer judge the entries, there’s no longer a prize for the best float. They don’t even advertise the festival like they used to.
I’m sorry, but if Beaver Dam can create something like the Strawberry Festival, you’d think the City of Hartford could do a little more.
Football
I’ve always thought that participating in sports is a good way for kids to get exercise and have some fun at the same time. Thing is, it’s only fun if the rules are the same for all the players. I know that if one is a much better player then the rest that they get more game time, that’s natural I guess. What isn’t natural is downright favoritism. It’s just not good for anybody involved. The other kids on the team feel bad because one player gets treated differently. The one getting treated differently learns the wrong things.
I found out today that there’s a little uproar over something that has happened involving the Ohio County Middle School Football team. At the beginning of the season the parents were all given the rules and what to expect papers. In those papers it clearly says that if a player gets 2 Ds or 1 F on his progress report, he can’t play in the next game. Hasn’t been a problem…until this week. It seems that one of the players got a low F on his progress report Monday. By the rules he should have had to sit out tonight’s game. Instead, the rule was suddenly changed to the student can’t play in the next game unless he brings the grade up before the game. Somehow, this one player scored a B on the next assignment and the teacher said that raised the boy’s low F to a C, and the teacher put the grade down enabling this one player to be able to play in tonight’s game. I found out that this wasn’t done for any of the other players who scored low on their progress report. I thought well maybe different teachers, but nope, some of the other players had the same teacher, but she didn’t do the same thing for the other boys. Then I got to thinking about it, even if it was different teachers, if one teacher did it for one player, the other teachers should have to do it too. I guess who’s son you are is more important then earning good grades and treating people equally.
So Coach Brown….did your son play a good game tonight?
St Vincent dePaul Store
In most cities and towns you can find a St Vincent dePaul Store. It’s a charity run organization that helps members of the community that are low income and in need of assistance. They help with utilities, rent, medication, diapers, etc.
The SVDP stores take donations from the community to sell in the store. All you have to do is call your local store and arrange a pickup and they will come up and pick up your donations. If you have a yard sale and you have nice, sell able items left over, give them a call. You can also drop your donations off at the store. All donations are tax deductible.
Just please keep in mind, the SVDP store is just what it says, a store. It needs items that people will want to purchase. It’s not a landfill, it’s not a recycling place. It’s surprising what some people will donate. Clothing that is stained, ripped, and/or dirty. I’m a volunteer at SVDP and you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff we find while sorting through the donations.
It’s not just the clothing either. People will drop off dirty broken down mattresses and box springs, broken toys, broken furniture, furniture with rips, tears and stains. The sad thing is the reason people do that. It’s because if they take it to the landfill where it belongs, it will cost them money. So they bring it to the SVDP store. Guess what? Exactly, it has to be loaded up and taken to the landfill which costs the SVDP store money, which means less money to help the community with.
Please try to keep in mind that your donations are much appreciated and they go a long ways in helping, but try to keep in mind that the store can’t sell broken, stained, dirty, or torn clothing, furniture and toys.
American Made
I received a response to my post about the American Flag being made overseas. She sent me a link to a website that lists things that are still made in America. I hope everyone will take the time to visit this site and start making a conscious effort to purchase items made in America!
http://www.americansworking.com/
American Flag
It’s 5:56 am here and I have 14 WFIE on the television listening to the news. I used to never watch the news because I didn’t want to know all the crap that’s going on. Now I almost wish I hadn’t listened this morning. I was instantly filled with such sadness.
In recent years more and more of our products are imported from other countries. Alot of companies are moving production overseas to keep from paying the American people the higher wages. It angers some of us, but there isn’t alot we can do. Not like we could convince every American to boycott those companies products, but what I heard and found out this morning is a sign of how low America has fallen.
It said after 9/11 so many people were buying American flags that companies couldn’t keep up with the demand. I did a search online and this is the website I found. It says it all.
http://www.fmaa-usa.com/resources_links/usflag_statistics.php
How the hell can we let this happen? This just seems like a huge slap in the face. I’m not even angry. This one causes only tears.
Foster the People
I can’t even decide how to start this post. I’m angry, disgusted, and amazed. There is a band called Foster the People and they have a song out that is gaining popularity fast. It’s being played on Youtube, but that’s not surprising, they’ll show pretty much anything on there. What really shocked me to my very core is that 96 WSTO is playing this song on the radio. I’m not sure who else is playing it, but if I find out any others station are playing it I will update this post to include them.
Parents you better sit up and pay attention, because if you aren’t already aware of this song you damn well better become aware.
I’m not going to post all the lyrics here, just the chorus, which should be enough to make you angry that not only is a radio station playing it, but a record company allowed it to be recorded!
This is the song’s chorus:
“All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you’d better run, better run, outrun my gun.
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet.”
Now the words themselves are bad enough, but they’ve given the song a really catchy little tune to go with it so that it sticks in your head. I actually found myself singing along with the damn thing which just pissed me off even more.
I can’t begin to understand why any band or group would want to record let alone sing a song like this with so many children dead because of their school mates bringing guns to school.
I just did a search to see if they have any other songs and they do. They have another song called “Call It What You Want” and the chorus in it says:
“We’ve got nothing to lose
You better run and hide
Yeah you’ve crossed the line
I’ve got a knife behind my back (just sayin’)
We’ve got nothing to prove
Your social guides give you swollen eyes
But what I’ve got can’t be bought so you can just
Call it what you want
Call it what you want
I said just call it what you want
Call it what you want”
A knife behind his back?? I haven’t read the lyrics to all of their songs, but these two should be banned from all radio stations, should not be allowed to be sold in any stores including online, and shouldn’t be played on the internet.
Music can be such a powerful tool to send out a message, it’s really sad that these are the messages this group is sending out.
A Teacher
A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . And colleges….
Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha
Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little
Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with
the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building
supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.
When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that
there were no desks.
‘Ms. Cothren, where’re our desks?’
She replied, ‘You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn
the right to sit at a desk.’
They thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s our grades.’
‘No,’ she said.
‘Maybe it’s our behavior.’
She told them, ‘No, it’s not even your behavior.’
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third
period. Still no desks in the classroom.
By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in
Ms. Cothren’s classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all
the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found
seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said,
‘Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has
done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this
classroo m. Now I am going to tell you.’
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom
and opened it.
Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that
classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the
school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the
wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those
kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just
how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..
Martha said, ‘You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These
heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it’s up to
you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students,
to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom
to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.’
By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded
Teacher of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 2006.
Please consider passing this along so others won’t forget that the
freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans.