Well, Erica has a 2-day temporary job. The temp agency called her Friday morning and asked her if she could work there Friday and tomorrow (Monday). She’s doing a filing job. Nothing exciting but I think it pays $8.00/hour so that’s good for someone who has no work experience to speak of. And a friend of hers, Skippy (aka, Taylor), might be leaving his job to work as a Youth Minister at a church in Louisiana. (See picture above of him and Erica in 2002). If he does, then Erica plans to apply for his old job which is working at our church’s after-school childcare program called KIDS CLUB. It’s designed for kindergarten through 5th grade kids who attend the school next door to our church. Most of the workers are in college so that means they get to do their college classes during the morning and report to work about 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon in time to pick up the kids when they get out of their school at 3:00 o’clock. Then they close at 6:00 o’clock like most daycare centers do. So let’s pray that if Skippy does move to Louisiana, Erica will get the job at KIDS CLUB. It would be steady income for her and pays better than the temp job she has now. I’ll keep you posted.

… didn’t I just mention in my previous post about chemical plants blowing up? Well … we had a small one yesterday. BP Amoco in Texas City (just a little further south on the map you see below) had a minor explosion in one of their units about 5 o’clock yesterday. Nobody was hurt but the people nearby were ordered to “shelter in” since the fire released some possibly toxic chemicals into the air. (This is the same chemical plant that had a BIG explosion March 23, 2005. 15 workers died in that blast and 170 more were injured. This particular chemical plant doesn’t have a very good safety record.)

As for yesterday’s explosion, BP Amoco hasn’t released any information on what they think caused the explosion. I’m sure the local tv stations will be more than happy to let us know when they find out.

And by the way … the wind was blowing south yesterday so we didn’t have to shelter in here in La Porte. But like I said … that’s just one of the things you learn to deal with when you live here.

(Ignore the little push pin thingy in the map … I couldn’t get it off!)

La Porte … that’s where we live. It’s about 35 minutes southeast of Houston. We’re about 45 minutes from Galveston Island and about 30 minutes from NASA. Our population is about 32,000 so we have a small town feel but we also have all the benefits of a large city close by. We’re surrounded by all the major checmial plants and refineries that supply most of the country with oil, gas and everything else. Amazingly, there is no smell to all that although people who haven’t been here think there should be. Of course, there is always the danger of an explosion at a plant but that’s just one of the things you accept if you live here, just like some places are prone to earthquakes. We’re all acquainted with “Shelter in Place” which means the sirens go off and depending on the particular sound they emit at the time, we know whether we are to stay inside and turn off the a/c or whatever. Then the all clear is sounded when the shelter in place is over. Also, we have Ellington Field nearby that we’re hoping President Bush will decide to keep open. F-16’s fly over our house all the time. They do a good job of patroling the air space since the chemical facilities would be an ideal target. As far as terrorism acts go, I feel safer here than anywhere else because of Ellington Field (a former Air Force base, in case you don’t know). And of course there are always hurricanes to worry about. Part of Galveston Bay comes into the far eastern part of La Porte so if a hurricane of Category 3 or larger should hit Galveston, we would have mandatory evacuation. That’s why we watch the Gulf of Mexico so closely. It’s been a long, long time since Galveston was hit with a major hurricane. The oldsters tell us we’re overdue for one. And we all know that but don’t like to think about it. So far we’ve been spared since the hurricane season started in June in spite of all the hurricanes that have formed. I can’t believe we’re already into the “H” part of the alphabet on names for them!

Mike and I would like to put our house up for sale and move further inland. The county we live in (Harris County) has an extremely high tax rate so property taxes are killing us and everybody else. We’ve been looking at property in Navasota, which is northwest of where we are … about 2 hours. The terrain has gentle, rolling hills which would be a wonderful change from flat beach front. When we buy we hope to buy somewhere between 2 and 5 acres and build a house. Or if we find some property that already has a house we’ll do that, too. But first we have some minor cosmetic things we want to do inside the house so we can get the most for our money. We’re moving slow on that for now because we’re still recuperating from graduation and everything else. I’m sure you definitely know what I’m talking about with 2 in college! I don’t know what we’d do if we had to do that. I suppose we’d find a way, right?

Well, gotta get outta here, too. I’ll check back later. Give the family my regards.

Not to much new here, just getting the girls ready for school and trying to get them organized since the youngest Megan will be freshman in High School. As for Michelle, Melissa they are both going to college…and yep I’m broke…lol Melissa is going to Sacramento State which is about 40 minutes away and she will be in the dorms there, as for Michelle….she can’t make up her mind…Sacramento or Turlock both are about the same distance but in different directions. I can’t believe they are going to college, where has the time gone? I keep wanting to ask, but I always forget what is the name of the town you live in? And I know you had mentioned awhile back that you were looking to move into a different house, I think you said in the country, did you get it? Well I gotta go its 12:30 am here I will talk to you later

Yep … cute joke, Mike. But I saw that one coming! Ha! So, what’s up with you and the family? Anything interesting?

A couple, both born the same year and month, were celebrating their 60th birthdays. During the celebration, a fairy appeared and said that because they had been so loving she would grant them each one wish.

Very excited, the wife said that since she had already visited most of North America in her RV she would like to visit Europe. The fairy waved her magic wand; airline tickets instantly appeared in her hand.

Then it was the husband’s turn. He paused for a moment, then said with a sly look, “Well, I’d like to have a woman 30 years younger than me.”

The fairy waved her wand, and presto, he was 90.

I received this from my friend, Carole. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If one day you feel like crying … call me.
I don’t promise you that I will make you laugh,
But I can cry with you.

If one day you want to run away … don’t be
afraid to call me.
I won’t try to stop you,
But I can run with you.

If one day you don’t want to listen to anybody …
Call me and I promise to be very quiet

But if one day you call and there is no answer …

Come fast to see me. Perhaps I need you.

This is National Care Week. Email your friends to let them know how much you care about them.

1. Put nuthin’ before God.

2. Just one God.

3. No swearing by God and not meanin’ it.

4. Git yerself to Sunday meetin’.

5. Honor yer Ma and Pa.

6. No killin’.

7. No foolin’ ’round with another feller’s gal.

8. Don’t take ain’t yers.

9. No tellin’ tales or gossipin’.

10. Don’t be a hankerin’ fer yer buddy’s stuff.

This is a picture of Sara Henehan, Erica’s good friend who now lives in Mississippi. She’s the one who flew down here to surprise Erica at graduation. Her boyfriend, Jared, asked her dad if he could propose to Sara and when dad gave the go ahead, he proposed. Isn’t that sweet and old-fashioned? I mean, for Jared to ask her dad’s permission? So the wedding is set for the middle of November. Erica will be a bridesmaid and will fly to Mississippi about a week before so she can have a final fitting for her dress … which hasn’t been picked out yet. I think she’s going to send her measurements to the shop where they plan to buy the dresses so at least the dress will be somewhat close to what she needs. She said they’ll probably make the dress a slight bit larger than her measurements. That way they can alter it when she gets there a week before the wedding to make it fit just right. Erica is VERY excited about Sara’s upcoming wedding.

… we’re not old or ciminals, isn’t it? lol Well this morning we’ve been working around the house. Mike worked on straightening up the garage and I worked on sorting through some boxes he brought in from the garage. Now I’m pooped! My head is hurting, too. but I think it’s the change of weather around here. So maybe I’ll take a quick nap and check in later.

The pictures are cool! And they move slow for me too! So I guess I am not a criminal mastermind….I liked the pics so I set one of them as the background on the computer so it’ll get me dizzy everytime I sit down to do some work….lol Mike

A friend of mine sent this to me via email and I wanted to share it with you!

The pictures below are used to evaluate a person’s ability to deal with stress. You are supposed to look at the picture but not necessarily stare. You need to concentrate on it but it’s okay to move your eyes while you’re concentrating on it.

The slower you see the objects move, the better you can deal with stress. The faster you see them move, the less likely you are to be able to handle stressful situations. Senior Citizens and children don’t see the objects move at all. Criminals see them move fast.

I’m happy to report that (1) I didn’t see them move fast so you can all rest assured I’m not a criminal, and (2) I didn’t see them completely still either so that means I’m not old yet. But I did see them move very slowly … almost like a gentle breeze blowing leaves on a tree. So let me know what YOU see …

In this picture, the flowers turn:

In this picture, it looks like the lines are waving back and forth:

In this picture, the objects seem to move around on the page:

It stands for In Case of Emergency … and paramedics and police officials are being trained to check a victim’s cell phone for emergency contact information. Here’s how it works.

In your contact list in your cell phone, type in the word ICE … all caps … then list the name and phone number of the person you want authorities to contact in case you’re in a wreck and unconscious or whatever. They will automatically go to your cell phone and check the contacts list to find out information they need to know to notify someone.

I went ahead and added it to my phone. I added “ICE-1″ and put Mike’s name with our home #. Then I added another entry “ICE-2″ and put Mike’s name with his cell phone number.

A motorist was mailed a picture of his car speeding through an automated radar post in Plano, Texas. A $40 speeding ticket was included with the picture of his car.

Thinking he would be clever, he sent the police department a picture of $40.

The police responded with another picture through the mail … handcuffs.

A Richardson, Texas policeman had a perfect spot to watch for speeders but wasn’t writing many tickets. He soon discovered the problem … a 12 year old boy was standing up the road with a hand painted sign which read ‘RADAR TRAP AHEAD’. The officer then found the 12 year old’s accomplice down the road with a sign which read ‘TIPS’ and bucket full of money!

And to think … we used to just sell lemonade!

The famous Olympic skier, Picabo Street (pronounced Peek-A-Boo) isn’t just an athlete. She’s now a nurse working at the Intensive Care Unit of a large metropolitan hospital. But … they won’t allow her to answer the department telephones. Why? Because it confused the heck out of people when she’d answer the phone and say:

“Picabo, ICU.”

(I thought you needed a laugh today …)

Today when I woke up I realized that this is the best day of my life, ever. There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today, but I did! And because i did, I'm going to celebrate! Today I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far ... the accomplishments, the many blessings, and yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.

I will go through this day with my head held high and a happy heart. I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts ...

The morning dew ...

The sun, the clouds and the trees …

The flowers …

And the birds …

Today I will share my excitement for life with other people. I’ll make someone smile. I’ll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don’t even know. Today I’ll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I’ll tell a child how special he is and I’ll tell someone I love, just how deeply I care for them and how much they mean to me.

Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don’t have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me. I’ll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in God and His divine plan ensures everything will be just fine. And tonight, before I go to bed, I’ll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens. I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon and I will praise God for these magnificent treasures. As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, I will thank God for the best day of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child … excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever!

I went with the nursing home to take my mom back to the doctor this morning to check on the MRSA infection in her foot. The doctor said it is cleared up so we’re thankful for that. Also, my nephew Gilbert is in a room now and doing well. Please keep my neice in your prayers, though, because she’s been staying at the hospital with him 24/7. I’m sure she’s exhausted.

(Forgive me, again …)

Have you ever wondered why A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H are the letters used to define bra sizes? If you have wondered why, but couldn’t figure out what the letters stood for, it is about time you became informed!

(A} Almost Boobs

{B} Barely there.

{C} Can’t Complain!

{D} Dang!

{DD} Double dang!

{E} Enormous!

{F} Fake.

{G} Get a Reduction.

{H} Help me, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up !

Oh, and let’s not forget the German bra: Holtzemfromfloppen

What Religion is Your Bra?

A man walked into the ladies department of a Macy’s and shyly walked up to the woman behind the counter and said, “I’d like to buy a bra for my wife. What type of bra?” asked the clerk. Type?” inquires the man, “There’s more than one type? Look around,” said the saleslady, as she showed a sea of bras in every shape, size, color and material imaginable.

ctually, even with all of this variety, there are really only four types of bras to choose from. Relieved, the man asked about the types. The saleslady replied: There are the Catholic, the Salvation Army, the Presbyterian, and the Baptist types. Which one would you prefer? Now totally befuddled, the man asked about the differences between them. The Saleslady responded, “It is all really quite simple…

The Catholic type supports the masses.

The Salvation Army type lifts the fallen,

The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright, and

The Baptist makes mountains out of mole hills.