The Outspoken Mom Blog

Welfare, Government, Education, and Freedom!

Good Rainy and Cold Morning to you all!

Ok people, I need to warn you all right now, I am highly charged up about some things right now and I am also letting you all know, they are ALL political so, you are fairly warned :-)

So, this morning I am listening to my favorite morning show on the radio and I hear them talking about our state's budget and how a whopping 71% of it goes to Public Education AND Welfare.

Ok, here comes my anger, thoughts and just random things about this.

So, we aren't talking about cities or counties here, we are talking about the STATE!  So, our state budget is mostly spent on Education and Welfare.  Ok, so that is telling me that only 29% of our budget goes to roads, public parks, lakes, housing, business, and on and on and on.

We are so focused on Public Education and Welfare in this state it is maddening!  Especially since both of those systems (I believe) are failing miserably!

So, you are about to hear MY opinion on a lot of things here....

First of all, Public Education is crap!  You heard me, crap!  If our state is paying for so much of it why are there such discrepancies in different counties and cities then?  Why is there open enrollment if the state is paying for so many of the programs for public schools, why are we paying such high city taxes for them and why are we having constant fundraisers and still I feel many of the buildings are horribly inadequate for children to learn from, many schools don't have the basic needs and I have to contribute most of the school supplies for my children every year?  Why don't all the schools have computers, new books, great libraries, clean/safe places to learn and why the H E double hockey sticks do we have open enrollment?

We complain all the time about how little is spent on Public Education but, after hearing about our State's budget, I think we all should stop complaining and start figuring out what is going on here?!  Stop paying these superintendents the obnoxious wages they are making, stop paying for busing students from one end of town to another just so they can go to a different school than their local one.  Stop allowing students to come into a community for school that they don't live in,  they don't shop in, and they don't spend any time in!

I think open enrollment is ruining our schools and our communities.  I understand that people want everything to be 'fair' but, life isn't fair people!  With equality you lose freedom and with freedom you lose equality!  Our country was based on FREEDOM! 

We have the freedom to make our lives however we choose.  We CHOOSE the life we live.  We CHOOSE the job we have.  We CHOOSE the places we live.  We CHOOSE how we raise our children.  Yes, some people have more choices than others but, we all have choices.

I am sick of people thinking the 'rich/white man' is keeping them down....by the way...my mother thinks this too.  I was raised by a woman who hated powerful men because she thought they were keeping her 'down'.  Not so, it is all what you make of your own life.  No one can keep you down unless you let them keep you down.

If you don't like where you live because the schools suck, move!  Or if you don't like your public schools where you live, send them to private.  I am not just talking about rich and poor people, I am talking about everyone.

My husband and I made a continuous effort and decision to move to Richfield 7 1/2 years ago.  We chose Richfield because of the quiet community and decent schools.  We also decided the schools didn't fit into our way of life or what we thought was best for our son so, we sent him to private school for 2 years.  Now, this year, we transferred him into our local school and our daughter goes to another local school here too.  In OUR community and neighborhood.  We like the schools, we think they offer a fair education to everyone and they have done a very good job of teaching children at all levels.  However, once you get to the Middle school and High school...things change.   Many of the neighborhood children leave.  Why?  Because they aren't safe for our children anymore because of the high percentage of bused in students from poorer/harsher neighborhoods.  These kids come in and don't have a sense of community here, their families don't live here, their friends don't live here and they aren't involved with our community unless they play a sport for our schools. 

They are what I call, 'transient' students.  They have no stake in our community so, they don't care about our community or the people in it.  So, when you don't care about things, you don't take care of them as well, you don't treat them as well and crimes go up and test scores and grades go down.  The gang activity in the high school is obnoxious!  There are certain hallways that certain students know never to go down, there are places in the school that are safe and unsafe.  That is ridiculous to me.  Everything in a school should be safe.

Or you have the problem with our neighboring community.  They are wealthier and have issues with open enrollment too but, this is coming from the even wealthier city lakes areas where these families chose to live in a community with horrible schools and fancy homes and they won't send their children to those public schools because they aren't good enough for their children but, they will let the neighborhood next to them pay for the busing of their children to some other public school and over-crowd the classrooms and take advantage of the great schools and great sports teams without paying any taxes to those schools and those communities.  If they don't like their public schools, change them!  If you all band together as a community and work on your schools together, you CAN change them.  Or send your children to private school....if you live in a house that costs $1 million or more...you can afford private education.

So, I think not only are we obviously spending WAY too much on education and not getting the types of results we should be getting but, I think open education is crippling our state's education system and budget even more.  I think there should be a cap put on how many students can come into a school from another area.  I think it should be a percentage.  Maybe no more than 5 or 10% of students can be from out of their area.  Or better yet, let the communities and the school districts decide how many children they will accept from other areas maybe no less than 5% but, no more than 20% or something like that.

I think it is sad that in our little community only 72% of our communities children attend our public schools.  I think open enrollment and the constant switching of schools (we change schools every 3 years here) are the 2 largest factors in that.

I have SO much more I can say about that but, I could type for days on Public Education...let me at it about teacher unions, tenure, and faculty wages...oh don't get me started on the vacation days, the summers off, etc....

So, time to move on to Welfare.  Minnesota is known as a Welfare State.  It is known all over the country that we have some of the most lax and easy welfare in the nation.  It is horrible.  We pay too much money to people without really helping them out or making themselves help themselves! 

We are quick to give free health-care and welfare to immigrants whether they are legal or not.  We don't care here in Minnesota.  You come to Minnesota from another country did you know that we automatically without question give you all FREE state health-care?!  FREE!  Whether you are here legally or not.  FREE health-care.  How many of you working families have free health-care?  How many of you Minnesotans that have lived here your entire life, pay taxes, spend money in Minnesota, use our resources, parks, lakes, etc...how many of you have FREE health-care?

It is insane.  I understand there reasoning behind it...because they are afraid they won't immunize their children and won't see doctors and such if they don't give free health insurance.  I brought up the point once, why don't we just set up free immunization clinics around town instead or set up places and times they can get free immunizations.  I was told they want to do it that way but, they have heard from the communities that most wouldn't come because they would be afraid it was a ploy from INS to round them up and deport them.  I think sometimes, that might be a VERY good ploy. 

My relatives came over here legally from Ireland, Germany, France, and Sweden.  They fought against harsh stereotypes and had to learn English or they wouldn't succeed in this 'new land'.  They weren't offered an interpreter every where they went or when they went to go get a drivers license offered the test in their language....even though our road signs and such are all in English!!!!  That makes no sense to me by the way.

My relatives from Germany got off the boat and HAD to change their name to something more 'American sounding' so, our family name went from Schmidt to Smith.  We don't gripe, we don't moan about it, we just chalk that up to our family history.  We aren't upset that we are the Smith Family now instead of the Schmidt family.  Who cares?  We certainly don't.  We were grateful for the new chance at a new life in a new country.  A country where we could be free.  A country that didn't rule us.  A country that if we worked hard and followed the rules, we could do and be anything.  We didn't rely on handouts or a government to take care of us.

Even when my husband was out of 'real' work for over 4 years, we didn't get government money, we didn't get food stamps, we didn't get a welfare check.  Oh...by the way...we did try to get at least food stamps but, I was told that my husband needed to quit his part time job before we would qualify.  Yep, they told us that even though we were a family of 5(at the time) and he was only making about $500 a month we were making too much to qualify and it would be much better for us if he didn't work and we let the state take care of us.

Are you friggin kidding me?!!!!  He wanted to work, he didn't want to accept money for nothing.  We were only looking for some temporary help.  I was also told that the time frame we were looking at for help, they required us to be on it a longer period of time or we didn't qualify.  So, let me get this straight...our state is spending over 70% of its budget on Public Education and Welfare and we want people to make a long term commitment to being on welfare and we want people to not work while being on it.  According to the people I talked to, it just makes it 'easier'.  Well, I think it also loans itself out to people just being 'lazier'.  And not relying on themselves.  WE are creating lazy people who aren't willing to take care of themselves and their own families.

Ok...now back up there.....I do completely understand that some people really need help and don't take advantage of the welfare system, I agree it is a good system 'in theory'.  However, it has been over run, under run and everything in between for years and needs a massive overhaul. 

More proof?  Ok, my daughter goes to a class with a couple girls whose mom is single.  One of the girls has Asperger's (like my son...whom we receive NO state money for or extra funding besides a little bit of special ed in school) she told me her girls get free day care...oh yes, they get free day care but, she doesn't work!  Oh, wait, yes, she has a job.  She works at a local store and has for over 3 years.  She works on night a week for 3 or 4 hours and has done that for 3 years.  Sometimes she only works every other week.  She has her children in day care 4 days a week so she can have some time to herself.  She is very excited when they go to all day kindergarten next year.  Also, she receives social security for her daughter of $550 a month for her one daughter that is special needs(just like my son) and she gets food stamps and a welfare check.  Her daughters also get free activities from our city that include swimming lessons, dance lessons and sports.  She also is in section 8 housing. 

She told me(I didn't even ask people...she just blabbed this all to me one night) that she only works one day a week because she just really doesn't want to work.  NO LIE!

Ok, these are the kind of people that are bilking our welfare system and our state and city to death!  These are the types of people that need to be pushed off of welfare and pushed into the working community.  Get them out there working, contributing to society.  What are they teaching their children?  What are WE teaching their children if we allow this to continue to happen?

I think we have a broken system when we see generations of the same family on welfare.  Something is wrong, something is broken and giving them more, Mr. President, is NOT going to help them get off of welfare and become active and productive members of society.

Giving them free education when they don't care about learning anyway is NOT going to help.

Now...onto another issue I have.  So, our President wants to tax 90% of anything people make above $250,000 a year.  Let me say that again, if you make say, $400,000 a year...on top of your normal taxes on the first $250,000 on your $150,000 after that...you will be taxed 90% on it!!!  Are you flipping kidding me?!!!!

Now, we are NO WHERE near making that kind of money however, that is insanity.  If our President thinks that will bring more money into our economy he is a certifiable nutcase.  Sorry Mr. President but, that is how I feel.

You don't think companies will cap all of their people at $250,000 and find other ways to compensate?  That will bring back the long ago car allowances, housing allowances, food allowances, company trips, company picnics, company planes, etc....these people will still make their money, it will just be in different ways.

I predict that if all these changes go through, the government won't get more money, it will lose more money.  More people will just live off the government and be fat and happy.  They will live off the hog and be ok with that.  We will teach an entire generation to be reliant on the government not on themselves. 

People will stop working so hard as they will only get punished for doing well anyway.  We will become a country of lazy workers, lazy people and many things will go by the way-side.  Many will lose ambition.  We will lose so much of what made America great in the first place. 

You let your government take over your banks, your car companies, your decisions...you let them take over your life!  You will slowly find yourself being told what you can't and can eat....you will find yourself being told where you can and cannot spend your money.  You will be told how to work, how to play, and how to think.  You will slowly lose more and more freedom.  Freedom that our ancestors died for...freedom that our military has died for.

We will no longer be the land of the Free.  I don't want to lose my freedom, I don't want to my children to lose their freedom.  Keep an eye on what is happening in your city, your state, your country.  Read the news, watch the news.  If you don't understand something or it doesn't make sense, ask questions!  If you don't agree with something, stand up, fight for yourself and your children!

Stand up people, get your heads out of the sand and pay attention to the world around you.

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

Day 1 of my 12 week Schwab Challenge

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, today was back to school for my people after spring break.  It was nice having them home but, really nice having them gone too.

Plus, they are still at the ages that they love school and want to see all of their friends so, they were ready to go back to school too.

So, it was a week ago tonight that our dog died, I can't help but think that this time last Monday, I still had my dog and had no clue he had cancer and life was good.  So, just one more hurdle for me to jump to get used to not having my big red boy around anymore.

So, this past week has been pretty eventful.  My husband finished his Master Cleanse.  He lost a total of 24 pounds in 10 days and on Saturday, he took the coffee pot that has sat on my counter for 7 1/2 years down and put it in the storage room in the basement!  WOW, ok, one addiction down and gone but, still working on the 2nd one and the big one....smoking.  Hey is still struggling with it as I just found out yesterday, he smoked during his cleanse.  What?!  So, let me get this straight, you spend 10 days only drinking purified water(because tap water has too many toxins in it), organic lemon juice(again because of toxins), organic grade B pure maple syrup, organic cayenne pepper, and only decaf tea and wheat grass shots but, you still smoke!

Hmmm, sure.  So you spend all that time ridding your body of toxins and yet you are smoking something that has by far the most amounts of toxins in it of anything with maybe the exception of Meth.  I don't get it, I never will get it but, it is dumb.  So, apparently the struggle to quit smoking is still there.  Personally, I don't think he tries very hard to quit.

Anyway, on Saturday I got to treat myself to a REAL haircut for the first time in over 4 years!!!!!  Yes, oh yes, I went to a salon instead of Great Clips :-)  Talk about a treat.  It felt so good to get my hair washed, my scalp massaged, my hair cut, and then blown-dry and styled!  Wow was I fancy!  I even, wait for it, bought some hair product!  Oh yes, I haven't owned hair product of any kind in quite some time so, I really splurged.  I had been planning on donating my hair again to Locks of Love but, decided a couple weeks ago that I had done my fair share of giving to them as I have done it 2 or 3 times in the past.  This time, I was going to be a bit selfish and not go from super long hair to super short hair.

I wanted a good hair cut and style and keep some of my length.  So, I cut off 8 inches and it feels great.  Sort of freeing actually and no guilt about not donating it.(Which I thought for sure I would feel.)

Then, Saturday night I went to a fundraiser for a girl friend of mine that is raising money for a marathon(check out her blog listed under other blogs...'Malee's Blog' is the one).  It was a fun night out.  I went WAY out of my bubble but, I survived :-)

Then yesterday our family had the opportunity to help out at church and eat dinner with Families Moving Forward.  It is an outreach program that helps families that are currently homeless by giving them a place to stay for a week or two and fresh home cooked meals nightly.  They also help them look for and find jobs during the day a safe place to sleep at night with their family.

It is something we have done together now for 3 years as a family and we love it.  For, it really is only by the Grace of God that we are not or have not been in that program ourselves.  Plus, we love meeting the families and the children and our children love being there too.

If you live in the Twin Cities, I suggest you see if your church participates in this program or if they are willing to start.  Our church hosts families 4 times a year and it really is a blessing for all involved on both sides.

Today was also Day 1 of my 12 week transformation back to the old yet new Liza.  It felt great to get to the gym, lift my weights and get out of there.  Steve went first this morning at 5am and when he came home I went and worked out.  He is going to get me up 3 mornings a week to go lift weights and then 3 other mornings I will do cardio at home on the Wii or by taking the baby out for a power walk.

I am excited to get myself back into shape and to hopefully finally be back in a normal size for myself.  I would like to drop about 30 pounds but, really the weight isn't as important to me as the shape and size of my body.

Today was upper body and it felt good to lift weights again!  It was hard as I haven't lifted in a while and frankly, I have always been really weak in the upper body.  It sucks how small of weights I have to lift but, I did it!  Wednesday will be lower body and I think that will be a shocker for me too.  Plus, I will probably be pretty sore for soccer but, all good.

So, here is a little bit of my plan that I am doing and it is for sure for 12 weeks but, obviously I am hoping this becomes a lifelong plan.

So, MWF I lift weights and it rotates between upper body and lower body so they get equal time.  TTHSa I do cardio for 20 minutes.  Yep, you heard me, only 20 minutes.  However, it is not just a 20 minute walk or run.  You have to hit different intensity levels during that 20 minutes which is good for me because I tend to focus too much on the over all time and not the run or the walk.

Also, key thing to getting the most of the workouts is doing it right away in the morning or as soon as you can in the day.  Plus, drinking lots of water and making sure you are making good food choices.

I am not limited on my foods either as 1 day a week is a 'free day'.  And it truly is a free day from exercise and watching your food.  You can eat, drink whatever you want on that day and as much as you want so you aren't truly depriving yourself of the foods you love or crave.

If you like pizza, just save it for your free day.  If you LOVE McDonald's Big Mac's wait until your free day.  So, you are watching what you eat and drink 6 out of 7 days but, that 7th day is your free day to do what you please.

It is great way to keep some balance in your life and to get yourself in shape and lose weight without boring yourself silly, getting burned out from excessive, unrealistic workouts or starving yourself.

The program I am following truly is something you could do for the rest of your life and it would be easy and satisfying.  You don't even need a club membership to do it.

So, day 1:  Upper Body weights done.  I have had my first of 6meals so far.  I ate a bowl of corn chex cereal with fresh cut strawberries and soy milk.  My next meal (which it is almost time for) will be Blueberry Soy yogurt.(Remember, we can't eat wheat or dairy in our house.)  For lunch I am sort of cheating a bit as I am not supposed to eat white rice(no good stuff in it and WAY more carbs, sugars and calories) but, I really like those Lean Cuisine rice bowls and it helps me with my portion control to have my lunch be a packaged up meal like that.  Otherwise, my portion control tends to be WAY out of line and I can talk myself into eating triple the portion I should be. 

Then, my 4th meal of the day will either something like a V-8(I love those!...low sodium though!!!) or a PB&J sandwich(brown rice bread and natural peanut butter and Polaner's fruit spread..no added sugar) and my 5th meal will be Broiled Salmon and veggies(no butter) and some fruit. 

The 6th and final meal of the day I haven't figured out yet but, it will be a light snack between dinner and bedtime.

I am still eating a good amount of calories and fat a day so my body and my brain are not starving.  Also, it is very important that you eat only lean meats and keep the portion sizes no bigger than your fist.  Plus, eat at least 3-4 servings of veggies a day.  Well, I don't struggle with that as I am a veggie lover!  You need to have protein in at least 2 of your meals and make sure you are eating every 2-3 hours so you don't feel like you are ever starving.

Keeping yourself from getting to that "I am starving" mode is key in changing your lifestyle or dieting.  If you think you are starving, you won't succeed.

I am very excited to see where this new plan takes me.  I know it will be great for me to keep track of my daily exercise and to keep a food journal.  It will be hard but, I can do it.

I need to do it, I have 4 children that rely on me and I need to be a good and healthy example for them.

So, keep praying for me and if any of you are interested in joining me on this path to a new life, let me know and I will give you the information on my 12 week plan.

Blessings to you all!

-Liza

Twitter and Schwab Challenge update

Good Morning Everyone!

I am in a much better mood today, the sun is actually shining again.  Just a few clouds in the sky but, other than that, blue, blue, blue.  I love it.

I needed the sun to shine on me again after this week and its mostly downs. 

Yesterday was my first day I made it through without crying so, I think I might be on the mend.  I even looked at a few dogs that are up for adoption on www.RAGOM.orgbut, so far, not one of them even comes close to Griffey so, I will keep looking.

I have toyed with the idea of getting a puppy but, ugh, I don't think I want to do that.  I have a hard enough time keeping the house picked up and clean I couldn't imagine picking up pee and poop from a puppy so, I think we will stick with an adult dog that is already trained.

So, I have been trying something new that so far, is a bit better time wise for me as Facebook is becoming very hard to follow with all of its changes and such.  Have any of you tried Twitter yet?  www.twitter.com

It is pretty much just the updates part of facebook.  So, you get to follow people and post updates and that is it.  I really like the idea and it is much faster than facebook because on your phone you can just text the message and done.

You can get updates sent to your phone or email if you want and when you go to your home page you get to see everyone's posts right there.  No ads, no people you don't care about popping up, and it is much easier to block and unblock people.

Plus, I get quick 1 or 2 sentence updates of pretty much anything I want.  I would suggest everyone check it out.

Of course I will continue with Facebook as it is a good way to keep up with people long term I think but, for quick daily updates, Twitter is definitely the way to go.

So, today is the last day of my children's spring break..well we still have the weekend but, last 'school' day off.  I am so glad they will be going back.  It has been a tough week having them here and frankly, I think they are so bored with being at home so, we will all be glad to be back to normal schedules.

I love my children and I love being around them it was just a really hard week.  I am very excited for summer though!  It will be so fun to hang out at the pool with the children and to go on bike rides and such.

Oh, it has been a long, long winter and I just need warmer weather and to be outside again! 

Hey.....just thought, I haven't given you an update on the 'Schwab Challenge'.  Ok, here goes, my husband is already WAY ahead of me as he lost 24 pounds on his cleanse.  Since I am still nursing, I can't do the cleanse so, I am having to do it the hard way.

I am starting my daily workouts on Sunday, I am very excited as Steve is going to help me by 3 mornings a week letting me go to the gym to lift weights before he heads off to work.  Then, the other 3 mornings I will do aerobic something or other and then I will take one day off completely.

I am also going to start keeping a daily food journal.  I am very excited about this because I think it will help me in knowing exactly how much food is really going in to my body and I will be more aware of things.

My goal is still by my birthday, which is in July, to be down to a much more acceptable size and weight for myself.  I will continue to give you all little updates here and there. 

So far not too much to report, just a pound or two and no changes in my clothes but, I am on that long, long road to "Old Liza Recovery" :-)

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

PS:  Hi to all of you coming to visit me from my friend Lee's blog.  I also encourage my people to read her blog...it is listed under other blogs as 'fitnessmama'. 

 I love her and am so glad she is a part of my life.  What she does is amazing work and I very much understand her passion for eating disorders.  As her and I comment on each other's blog, I want you all to know that her and I like 'debates' :-)  We don't get to do it often and we do it out of love and our own passion for our lives, etc....

I just read her update on me and my 'diet' and just wanted to let you all know...this is NOT a diet.  I am not starving myself of food and what many of you may not know...I already have a lot of food issues with myself and my family.

We have to deny ourselves certain foods because of food allergies.  Doing this has been a big part of me gaining the weight I have.  I am so focused on the foods I can't eat that I over stuff myself on the foods I can eat.  Plus, I am now eating certain types of foods I wouldn't have touched with a 10 foot pole before food allergies.

Just a quick info on our current and past food allergies that have brought me to this place in my life.

Me:  Sugar...I have always struggled with sugar and am not supposed to eat ANY sugar except for fruit sugars....I was able to do this until children....I CRAVE sugar like a heroin addict.

Husband:  Dairy...but, he fights it.  He gets so sick from it he vomits.  But, he fights it every once in a while.

Son:  Dairy/Wheat/Casein/Gluten.  Our son not only has these allergies but, also is on the Autism Spectrum so we have tried to cut ALL of these things plus a few other things out of his diet completely, very difficult and expensive but, worth the results.

Daughter:  Dairy.  She had massive sinus infections when she was younger and so bad that her sinus 'crap' would come out her eyes and she would get eye infections. 

2nd Daughter:  Wheat.  As an infant she looked like an Ethiopian baby.  She had a HUGE belly but, super skinny arms and legs.  She looked malnourished.  We thought she had Celiac but, her tests kept coming back negative.  Finally, about 2 years ago we had her allergies tested and she was allergic to Wheat!  Since then, she is much healthier, has a flat stomach and is filling out a bit more in the arms and legs.

3rd Daughter:  From about 2 weeks through her 8th week she vomited every meal she was fed(I only nursed her) and screamed every time she pooped and had blood in her stool.  After seeing a 'gastro' doctor I was told to stop eating wheat and dairy myself which brings me back full circle to me....

Me:  Sugar issues(not ready to give that completely up yet).  No wheat or dairy. 

Food allergies are a hard and difficult thing to live with but, it is do-able.  However, your body needs to adjust and you need to find other ways to fill yourself up with healthy foods to compensate for the foods you are missing.  I love food, always have.  I have a horrid love affair with food and sometimes that love affair is magical and other times, like right now, it is a sick, sick relationship that isn't healthy for me anymore.

Unfortunately, it has taken its toll on my body this time and I need to get 'myself' back.  I am not dieting...I am changing my life....more importantly, I am reclaiming my life.

-L.

History Buff.

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I just returned home from a day in downtown St. Paul with my people.  Had such a great time down at the Children's museum and then we drove around and looked at the State Capital building and some old churches, drove around some old buildings and in and out of some great neighborhoods just south of the Xcel Center.

Wow.  I am a HUGE history buff and I love old architecture and just things that have a story and a past.  We drove through this one neighborhood by Irving Park and wow...seriously you could picture how it was in the late 1800's in the summers.  Women strolling with baby carriages and parasols around the park and children playing in the huge fountain and men with their dark suits and hats smoking their pipes.

It has to be one of the neatest areas I have ever seen.  Only about 60% of it is still standing probably the way it was back then as on 1 1/2 sides of the park there are these really ugly low level townhouses.  But, all around the other sides of the park are these amazing homes that circle the park.  I have never seen something so neat.  A park in the middle and homes surrounding it like in their own little world back there...sort of off the beaten path.  The houses on one side back up to the cliffs overlooking the river.  Truly beautiful!

As I read the park information to the children we discovered the park was given to the 'village' of St. Paul in 1872 and in 1881 it became a park looking much like it does now with the neat fountain, hexagon walking paths and a gazebo.  I guess though, by the mid 1920's the whole neighborhood had fallen into disarray and the fountain was torn down and used for scrap metal and the homes were mostly empty and falling apart.  Amazing how fast that can happen!

Then, in the 1970's (it took 50 years to fix up that area!) the historical society helped return it all to its original splendor.  The park was cleaned up, the hexagon sidewalks were re-installed, the gazebo was put back in its original spot and they build another fountain to look just like the original.  Slowly some of the houses were cleaned up and fixed up. 

Now, it looks very similar to how it looked about 120 years ago.  Just take away the skyscrapers and modern buildings and the cars from the driveways but, it looks really neat.  Granted their great views of the river are gone now too from the really ugly riverfront condos they recently built but, if you just look at the park from one certain side, you can imagine how it looked and felt way back then.  A true jewel in the middle of a big city.

I personally don't like St. Paul however, they have done a much better job than Minneapolis of saving more of their history.  It does sadden me so much to know that unfortunately, much of these beautiful old neighborhoods and beautiful large old homes are now in some of the highest crime areas and have become really run down over the years.

It is sad that people are stripping out the copper pipes and really destroying so many of these great old homes.  Great houses that really have a story to tell if people would just slow down to listen.

My dream, my entire life, has been to live in an old home from the late 1800's/early 1900's.  I would love to.  I still want to more than anything but, alas we go back to what I said earlier.  So many of them are in undesirable areas.  Many of the Minneapolis ones were torn down to build freeways and the ones left standing are either right on the freeway, blocked all around by freeways, or are in the traffic lanes for the airports and are so loud when those planes fly over you have to stop conversations.

Some day, I wish it were sooner than later but, some day, I will live in a great stately home with a wonderful story to tell.  I long for the beautiful ornate woodwork, the great 'secret' rooms, the 2 or 3 sets of stairs, 'servant's quarters', built in china hutches, large windows, maybe even some that are stained glass.  Old rich fireplaces with some in the bedrooms too.   Yes, that is my dream.

I have told Steve that I want an old home with fun nooks and cranny's and built ins everywhere, odd shaped roof lines, odd shaped rooms, weird spaces that you try and figure out what it originally was built to be.  It fascinates me.  I know these old homes have a lot of work that comes with them, I know they need a lot of TLC and frankly not only cost a lot of money to buy but, also a lot of money just to keep up.

Well worth it all I believe to live in a piece of history.  To live in something that who knows how many families were raised there.  To sit out on your front porch on your porch swing just like the numerous other owners and guests have done in the past.

Just the great look and feel from those old homes.  I want a house with character, not necessarily one that was built on an old farm after the war for the GI's to come home to with their new wives.  Yes, my house has history too and we know it.  We are only the 4th family to live in our home and we know the names of 2 of the other families and how many children they had and what they did/didn't do to the house.  I don't know anything about the original owners however.

So, yes, we do have history in our home but, a different kind of history and frankly.....sort of a small history in more than just length of time but also size of house :-)

I am not sure I will ever get that dream home of mine.  I hope I do sometime, I think it  would be really neat for the children to grow up in a house like that but, then again, it is pretty neat to grow up just about anywhere if you make it that way.

Only time will tell where we end up as a family.  I do have to chuckle a bit as I truly believe, we are right now where we will end up.  We do love our neighborhood and it is making a comeback too just like that neighborhood we drove through today in St. Paul.  After years of little or no families and a lot of transients it is starting to turn around.  The families are coming back, the parks are a little bit busier each summer and I see more and more families going for walks in the summer.

People are starting to fix up their homes and yards and are starting to bring things back to the old Richfield Glory.  Again, only time will tell.

Anyway, blessings to you all and live in the moment but, don't forget about your past.

-Liza

The love of a Golden Retriever.

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, I am just floored at how upset I still am about our dog dying on Monday night.  It is hitting me a lot harder than I ever imagined it would.  It is crazy to me.

I mean, I did love the dog and I was around him the most because I am home the most but, who knew?  I mean, I am seriously unable to function through parts of my day!  Every time I am alone, I weep...hard!

Griffey was the first dog I had ever had in my life, I have lost cats and with each cat it actually seemed to get easier so, I thought it was just me getting older and being able to deal with death better.  Not the case here.  I have been crying constantly, my mind rarely wanders from my dog, and I find myself saying, "I just want my dog back" or "Sorry, Griffey." many times through out the day.

Come on!  It is a DOG for heaven's sake.  Really?!  Yes, really.  I really, really miss my dog.  I want my dog back.  I don't want another dog, I want MY dog.  He was perfect for me and my family.  He never asked for anything, seriously anything!  I mean, poor guy would sometimes go a couple days without food and we would realize it, go and buy him some food and pour it in his bowl and he would joyfully come over and eat.  He never asked for food, never asked to go out except by getting up and looking at us.  That was it.  He never scratched at the door(unless he was outside in a thunderstorm!) and he never begged.

He didn't get on furniture, he never tried to lick me or the children and he never smelled any crotches(which by the way, is the grossest thing to me in the world that dogs do).   The children were able to pull back his lips and look at his teeth, they even at times would stick their hands and arms in his open mouth and he never/ever moved or clamped down.  He put up with them riding him like a horse.  He put up with us rarely brushing or grooming him but, when we did brush or groom him, he was so good and so happy and would let us do anything to him.

When we was wet and muddy he would sit by the back door, raise his first paw, then after I was done wiping that he would raise his other paw.  I just assumed all dogs did these things.  We rarely walked him and he never complained, we didn't have to play hours of fetch with him because frankly, he would fetch something twice and was done...unless it was a frisbee....he did like frisbees!

His favorite thing was the snow, he loved the snow, I have never seen a dog so crazy about snow, he would go outside to go potty and 5 minutes later would come back in completely covered in snow.  Crazy dog.  He would even sled down the hills after the children and chase them on their sleds.

Seriously, I thought he was such a dumb dog!  I lovingly called him D O double Dumb ass.  I couldn't believe how easy going he was.  Had not a clue.  I just figured other people had even dumber dogs and/or they didn't know how to train a dog. 

I now realize how smart he was, and how truly perfect he was for our family and for me.  I also realize how much he did just to please us.  Ok, cats don't do that!

So, now as I thought I would never dedicate an entire blog to a dog!  I just have.  Now I want to bring you all a little awareness of how we got Griffey.

We got Griffey when he was 3 almost 4 years old.  He had come from a family however, he had gotten too big and they just chained him up outside in a kennel and left him by himself.  They fed him corn and he got no love.  They were going to shoot him when someone told them about RAGOM. 

RAGOM stands for Retrievers Are Golden of Minnesota.  It is a great volunteer group that saves as many Goldens as they can and sometimes other breeds too.  Last summer when that HUGE puppy mill got closed down in the Dakotas, they took in most of the puppies and dogs from there as it was a Golden mill.

They mostly have only adult dogs as the only time they get puppies is from a puppy mill closing down.  They have so many loving dogs and you can read about the dogs on their website.

RAGOM always needs volunteers.  They need foster care families/homes to help foster the dogs until they get their forever home.  Foster care homes help re-introduce the dogs to families, or other dogs.  They watch the dogs and have them live in their homes just like other dogs.  They teach them to walk on a leash, potty train them, help them by getting them groomed and get their shots up to date and in worst case scenarios, they help the dog to heal or give hospice care.

They are short of Foster Care homes right now.  They have 7 dogs that are needing to be surrendered for various reasons and can't take them in right now because they don't have enough boarding places and/or foster care homes.  Please consider becoming a foster care 'parent' for these beautiful animals.

If you can't become a foster care home, please consider giving money to RAGOM as that is always needed to help buy food, pay for shots, micro-chipping, neutering and other things.   They also sometimes need people to go and help them pick up newly surrendered animals.

I would encourage all of you living in Minnesota, Dakota's and Iowa to visit their website at www.RAGOM.org and see what their current needs are and if there is any way you can help.

I would also encourage you to consider adopting one of their pets available for adoption.  If you don't live in Minnesota, Dakota's or Iowa, I strongly encourage you to find a similar rescue place near you to donate your time or money to or to consider adopting from them instead of a breeder or pet shop.

I will tell you most of their dogs are pure-bred Golden's with papers...Griffey was.  Especially now with hard times and families losing homes, jobs, and sometimes marriages, it seems like the pets are often the ones tossed to the side first.

Steve and I have decided already when it comes time for us to find another dog for our family it will be coming from RAGOM.  I truly believe they do amazing work.  Even if you aren't interested in a dog...visit their website anyway and you can read about our Griffey.

Again their website is www.RAGOM.org  if you are looking for Griffey's story, on the right side click on 'happy endings' and once there click on 'rainbow bridge memorials'.  Griffey is the first dog listed.

Please read through their website and see what their needs are and I know they are always looking for financial donations :-)

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

The end of The Master Cleanse and Griffey.

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Well, today I write with a pretty heavy heart.  Our beloved Golden Retriever Griffey, died last night.  We had no clue he was sick so it came very fast and sudden to us. 

I think my husband and I are having a harder time with it than our children are.   We both thought he would come back home after his unexpected surgery for a minimum of 6-8 weeks and if all went perfect, he would be with us for a few more years.  We never expected him to die on the operating table.  UGH.

So, as I look around my house, even though all of the children are on spring break and they are all home, somehow, my house feels empty. 

I feel especially bad for my husband as he and Griffey had great plans in the upcoming weeks!  They were going to start getting into shape together and start walking each morning before Steve headed to work.  Plus, summer is coming up and that means cabin time and Griffey heading out into the lake to 'wade'  oh no, this retriever was no swimmer and no retriever either.  He would fetch a ball twice and that was it.  If you made the mistake of throwing that ball or stick a third time, YOU were going to be retrieving it, not him.

He would only swim in the lake if we either pushed him off the dock or if we called him out to us but, then he would swim out to us, say hi and slowly swim back to the shallower area so he could just wade and pee.  Oh, I think his favorite thing to do was pee in the lake.  He loved it!

My husband can't even drown his sorrows about Griffey in food or cigs as he is on Day 10 of his Master Cleanse!   He did it, he made it!  Today is the last day although it is very bittersweet.  It is so hard to be pleased with how he did and so excited for him when our family is so sad at the same time.  It just doesn't seem right.  This isn't the way his cleanse was supposed to end.

So, now, my husband must battle back to solid foods and battle a sad heart.  For the next 3 or so days Steve can only eat liquids and very slowly start adding them back into his diet.  Slowly but surely each day he can eat a little more and hopefully by the weekend, we will be eating some solid meals again without too much of a consequence :-/

Not much else to say.  I just pray that each day will be a bit better for Steve and his ending of his cleanse and our family and our sadness about our perfect (for us) Griffey.

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

Log in MY eye.

Good Afternoon Everyone!

What a great day it has been the past couple of days here in Minnesota!  The calm before the storm.  We have had a great weekend and my children are on spring break this whole week.  I have nothing planned but, sometimes that is more fun.

A quick update on my husband's cleanse...he is on day 8.  He has lost OVER 20 pounds and he still doesn't have a ton of energy but, he feels better if that makes any sense.  It has been hard for him to watch everyone else eat and to make some meals for the children however, I am so pleased with him that he is doing this and not giving up.  Only 2 more days for him!

I am still trying to eat more often and smaller meals and I am doing really well....until about 8pm.  Then I gorge!  It is really bad.  I think some of it has to do with I am really a late night snacker and also that is when Steve has been heading off to bed or someplace else and I have been trying not to eat around him all day and then at night, I feast.  So bad, I know.  I am working on it.

So, this morning at church, I was so moved by today's sermon that I felt I needed to make a blog out of it and other things I have been learning about in my Bible Study.  I feel truly convicted by what was said today and what I have been reading in the Bible.  I often find myself saying in my head things like, "oh, that would be so helpful for so and so...oh I wish my mom could hear this....oh my children need to hear this..."  LOG IN MY EYE!  These people don't need to hear it, I do!!!! 

I know it is hard for all of you who know me to believe this but, I am NOT perfect.  Yep, I will say it again, I am NOT perfect!  I am so many logs in my eyes sometimes I wonder how I can see at all.

So, today's sermon obviously was about the Sermon on the Mount.  I have heard it before but, for some reason today, it just hit me in a different way.  It hit me in so many ways.

It blends in so well with what I am studying in Galatians too...wow, it is almost like it is all from the same author...lol.  So, we have been learning about Grace and about rules in church.  Sometimes we let the 'rules' get in the way of Grace.  There are so many rules sometimes in churches.  Have any of you ever noticed this?

Some were said today by our Pastor and some are rules I have lived by and others are ones I just know.

Some church rules:

-no dancing    

-no meat   

 -just confess and you are saved no matter how you live your life or what is in your heart

-no drinking of alcohol

-no impure meat

-nothing that isn't Kosher

-there is more than one God

-people can be Saints

-only certain people can take communion

-must Baptize babies

-follow holy sacraments

Oh the list could go on and on!  First of all, what I have read and heard over and over again in Galatians and in my studies is, if it isn't in the Bible, if God didn't say it directly, it is man's law not God's and it takes us away from God not brings us closer to him.

Being raised Catholic, I followed a lot of 'rules' growing up.  Yet, I now understand why I never understood the rules and why it didn't seem right to me.  I mean, you can't get divorced(which IS in the Bible) if you are Catholic however, my parents were divorced and so were my grandparents.  You aren't supposed to use birth control however, my mom was on the pill and I was too and that was 'ok' for some reason.  You can't have sex before marriage yet...back to the pill thing and my mom lived with my step-father for 3 years before they got married.  (I do say, I agree with the no sex before marriage...as it is in the Bible, I just didn't understand the hypocracy of it in my own home).

You cannot receive holy communion unless you are Baptized and on that note, we were told if you weren't Baptized, you wouldn't go to heaven.  You can't get married in a Catholic church if you aren't Catholic.  You MUST go to confession, then when you are done confessing to a mere mortal(the Priest) he tells you how to 'save yourself' by how many hail Mary's and Our Father's you must say on your Rosary. 

These are not all God's rules, many of these are rules put into place by man.  They are sometimes impossible rules to abide by.

Now the other part of today's sermon was, God does not have political agendas.  God does not promise us health and wealth if we 'just do this or that'.  It says in Matthew 7:13-27 to ask, seek, knock...ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find it, knock and the door will open. 

Another part that really hit me was, the path and the door that is the widest often leads to destruction...many will enter it.  The small path/gate leads to life and only a few will find it.  I agree so much with this!  How easy is it to just follow the crowd.  It is hard to stand by my convictions.  Sometimes it just seems so much easier to follow the path of the fallen world.  It is easier to look away from those in need, brush aside that lost child, brush aside my husband who needs me, not study my Bible for I would much rather catch up on my emails and gossip on the Internet!

Oh, the LOG in my eye.

Or what our children learned about today, do not build your home on a weak foundation.  It sounds simple enough, the man who builds his home on rock instead of sand has the stronger foundation.  Same thing with our lives.  We are only as good as the teacher we choose.  Hearing and studying the word is NOT the same as putting the word into practice.

I have all the tools to be everything God wants me to be however, I rarely put them to use.  I am often quick to judge and slow to forgive.  A big question I found in my study Bible..."Are you more likely to trust until proven wrong or distrust until a person proves himself?"  Oh wow.  Wow.

Matthew 7: 1-7 really hits home with me.  "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."  "Why do you look at the speck of dust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank (log) in your own eye? ....you hypocrite....(ok, that word got me huge...you hypocrite, yes, yes I am)...first take the plank (log) out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Wow, how many times do I find myself judging others or criticizing others actions?  How many times do I judge people on their personal appearance or look down upon those that may not seem to live up to MY standards?   

How often do I take the time to find out who these people are in God's eyes? 

Another good things I have heard to go with all of this...relates to gossip and judging others.  Is what I am saying blessing this person or distressing this person?  Am I helping them with my words or hurting them with my words?   Same with my actions, am I Blessing or Impressing?

OH....wow, let me say that last sentence again...when I am speaking God's words, or doing God's work, am I doing it to Bless or Impress?

I am so far from perfect, I am still a large work in progress, I am still learning, I am still growing.  I hope I never stop learning, growing, and become perfect....for then I know, I am not living my life according to God's word.

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

Our story and ways to not repeat it.

Good Evening everyone!

So, I have been thinking of more money saving tips I could give to all of you, thinking of more ways to get you all to cut back on your spending and realize how much in our lives is really just 'stuff' that we don't need.

One of my dear friends told me yesterday that she thinks I should put all of the things I did to help our family survive for 4 years with little income and sometimes no income coming in.  For those of you who don't know the back story here is a quick little synopsis.

So, my husband worked for a big firm in Minneapolis as an Institutional Trader.  Well, they decided to move all operations to NY.  We could have chosen to gone there but, yuck, we are NOT New Yorkers and we would have been moving there on a Minnesota salary, no can do there.  So, he did get a very nice severance package.  So, after taking the summer off, he started to look for work and discovered how hard it was finding something in his field.

Finally, he found something and it was a good salary, actually about $20,000 more a year than he had made before!  Which was great since we were expecting our 3rd child.  So, he works there thinking he is going to be there for a long time and such.  Well, when our 3rd baby was about 6 months old, he got laid off.  Yikes.  We knew it was hard just a year earlier, how is this going to work?

Well, it didn't work out well.  At first my husband thought he could trade for himself...apparently, he is MUCH better at trading other people's money than his own...the fear factor comes in to play too much with your own money.  He did that for a while but, never really making more than just enough to pay the mortgage and a handful of other bills but, not all of them.  Plus, we had purchased a desktop and a laptop on credit for his new adventure. 

Then, after figuring out that wasn't working, he tried to start a company with some friends....didn't work, then he did handyman jobs just to get groceries.  We were NOT doing well.  All of our bills were piling up, our babies were growing, things needed to be paid and weren't getting paid.  For a while there, we had absolutely NO money coming in. 

Then, at Christmas time Steve put an ad out and hung Christmas lights for people, that paid enough for us to buy the children Christmas gifts that year, another year past, he did the same thing the next year.  Now he did have a job, it was decent pay however, still 1/2 of what he had made before getting laid off.  But, it was helping to stop the bleeding.  I in the meantime was selling things like mad on eBay and purchasing most of the children's clothing on there too.  Our son was now at a private school for Kindergarten.....bills piling up even more.

We have been going to a food shelf monthly for about 2 years at this point in time.  Our mortgage payments are getting made less and less.  We discover our children all have wheat and dairy allergies, our grocery bills triple just from that alone.  Times are getting dark and desperate. 

We feel that things might be starting to get better, things are going ok at his new job, pay still isn't terrific but, it is a paycheck.  Steve still can't get a 2nd job anywhere as they won't hire him because he is over qualified for everything.  I am working once in a while for a law firm at this point to try and help.  We pawn our watches to pay some bills and to help get us some spending money for our annual family Florida trip(Steve's mom pays for)

Well, we decide it is now or never for the 4th baby, things are stabilizing a bit.  The day we find out we are pregnant with our 4th...is also the day Steve is no longer working at his job.  Wow, now what do we do?   A miracle happened just before that...we get a bit of inheritance....we quickly decide how to split it up.  We quickly start a remodel on the kitchen...if there are going to be 6 people in this house, we can't live in a 9x10 kitchen next to a 10x10 dining room.  Construction starts.  6 weeks later we have a new larger kitchen.  We have paid off some bills, tried to pay some parts of others but, they are still piling up again. 

No money, things are bad...what are we going to do?  We are told we are too poor to file Bankruptcy yet, the notices keep coming for those Sheriff's auctions on our house, we can't lose our house!  We just can't. 

Steve is interviewing everywhere for every kind of job.  He is desperate, we are desperate, wow, this is really getting bad.  Finally Jan 08 Steve gets in touch with someone and they put him in contact with someone else.  Steve battles his way into the interview with shoes that have holes on the bottom in the middle of winter, I think we had to borrow money for him to pay for parking downtown.  Finally, he gets a job.  It is scary again, no benefits, salary is a draw, no guarantees.  This is NOT what I wanted, I wanted insurance, paid vacations, salary, and a bit of stability.  This is too risky, I am afraid.  However, I trust my husband again, I know he can't fail, he knows he can't fail.

Well, here we are 15 months later, he is still there.  Things are going well.  We are still digging our house out of massive debt and ourselves however, there is a light we can see it now!

We have 4 great children, our marriage is strong and close, we have great friends and we even have some money to spare monthly to put into savings.  We aren't out of the woods yet but, we aren't lost in them anymore either.

We still live like we are poor and we still hold our breaths right before each paycheck is supposed to come.  We still can't believe they come on a regular basis.  We still find it hard to believe we aren't going to the food shelf anymore.  I struggle still with spending any money as I am so afraid it will all go away again.  It could, who are we kidding, it could all go away again for sure, I think many of us who felt we were safe are feeling a bit nervous now.

I am telling you all, from first hand experience, be smart, live like you are poor.  Live like you can't afford things.  Think about all of your purchases before you make them, do you really need that new cell phone?  Do you really need that new TV, that new laptop, iPod?

My best advice to all of you is when/if you or your spouse ever gets a new/higher paying job or gets raise, continue to live on your old salary and put the rest away.  Don't live beyond your means and cut up those credit cards!  I am so grateful that we didn't have a lot in credit card debt!  That would have sunk us for sure.

We actually have not ONE credit card and not really sure we ever will.  What is in our checking account/savings account is all we have in our world...when it is out of money, we are out of money.  There is no back up plan on a credit card....that is too dangerous.  We need to balance and manage our money every month/week/day.  We need to make sure it is going to last the entire month and then some.  We need to plan for those car repairs, those household expenses that come up.  We try and put away the same amount of money each month for our family vacations so when it is time to take them, it isn't such a big gulp of money.

Nothing, not one thing of ours goes on a credit card, not ONE thing.  We buy nothing with credit.  We still have only one car and won't buy a 2nd until we can pay cash for it.  We will not add on to our house unless we can pay cash for it.  We won't move to another house until we can put a substantial amount down on it to keep our mortgage around the same as ours already is.

We are afraid, it is good to be fearful.  Nothing is promised.  Nothing is guaranteed.  God does not promise us that life will be easy.  The world doesn't promise us that either. 

Live like you are poor.  Don't live like you are cheap though, there is a difference!  Tithe your 10% or more, give to those who might be struggling, help out your local charities, continue to give the way you have always given unless it will put your family in financial hardship.  But, your tithe and your other giving should be one of the last things you cut back on.  There are many other things in your life you can cut back on first.

Ladies, I have said it before, I will say it again, you don't need designer jeans, you don't need to shop at certain stores or even certain areas...ie 50th and France, you don't need computer upgrades or the latest and greatest phone all your friends have.  We aren't in high school anymore living off our parents dime...this is the real life, most of us have children, most of us have others we are responsible for and most of us have spouses too.  We should be cutting back on our haircuts, our colorings, our waxings, our shoes, oh yes, I said shoes!  We don't need to be going to Starbucks for coffee, make it at home! We don't need to drink wine with dinner or buy gifts for our friends. 

These are tough and very uncertain times we are heading into.  We don't know what the future holds.  But, we can control some of our future by starting to cut back today and save, pay off any bills you can and don't create any new ones!

Lean on your friends and family and most of all God in these times.  We ALL need each other.

Blessings to you all,

Liza

Friendship

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I just got back from the mall from having lunch with my 2 youngest daughters and from seeing a good friend of mine that I haven't seen in a LONG, LONG time. 

It was so good to see her and as our time quickly sped by...I realized how much I have missed her friendship over the years.  Yes, we have maintained contact through email and now facebook however, it really isn't the same.  We used to talk to each other on the phone about monthly but, even the phone calls ended over the years.  Not because we didn't like each other but, rather, I would assume, we just sort of got 'busy'.

See, she is the mother of 6...oh yes, 6 children and I have 4 children.  She also lives in Arizona...me, Minnesota.  Times had been tough financially for Steve and I for a long time so I haven't ever been able to visit her and all of a sudden you realize that a lot of time has passed and you are still friends but, not nearly as close as you once used to be. 

When I saw her it was instantly 'comfortable'...don't really know how to explain it but, it was like we never really skipped a beat.  Granted, we did spend some time catching up but, the conversation never wavered...which between her and I we never had a difficult time 'talking'  LOL.  I got to meet her newest little one, who by the way had the cutest smile and oh my gosh, the bottom lip, oh she was just the sweetest thing I had seen in a long time.  Probably from when my youngest was 4 months old :-)

By the way, my 9 month old daughter thought her 4 month old was about the neatest thing she had seen in a long time.  My daughter just sort of squawked at her and pointed.  Hopefully the picture of those 2 standing together turns out!!!

My friend looked amazing and still as beautiful as she was 15 years ago when we first met.  I got a chance to see her husband too and oh, I still giggle about the first night I met him :-)

I don't know how we can go from these girls working in restaurants and bars and going to see bands every weekend to now her: a mother of 6 and her oldest is 12!!!!!  and me: a mother of 4 and my oldest will be 8 in 2 weeks.  Where does the time go?

I think we both look pretty good for our 'advanced' ages, lol and it is nice to know that friendship is still there after all the years, all the children, and all the miles between us.

I needed that reminder of our friendship, I needed to have that connection to my past, and I needed to reconnect with her.  It felt good, it validated why we still keep in contact after all these years and it also made me realize that good friends really are hard to find.  However, once you find them, you need to hold on to them.  Yes, you may drift in and out of each other's lives over the years but, to be able to reconnect instantly when you see each other is priceless.

We also realized how much our girls would love to play together and how much fun it would be to get the families together.  Nice to know having a friend in Arizona that I have a good excuse to get out of the cold Minnesota weather and go visit my friend :-) 

As I get older and I watch my children developing friendships, I am finally realizing how important friends are and how important it is to have at least one or two really good friends in your life no matter how far away they live from you.

I think it is important to have a good friend a quick drive away and also a good friend a couple hour plane ride away too.  Life takes us all in many different directions but, if you can keep some sort of a center with your friendships, you will always have a 'home-base' to go to.

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

Random thoughts

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Wow, sorry it has been so long since I have written.  It has been crazy busy around here and when it isn't busy we have been taking advantage of the nice weather and heading outside as much as we can.

So Steve is currently on day number 4 of his 10 day cleanse.  He is doing much better and I think he will make it through this.  Not sure if it will help him get off the 'smokers' as our children call them since he is still trying to smoke while doing this cleanse of 'toxins'....apparently because Steve smokes American Spirit cigs they aren't considered toxic.

So, life is good in the cramped and messy Schwab household.  Not too much to write about as it seems like I have been so busy I haven't been reading or watching anything on the outside world that I want to write about.  So, I guess that is both good and bad.

I am busy trying to figure out the children's schedule for the summer and how we are going to fit in all the things we have always done in addition to the new things they want to do.

OH, my6 year old was picked as a candidate for Jr. Richfield Ambassador.  I don't really know what that means but, looking at the calendar we got for it, wow, apparently she is booked for the next 3-4 months.

She has 3 meetings in April including an etiquette and poise meeting.  Wow, I feel like Patsy Ramsay(ie Jon Benet's mom).  But, our daugther is thrilled and has been asking to be on tv, model, act, sing, dance, be in parades, be in movies, everything since she was 2.  I have tried to hold her back from a lot of those things.  I did let her model a little bit but, she never got very far with it because I wouldn't pay for photos and stuff.  But, she did a few jobs and LOVED it.  Plus, she did make pretty decent money for those few jobs....at least for a little person.  I remember one time when she got a $62 check she didn't want me to cash it because she thought her money was going away and she wanted to save her check in her collection drawer.  So cute.

So, my6 year old is finally going to get the chance to maybe ride in a parade.  Granted, there are other candidates and I have no idea if my daughter will have the patience to sit through about 8 meetings and such before the actual parade so, we will see.  I will keep you all up to date on this. 

I need to go, I am trying to get on top of the horrible mess in every room of my house.  YUCK!  My house is officially not just messy but, dirty too.  I guess you would say that I am spring cleaning.  I am sick of the winter and the germs that pile up and the dirty from snow tracked in and all the salt and crap that ruin my hardwood floors.  I am sick of wiping off a wet or muddy dog.  I am sick of the Christmas tree needles that never seem to go away no matter how many times you sweep.

Plus, I was dusting our desk in our living room and saw the piles and piles of scrapbooks that aren't done, have never been opened, and ones I don't even know what to do with.  So, I sit here and wonder, will my children ever have photos of themselves in a book?!

Someday I will just bite the bullet spend about $200 on developing all the photos to go into their books, invite some friends over and just drink wine and sit on my living room floor putting together my scrapbooks....oh yes, that is right...they will NOT be allowed to bring theirs...they will have to sit and help me work on mine and give me ideas and help me sort through 6+ years of photos :-)

Maybe I will take a week off this summer and stay up at Steve's mom's cabin and invite some girl friends up and just drink wine and cocktails and sit at the big harvest table making my children's albums.  Oh now that sounds like fun!

Anyway, I need to get going, it is our busiest night of the week and Steve is not here tonight to help out so, I need to feed the people and get them all to their activities.

Blessings to you all,

Liza