Friday, November 30, 2012

Faux Snowballs Tutorial


I think I need some faux snowballs for my decor this year.  I went on Google and found this blog post.  This looks like a fun blog to follow.  Check it out sometime. 

Via Charlene's  blog.  http://charsethman.blogspot.com/2008/10/tuesdays-tutorial-faux-snowballs.html

  Charlene writes:

"Here's one of my favorite Christmas Time Bowl Fillers/Ornies! You can keep these out for the whole Winter Season too. I like to just fill up bowls with these snowballs....you can even place them outside in a pail or basket!!! These are so much fun and are great Craft Show Sellers! Just tuck a few into a cellophane bag tied with some homespun and a tag marked "Snowballs for sale!" and the customers just love them! The best part is...you can make tons of these at one time! Hope you Enjoy!

Faux Snowballs
Supplies:

*Various sized Styrofoam Balls (found at $ tree)
*Joint Compound (can be found at Walmart or any hardware store in small tubs)
*Spatula, Large popsicle stick, or butter knife
*Freezer Paper or Aluminum Foil
*Plastic Gloves
*Sandpaper (fine grit works)
*Spray Adhesive
*Glass Glitter or "Crystal Clear" Glitter (this is the snow colored glitter)
*Spray Sealer (I buy the Walmart brand “Color Place” with clear lid)
*Optional: Gloss Mod Podge if placing snowballs outside

Photobucket

Directions:

First, Take your Freezer Paper and lay out a sheet for you to put your completed snowballs on to dry. Now, take your Styrofoam Balls and roll them around on a hard surface to just kinda condense them some. This will also make them more of an uneven surface like a real snow ball. Just don’t smoosh them totally!!!!...LOL 

Photobucket


Now, put on your gloves, this is messy and you will want these! Next, take your Joint Compound and with your spatula start spreading this all over your Styrofoam balls. Smooth in some spots and leave peaks in others. This is just the part that you will play around with it til it is just the way you want it. Sit each snowball that is finished onto your freezer paper to dry OVERNIGHT. As you see in the picture, these are very dark looking in the beginning. However, as these dry they will lighten up to a nice white color. That is one way of knowing when they have completely dried.

 
Photobucket


Now, take your sandpaper and lightly sand down some of the peaks and areas that you are not really pleased with. (I usually don’t sand much, I kinda like the ruff look of them.)Once this is done and you have it where you like it, time to complete your snowballs!

Take your spray adhesive and give a nice light but good spray all over your snowball. Over a piece of paper sprinkle your snowball now with your Glass Glitter or Crystal Clear Glitter. This is the part that makes your snowball just glisten like a real snowball!!! Lay each one aside to dry just for a few minutes. Now to seal them so the diamond dust stays on them permanently. You will now take them to a well ventilated area and just lightly spray them with your spray sealer. One coat of this works just fine. You now have beautiful never melting, faux snowballs!!!

If you are going to be setting them outside....i recommend coating them with the Gloss Mod Podge FIRST, then sprinkling them your Glass Glitter or Crystal Clear Glitter. This just ensures them to be able to withstand the weather.

Here is an example of one I made for my tree last year. I inserted a piece of ribbon into my styrofoam and hot glued it in so I could hang them on my tree as Ornies.

Photobucket

Grungy Snowballs Option:

Into your Joint Compound mix you can add small amounts of coffee grounds, Spanish Moss, Straw, or small pieces of sticks. Just like if you were outside rolling a snowman, he always has grass and some dirt in him!

After sprinkling with your Glitter, sprinkle LIGHTLY with cinnamon as well. Just remember a little goes a long way! So sprinkle lightly!!!"


I hope you will go over and see this blog.  I hope she doesn't mind that I reposted the entire post so I won't lose the directions.  I am definitely going back to see what other great ideas she has.  All photos and text are from Charlene's blog post.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thankful Thinking


We are hopefully a thankful couple.  We realize all of our blessings come from our Father in Heaven.  We try to cultivate gratitude by being aware of our blessings.

Here are some of the things I have been thinking about today:

The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the richness, comfort and peace that brings into our lives on a daily basis.  The values and guidance we receive, the atonement and all of its ramifications, the scriptures, solemn prayer, the faith promoting experiences, the opportunities to serve, the upward course in life we are on because of it.  Nothing has influenced everything we do more.

Our Family: spouse, children, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandparents, ancestors, grandchildren, everybody's in-laws whom we consider to be family.  I have been thinking about all those who came before us and shaped our lives and circumstances, and thinking about those yet unborn, our great-grandchildren and so on.  The choices we make will affect their lives directly.  It is a sobering thought and one filled with tremendous responsibility.

Our Friends:  Each and every one of you that have contributed so much to our lives through your goodness, your uniqueness, and your love.  The shared experiences that make you so special to us and the memories of happy times, times of deep sorrow and everything in between.  I am thinking of the times we have worked together serving one another and others.  And all the times you have added the spice and humor and support we have needed and enjoyed so much.  The things we share that are hilarious to us that only we can appreciate and understand because we were there in a special moment together.  We have prayed for you and your loved ones and you for us.  That praying has been miracle producing, edifying and bonding between us like little else could be.  We feel so blessed to have you call us friend, brother, sister and/or a loved one.   We care for you and love you and want you to always know that you matter so much to us.

Our Health:  The Lord has blessed us with a work to do and has granted us health to be able to accomplish that work.  We have wonderful health care.  We have fresh foods to eat and clean water and modern medicine and lots of hope for a long and healthy life.  Each morning we open our eyes and we thank God for this blessing of relatively good health and promise to serve him to the best of our ability for as long as we are able.  Serving the Lord is a great motivator to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can.  He has blessed us with his grace when we have fallen short in this department.

Our Purpose: We have a good sense of what is expected of us as Latter-Day Saints, family members, as members of society, and in our community.  Having a valued and recognized purpose and reason to get up in the morning is the best way to stay young and active.

Our Prosperity:  As a people and as a nation we are more prosperous than most people that have ever lived on the earth.  We don't have to worry much about the basics like food, water and shelter as a people compared to many others in lands near and far.  We are blessed personally to have a wonderful home, a good retirement plan and to have all that we could possibly need and a lot more that isn't necessary.  We have always been blessed with a steady income, sufficient for our needs.  We are blessed with comfort and ease in so many ways.  Where much is given much is expected.  We want to pay it forward as much and as often as possible.  The discretionary days we now have allows us more time to serve.  What a blessing.

Our Liberty and Freedom As annoying as some of the politics in this country are, we still owe a debt of gratitude to many who have fought and died for the liberty and freedom we enjoy.  We can  come and go as we please, have a say in the the leadership of the country, and are protected from the terrorism and aggression of other countries because (to date) we have been a strong nation.  We have opportunities to improve our lives through so many avenues denied to many throughout the world.  Through electronics, as well as other means, we can continue to learn all of our lives at an unprecedented rate if we use technology in that way.  We are just very blessed to be living in this day and age as long as we are seeking the good things in life.  If we are grounded in good principles the sky is the limit as to what we can do.  That is freedom.

Our Passions:  Both Jim and I are passionate about our interests both as individuals and as a couple.  We enjoy working together and give each other space to develop our own interests.  We both make continuing to learn a priority.  We have grown into a very compatible lifestyle which affords each of us what we need to be happy and productive as a couple. We support each other and have each other's back.  We try very hard not to be just mediocre.  Relationships require nurturing and work.  We both like to work and to be nurturing and for that I am very grateful.  We have a "we" mentality not a "me" mentality.    We have fun together, especially since we are retired and have more discretionary time.  These passions we have about how we do life together have evolved over decades.  That is why it just keeps getting better.

Our Future:  We have lots of plans.  It is better to run out of life before you run out of plans...not the other way around.  We get this and plan for the things we want to accomplish and do in our remaining years. I am grateful for the security and excitement that lends to our future life together.

Our Faith:  We know that the Lord is ultimately in charge.  We have hopes and dreams that may or may not come to fruition.  Each and every day is a gift.  The important things is we have them, we built them together and we know we can rely on God for whatever we need for whatever the future does actually bring.  It is hard to be unhappy when you are a grateful person.  Becoming more grateful is a process that begins with the recognition of our blessings.

This is the challenge we took on this morning, writing about 10 things we are grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day.  He just gave me his list and I am curious to see how many are a match.  I hope your day has been wonderful and filled with gratitude and love for Our Father who gave it all to us.


I'm grateful for our path! 
 It is looking very promising and beautiful from here.

***************************************************************
Now here is the interesting part.  Jim said essentially the same thing in a fraction of the words.  Sheesh, it really is true that women chatter on more than men by more than a few percentage point in any given day.  What's interesting though is that if we were conversing he would be the one expounding.   Guest poster, James:

"Ten Blessings I’m Grateful For
  
My Wife whom I love and who loves and understands me.

My Heavenly Father who loves and understands me 
and Jesus Christ who is my example and 
who made the Atonement possible.

Our children and their families who bring us joy
 and hope for a bright future.

Friends that know us and that share 
the same world view as we do.

Our home that is beautiful and comfortable and safe.

Our Country, America, that gives us opportunity to
 pursue our dreams and protects our freedoms 
and protects us from tyranny and evil-doers.

A desire to serve.

 Good health for our family.

My career as an educator which gave me 
meaningful work and my family a livable retirement.

A bright future with my wife."

This was a fun exercise.  
Try it will someone important in your life.


Pushing forward....44.5 years ago!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Orange Almond Molded Jello Salad

My Sister-in-law, Emily, has been making this salad for family gatherings for as long as I can remember.  It is delicious and not your typical jello concoction.  Today we made it ourselves for the first time for Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow.  Lucky us, that is all we were asked to bring??  Seems criminal, doesn't it while Jim's cousin, Debbie, will be slaving over a hot stove all day. Blessed her heart!  Well, we'll sure give her a hand once we arrive.

Emily said she usually doubles or triples this for large gatherings so we decided to do a triple batch.
 
 ORANGE ALMOND SALAD
Serves 4-6

6-oz can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2/3 cup water
3-oz pkg. orange flavor jello
3/4 cup lemon-lime carbonated beverage
11-oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup slivered almonds

In large saucepan, heat orange juice and water to 
boiling; stir in jello until dissolved. Slowly add 
lemon-lime beverage; chill until thickened.  Fold
in mandarin oranges and almonds.  Pour into 4-cup mold 
Chill until firm.

The above picture is not mine, got it from Google images.  We actually just made it in a festive bowl.  But I like the way the mold looks and the garnish is lovely too.  The orange juice makes this salad opaque and the sprite makes it a little tangy.  The slivered almonds and mandarins are just great combination as well.  It is a winner and so easy!  

What I like is how pretty it will look with that turkey and all the trimmings.  Eye appeal on the plate is important, especially if you like to decorate the plate as much as preparing it(Or more!) It just comes with the territory if you are an interior decorator.  Smiling! 

 Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S.  I am thankful for your friendship! ♥

A Simple Woman's Daybook~November 15, 2012

Just for today~Thursday, November 15, 2012
 
Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember
the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  
That is what this daybook is all about.
Focusing on the little things that become my life.
One week at a time.


 

Outside my window...It is the blue hour and almost totally dark now.  I am going to a Gratitude Dinner at Church tonight for the ladies.  But since we just went on Daylight Savings Time it is only 5:15 pm and it feels like 8:30.  So I have about an hour or so before I need to walk out the door.  It has been a lovely fall day and I think we are now in for about three days of rain.  I like the thoughts of the rain at the beginning of winter as it waters the thirsty earth.  I also like the coziness of being home when I can during this season.

I am thankful for...the election being over.  This one was very hard on me.  I haven't recovered and probably won't for awhile.  I worry too much about the world and how it will affect all of us, especially our grandkids' generation.  I have to just let go of that.  Do my best to do what is right and let God take care of the rest.  I read this week that worrying is like praying for what you don't want!  I am going to stop doing that.  Once and for all!  Faith Conquers Fear and that has to be my daily mantra from now on. 

From the learning room...For a person of my age and experience I am just far too sensitive.  I need to grow a tougher skin.  I could have never been a lawyer!  I hate arguing and fighting and that is what the election felt like for months on end.  I just want peace from all of it.  I was telling one of my friends it is time for me to go back into my "head buried in the sand" stance where I am much happier in my own little world of good family and friends.

I am reading...Scriptures, Church Ensign, and The Emigrants (a four volume saga about Sweden.)  And a billion things on the Internet as always.

From the kitchen... Time to do some cooking ahead again.  It surely is the never-ending story, isn't it?  We are invited to dinner for Thanksgiving so that will be wonderful.  My food assignment...a festive Jello salad concoction of my choice.  I can probably do that!  Yahoo!

I am missing...my sweet little mom today.  She passed from this life nine years ago today.  Not a day goes by without thoughts of her and how empty that part of me now feels.  There is just no one like your mom.  Funny how now I wish I had spent even more time with her...hindsight is always 20/20.  I wish I had asked her a thousand more questions about her life. Added in on the 21st.  My Uncle Joe, my mom's twin brother died this week.  Mom on the 15th of November nine years ago and her brother on the 16th of November this year.  He lived 9 years and 8 hours longer than she did.  He was the last of my aunts and uncles to to pass away.  He was 93.  The end of an era.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...Life passes rather quickly.  The things that matter most often get put on the back burner for the things that matter least.  I am so comforted in our belief that families are forever. Heaven would not be heaven if that were not so.   Our Father in Heaven has created the perfect plan.  I am in awe.

I am hearing...absolutely nothing.  I forgot to turn on my playlist.  Hum, I guess I will now.  Peaceful, Kenny Rankin.  Love that man.  His music just lights up my life.  Since he is in heaven...maybe he can go sing a sweet melody to my mom today.

Something you may not know about me...Wow this is hard, I think you know everything about me.  I wanted us to have five children but it just didn't happen.  I am fine with it now as our quiver is full with our great new children and grandkids.  I thought the ideal would be three girls and two boys...funny how things work out.  Now we have three adult girls and three adults boys.  And five each of the little ones.  Sometimes God answers our prayer in ways we do not expect but He gets the job done!

One of my guilty pleasures...Gourmet hot chocolate with various flavors during the winter.  My hubby makes it for me every morning and brings it to my desk.  Yes, I am spoiled, he is a sweetheart.  But don't worry it is not completely one-sided, I like to spoil him too.

Pet Peeves...gift cards that do not specify the amount on the card.  It's annoying when you are trying to decide what to buy with them and you have to check in at the cash register first.  And it is even worse when you have used part of it and then don't know how much is left three months later when you are still carting it around in your wallet.

I am going...to catch up and finish this daybook which is turning into a week book.  It is now Wednesday the 21st.  Sheesh!  Lots going on and many interruptions this week.

 I am quoting...Henry B. Eyring from the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, my friends!



“Ask yourself, 'How did God bless me today?' If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings. And sometimes, you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God’s hand in your life.” –Henry B. Eyring

If I could change one thing it would be...that our dear friend, Stephen's, little grandson did not have a bad accident with a slamming door this week.  He is just around two and we are praying diligently for his full recovery.  They had to reattach part of one of his tiny fingers.  Now it is a waiting game for little Hayden and his parents and grandparents and that is hard. Nothing hurts more than one of your children or grandchildren hurting and when it is a baby it is even worse.  God Bless you little Hayden during this critical week.  And faith and peace to your family.  (Stephen is Jim's distant cousin and the one who has been tirelessly mentoring me in genealogy.) 

An enjoyable movie we have watched lately...
Lincoln.  We saw it yesterday and it was very well done.  Jim and I took eight hours of classes about Lincoln a few summers ago.  We love history and this movie did not disappoint.  They spent most of the movie  detailing the passage of 13th amendment to abolish slavery.  It was fascinating.

I am curious about... how much more corrupt our government and politicians can get? I am sure it will never cease to amaze most of us with values and expectations.  I just "love" that the DA in Central New York (just elected to a second term) confessed that he was a porn star in the 1970s.  Gotta love it dontcha?  He was quick to add after his post-election confession that he had no intentions of resigning.  Holy cow, people.  If you have a tawdry past, skip politics will ya?  Oval Office, Generals' Office and now DA's office~three ring circus.  It is too much to take in in a month.

 Plans for the rest of the week... my main focus this week is to finish my Christmas decorating.  I know it is early but we are having guests next week and Jim's birthday and then it will be December.  I just decided to get it done early since we are going to Jim's cousin's for Thanksgiving tomorrow so nothing is going on here...thank heavens!  The decorating usually takes me about 5 days and today is day three.  The first two days were not full days as I had commitments both days that took me out of the house.  So I am hoping everything will be done and cleaned up but Saturday evening.  That will free me up for Jim's birthday and planning menus and activities for our guests at the end of next week.

One of my favorite things...looking through all my boxes of Christmas things and remembering the gifts recieved and the fun shopping trips with family and friends to collect it all, and thinking about all the memories attached to the festive decorations over the years.  My favorite part of the preparing for the holidays is getting the house just so.  I love creating an environment that others can enjoy and that becomes a part of their memories shared with us in our home.  I have noticed though I am losing my touch.  Not enough practice decorating these days.  How many ways can you change it up when you have lived in the same house for 35 years?  It is a test for sure.  I'll add some photos if I ever get it  right.

A photo I am sharing this week...



It is so nice to see this photo of Robert and Laura reunited.  It does a mother's heart good to know that the deployment we had dreaded for so many years is over and ended well.  Thank you all for you prayers for Robert's safe return.  We are all thrilled and thankful, especially Laura and  the boys!   It is so good to see her full smile again. 

 This truly makes it a wonderful Thanksgiving
 for all of us.  
You have a great one too!

❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon

Friday, November 9, 2012

When Losing Can Be Winning

Google images

I have done several posts about our support of Mitt Romney for President of the Unites States of America. I, along with nearly half of the nation, am still reeling from what happened on November 6th.  The post that I could have written that night was decidedly a lot different  than the one I will write today.  I am a person who needs time to process the events of a day like that. I feel a need to put some closure on it.

This campaign was very intense, divisive and emotional for most of America it seems.  It divided households, friendships, neighborhoods and special interest groups into their chosen camps from the beginning.  In many ways I feel the really big loser of this election was the media.  It is culpable for the lies that were perpetuated, the merciless scrutiny of both candidates' every move and word and the angst that was generated for good people on both sides of the issues.  The stereotyping that was glamorized and capitalized upon was downright sinful.

The continuation of the slandering and defaming of Mitt Romney, post-election, is pitiful and a true testament to the fact that cynicism and sarcasm and down right meanness are alive and well in America.  Perhaps again we can point to the nebulous "they" of the media that have fostered the cheap shots and putdowns in prime time sitcoms for decades as a form of entertainment.  These nasty quips are now so common place in our society that the hearts of once decent people have grown cold.  We as a nation are desensitized to hateful behavior to our own detriment.  We need only to look around us to see what a hostile environment we are now trying to abide...just to survive.  The anger for so many is right on the surface and acted out every day of the week.  It is common and sadly ordinary now to have to always be on your guard protecting your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

I am saddest about all of that. We as a people are in trouble.  We have lost our civility and are so caught up in our own selfish wants and needs. We have lost our abilities to see what is best for the whole country...not just ourselves.  We have lost our senses in thinking that the mess our country is in now in terms of the economy, unemployment and astronomical debt, the foreign policies, etc. can be righted without every American making a sacrifice. The melting pot of America has grown cold and has become a pot of coagulated clumps of gooey special interests.  The "me first" attitude is killing what has always made America strong and different.

We have heard of late that the climate of this country is changing.  I could not agree more.  The question is, is this change a good thing?  Are we shooting ourselves in the foot with all our disrespect and bickering and warring with everyone that does not see things exactly as we do? Are we actually taking away our own liberties in this process.  We may not agree with you but we do defend your right to your own opinions and will never be rude and in your face about it either.  It is not our job to change your mind nor yours ours.  That would infringe on everybody's liberties wouldn't it?  These are indeed points to ponder, at any rate.



I would not be honest if I didn't say I am very sad that Mitt Romney did not prevail in this election.  Quite simply, I think he would have done a better job of pulling this country up by its boot straps.  I know he is a man of integrity and a man of God.   I also know it is unpopular to believe in God these days in some quarters, but we still do and always will.  We have lived too long and seen too many evidences of His existence and love for all of us to ever abandon our faith.  Or to deny that this country was founded on principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Those principles include love for our fellow man and our agency or right to choose for ourselves the path we will take.  It includes faith in the realization that God hears and answers our prayers in His own time and way, as He knows far better than we what lies ahead and how history will play out.  I know that many millions of people prayed for Mitt to win this election.  However, that was not to be.  We give our will over to His, it is that simple.  What else do we truly have to give Him who gives us all we have and hold dear? 

 In spite of Mitt's losing the election the things he did accomplish were very winning and perhaps that was the bigger part of what was needed from him in our country at this time.

He was willing to work tirelessly and without salary for the duration of his term as President had he been elected.   Not for his own aggrandizement but for the benefit of the people of this country. He was not seeking power for power's sake but to lead and serve and that was apparent.

He showed the world the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a strong and wonderful Christ centered church founded on righteous principles and truth.  The work is going forward at an increased pace because of his good example.

He espoused creating a wonderful country and world by beginning with himself and working outward.  He was not willing to compromise his views and values on things to be popular, good leaders don't do that.  He knows that the fundamental elements of success are living God's laws and creating a strong and loving family first.  Not government programs to put a bandaid on social issues where families have failed in their attempts to take care of first things first. 

He supports the value of hard work and is the epitome of compassionate charity where it is truly needed.  He does not support entitlement for those that are capable of working to get their rewards but are more content to be handed what they want carte blanche. He knows that enabling is not good for the spirit of an individual nor for the country.

This is just a very partial list of his philosophies and attributes, but enough to make me know that he is a winner!   It is enough for me to see that losing can be winning in those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.  It has always been so and ever shall be.  God bless you, Mitt and Ann and your delightful family for being willing to give your all.  I cannot help but think that the Lord has something greater in store for you where your leadership can be received and appreciated in a far less hostile environment.  Thank you for your graciousness and humility and your goodness.  It is enough and then some.  You are truly a winner in the things that matter most.

What a beautiful and exemplary family!
Thank you for always taking the high road!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

2 Dozen Joys Of Autumn


  1. The color: PUMPKIN
  2. Excited grandchildren that love picking out their own pumpkins.
  3. Carmelized Apple Cider From Starbuck's.
  4. Local Fall-Fest activities
  5. Dried, salted pumpkin seeds
  6. Nesting
  7. Bringing out the cozy blankets and throws
  8. Watching movies near the fireplace with Jim
  9. The anticipation of the entire Holiday Season
  10. Crockpot cooking
  11. Candles and candy corn
  12. The crackle of leaves beneath my feet
  13. The smell of fireplaces burning in cozy homes
  14. Goards and other seasonal decorative items
  15. Carving Jack-O-Lanterns with the kids
  16. Not having to dream up costumes anymore!
  17. Pumpkin bread
  18. Corn stalks and hay bales
  19. Scarecrows
  20. Red, gold and yellow leaves on and off the trees
21.  I also love all the fun photos of the kids playing and having fun this time of the year. Isn't it sad that we don't do this kind of stuff when we grow up? Maybe we all should in a few weeks when the leaves are deep on the ground and it is cool and crispy out. Thanks for the idea, Zachary!



22.  This Beautiful Autumn Wreath that my good friend, Sydne, made for me. I love this wreath! I love all the feelings of the approaching holidays it stirs up within. It is my favorite time of the year.

23.  Pinterest for the most beautiful array of fall photos you have ever seen. Take a peek  
       http://pinterest.com/onedesigner/autumn/ 

24.  The crisp cool air, the need for a sweater, hoodie, or jacket.  It is invigorating.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Voting and Smiling~What is an American?



From Jen~ to her iPhone ~to Facebook ~to me ~to you
~as if by Magic...in July 2009


Mom: "Wow! Chloe, you are so fancy!

Chloe: "I'm not fancy. I'm an American..
..."

Mom: Hmmm..."What is an American?"

Chloe: "It's when you have a dress and a necklace
 and curly hair wig and a build-a-bear
 and you are smiling."

From the mouths of babes..."



         If you are smiling~Go Vote!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

The Hunt For Red November Is On...

Google Images

Seeing Red, Baby!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Nervous Laughter~This is F U N N Y!


53 Top Reasons To Vote For Mitt!


October 31, 2012
 


"Republican candidate and former governor Mitt Romney is a leader of tremendous character, whose ability to turn around enterprises, talent for overcoming partisanship, and commitment to his country make him worthy of becoming the next president of the United States. The following are characteristics displayed by Mitt Romney, based on his record.

#1. Mitt Romney graduated from Harvard University with a degree from the prestigious J.D.-M.B.A. program, which is the graduate education of the last two presidents combined.

#2. Mitt Romney governed a state whose schools ranked first nationally in education.

#3. In 1984, Romney founded and led one of the world’s most successful venture capital and investment firms: Bain Capital.

#4. Bain Capital helped turn around numerous struggling businesses that went on to become prosperous and successful, such as: Burger King, Sealy, Sports Authority, Staples, Brookstone, Burlington Coat Factory, Clear Channel, Domino’s Pizza, Houghton Mifflin, Dunkin’ Donuts, The Weather Channel, Guitar Center, and the Hospital Corporation of America.

#5. In 2002, Romney left the private sector to oversee the Olympics preparations at Salt Lake City. He erased a $379 million operating deficit, organized 23,000 volunteers, and oversaw security in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.



#6.  As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney turned a $ 3 billion deficit into a $700 Million budget surplus in less than 2 years.

7.   Governor Romney was granted emergency gubernatorial powers and slashed unsustainable spending levels by hundreds of millions of dollars.

#8. As governor, he helped reduce Massachusetts’ unemployment rate from 6% to 4.7%

#9. Romney was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association for the the 2006 election cycle, going on to raise a then-record $27 million for candidates in state house contests across the nation.

#10.  In 2006, Governor Romney proposed and signed into law market-based healthcare reform approved by 99% of the Massachusetts legislature, which was 85% Democrat and could override any veto.

#11. Romney objected to the employer mandate, mandated benefits, minimum coverage guidelines, and medicaid expansion in the final healthcare bill. His vetoes were overridden. He also preferred a tax break for those who could prove coverage, rather than a penalty for the individual mandate.

#12. As Romney predicted, the healthcare law added 1.2% to Massachusetts’ budget, despite the additional costly provisions that he objected to as governor. Another analysis put the cost as low as .3% a year or $100 million.

#13. So-called Romneycare remains popular with 67-84% of Massachusetts residents, who are happy with the plan and would not go back to the old system if given the chance.

#14. Romney cut taxes 19 times, and they were only raised in Massachusetts when his governor’s veto was overridden. The governor used fees to help close the state’s $3 billion budget shortfall.

#15. Mitt Romney has pledged to repeal Obamacare as quickly as possible, granting waivers from the program to the states in the meantime (just as President Obama gave waivers to special interests and the Democrat Party exempted politicians from the program).

#16. A devout Mormon, a branch of Christianity, Romney spent two years as a missionary in Paris, France, forgoing entertainment, dating, and contact with family and friends to serve God.
#17. Mitt Romney has never smoked cigarettes, used drugs, or drank alcohol, which shows remarkable dedication.

#18. Mitt Romney has given nearly 13.5% of his income to charity over the last twenty years, $4 million in 2011 alone. Much of his donations was given to his church.

#19. The former governor’s taxes never fell below 13.66%, and amount to 38.5% of his income over twenty years.

#20. Mitt Romney accepted no pay as an intern in his father’s Governor’s office, no pay as bishop and stake president for his church, no pay as president of the Olympics, and only a ceremonial salary of $1 as Governor of Massachusetts — 28 years of virtually unpaid service.

#21. Mitt Romney refused to take his father’s trust fund money, he financed his way through college, and he donated his father’s inheritance to charity.

#22. Ann and Mitt Romney lived in a modest basement apartment for years.

#23. While at Bain Capital, Romney shut down the company so that workers could help find a partner’s missing daughter. Mitt Romney helped organize the search, which sent out hundreds of thousands of fliers. The teenage girl was found in New York, after police traced a call in New Jersey to a teenage boy who was interested in the reward.

#24. In July 2003, Mitt Romney used his Jet Ski to rescue a New Jersey family and their Scottish terrier McKenzie out of Lake Winnipesaukee while their boat sank.

#25. After a California wildfire, Mitt Romney took time out away from his campaign to help a family dig out a tree stump. The act went unpublicized, because Romney does not like to advertise his community service and random acts of kindness.

#26. In 1979, Mitt Romney helped a dying fourteen-year old boy named David write his will and delivered the eulogy at his funeral.

#27. At a campaign stop in South Carolina, Mitt emptied his wallet for a woman having trouble paying her light bill named Ruth Williams. The woman was in difficult circumstances due to her desperately ill son.

#28. Although Mitt Romney had the opportunity to attend Stanford, he took a risk and bypassed it to attend Brigham Young University, where his future wife was enrolled. As recounted, Mitt Romney was worried about Ann Davie being wooed by other suitors after he received a “Dear John” letter.

#29. As governor, Romney hired more women to his economic team than any other in the country.

#30. Although Mitt Romney is personally against abortion, he has respected a woman’s ‘right to choose’ and vowed not to make abortion legislation a part of his presidential agenda.

#31. While Romney is a proponent of “traditional marriage,” and is not in favor of civil unions, he has not stood in the way of legal extensions of rights to “domestic partnerships.” As the governor put it, “If the question is: “Do you support gay marriage or civil unions?” I’d say neither; if they said you have to have one or the other, that Massachusetts is going to have one or the other, then I’d rather have civil unions than gay marriage.” Romney has been endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans.

#32. While Romney was governor, he vetoed a bill for embryonic stem cell research.

#33. Romney also said he would cut federal funding for PBS, given the U.S. is borrowing money from China to finance the government. Such a bold statement about cutting a popular federal program shows courage and seriousness about the issue. (Sesame Street and other programs would not likely go out of business, regardless.)

#34. Mitt Romney also told the NAACP that he pledged to repeal Obamacare, drawing boos. This again demonstrates his willingness to tell people what they do not want to hear.

#35. The governor said he would cut funding for the pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood.

#36. Romney stated in unequivocal terms that the Federal Reserve should be audited. As he responded to a questioner at a campaign stop, “The Federal Reserve should be accountable. We should see what they’re doing.”

#37. The Republican candidate has pledged to work to repeal the burdensome 2300-page Dodd-Frank regulations.

#38. Although Mitt Romney has admitted that man is responsible for “some warming” in the climate, he opposes cap-and-trade and fought the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as governor of Massachusetts.

#39. The GOP candidate has proposed more domestic energy development, approval of the Keystone pipeline, and a return to market-oriented “green energy” innovation.

#40. Romney signed into law at least one pro-second amendment or pro-sportsmen bill while governor every year, and blocked or improved anti-gun legislation coming out of the Democrat-dominated legislature. NRA board of directors member Grover Norquist in 2007 called Romney’s position on guns “flawless.”

#41. Regarding foreign policy matters, Mitt Romney has pledged to be a staunch defender of Israel.

#42. He has called Iran’s attainment of nuclear weapons “unacceptable” and would do everything in his power to prevent it.

#43. Mitt Romney called Russia the U.S.’ “number one geopolitical foe.” President Obama has made numerous concessions to Russia in what he called a “reset” of relations and even whispered to Dmitry Medvedev that he would have more “flexibility” after his “last election” in a hot microphone exchange.

#44. In regards to China, Romney has stated he intends to go after China for currency manipulation, and he would strengthen our naval assets in the Pacific.

#45. Although Romney was attacked by mainstream media for going after Obama on his mishandling of the terrorist attack at Benghazi, further analysis confirms that the administration did not send help to the murdered diplomats and security forces after three requests.

#46. Mitt Romney strongly opposes illegal immigration. He is not for forcibly removing but wants to seek ways to encourage legal immigration and discourage illegal immigration.

#47. He selected as his running mate Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan, who was re-elected six times in a Democrat-heavy district, and never failed to receive 63% of the vote.

#48. Paul Ryan’s proposed budget plan would “shrink the size of government to about 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, 19 percent of GDP in 2040 and 16 percent of GDP in 2050.”
 The plan is relatively non-aggressive, as conservative critics contend, but may be politically viable.

#49. As one policy foundation summarized: “The Ryan budget would reform income taxes for individuals and corporations by lowering rates and allowing fewer exemptions, deductions and other special provisions.”

#50. As the analysis continued, “relative to the CBO baseline, these proposals would cut taxes by $4.4 trillion over 10 years and would more than offset all of the budget’s $4.1 trillion in proposed spending cuts.” Other ‘non-static’ budget analyses have confirmed this $4 trillion in spending reductions.

#51. According to the CBO’s long-term projections, federal debt would decline to 62 percent of GDP in 2022 and to 10 percent of GDP in 2050 under the Ryan plan.

#52. As a potential president, Mitt Romney would likely be charged with nominating two Supreme Court justices, who would have lifetime appointments, and dozens of federal judges. The Justices he cites as his favorites are: Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.

#53. While governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney worked with an 85% Democrat legislature to balance the budget four times. If his election bid is successful enough on November 6th, he would likely have the opportunity to work with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and possibly a GOP majority Senate to effect the change of direction America so desperately needs."

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This article was really needed because it helps to remind of us of our reasons for making this good and informed choice.  With all the hoopla and distractions in the news we as Americans forget to look at the big picture.  Sandy and 9/11/12 and the Debates have been on everyone's minds as the nation has been caught up in the moment and putting out fires.

Our focus has been literally jammed with a lot of very big news and important stuff from the press.  In the frenzy of all of it we need to take a step back and look at the big picture.  That should reground us and help us refocus on our wise decision making.  So thank you to Kyle Becker from the Independent Review Journal.  Thank you for reminding us why Mitt Romney is our man for a brighter future.

Recovery is needed and the truth is everyone will have to make sacrifices to see things turn around.  We need to step back from our personal interest groups and look at what is best for everybody in America.  We are all "entitled" to that and to attain it we are all going to have to work together.  No more free rides...everyone needs to pitch in.  We need the Leadership of an honest, forthright and good man to guide us with a proven track record.  We have him on the ticket.  It is Mitt Romney on November 6, 2012.  No more helpless watching as the present administration continues on the downward spiral with their hopeless trying.  Just say "NO!" to Obama in the voting booth.  Get out there and make a big difference!