Green & Cuddly

My friend Skip became a father this past September for the first time. With all the toy recalls - and the fact that Hannah's only a couple months old - he's asked for no toys this year for her but books instead. He'd like a teddy bear (she hasn't gotten her first one yet) but he wants it to be toxic free adn made in the USA if possible. Now, I'm fairly interested in the green movement so his request caught my interest. Here are 3 sites I think you should all check out:

nativeremedies.com - natural cures for whatever ailes you

naturaleco.com - eco friendly products for you & your baby. I love the organic toys.

thedailygreen.com - a website with great & easy tips for going green one step at a time or jumping in the deep end of the unpolluted pond.

Check them out & let me know what you think!
~J

Volunteer Firefighters Pull Through

Despite my hate of large crowds (which I've seemed to have developled in the last couple of years) I went to a benefit that my brother's volunteer firefighters put on for one of their own. Together they banded together to sell over 700 tickets, had over 200 baskets for a Chinese Auction, had 2 50/50 raffles that totaled over $700 raised for their "brother" and then there was an additional auction where you got to pick your prize. When all was said and done, the last number we heard thrown around was $10,000 raised. This is amazing and I'm so proud of all of them. Being a volunteer firefighter your "benefits" are bumpkiss but appreciated while you have them. The guy in this case was injured while answering a call. He broke both legs, an ankle, some ribs, his collar bone, dislocated his left shoulder and tore his rotor cuff. I believe there was also a break to his back. If memory serves correct it's because a guy ran a red light. Word to the wise folk - and I've said this because my cousin Jeff is a medic - the lights & sirens mean something MOVE!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway they guy's doing great and I'm really happy it all worked out. There were guys there from all over River Road, Brighton, Sheridan, South Line, Ellwood and Kenmore. It's great when a group comes together and I couldn't be more proud of my brother for all the hard work he put into this.

Will I end up with Brad from the Bachelor???

I'm sitting here waiting for my brother to get ready so we can go to the gym. In all honesty he can take longer than me at times just to get ready. So, to pass the time I jumped on yahoo to check my email and came across this article:

http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/datingtips/55223/when-shes-hot-but-hes-not;_ylc=X3oDMTFybmFnN3FnBF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwX3RvZGF5BHNsawN3aGVuLXNoZXMtaG90LWJ1dC1oZXMtbm90BHp6A2Fi

My question is this (you'll understand after reading the article), if hot women are taking the average guys, do average women like me get the "leftovers" in this case? The leftovers in this case are the hot guys. Maybe this was the problem for Brad on the Bachelor. Both Jenni and DeAna were hot women. If this is the way that the world is trending..... I honestly have no problem with that! :-)

eMOM Radio Spot

http://www.emailourmilitary.com/projects-popup.html#10

Have a listen to eMOM's new radio spot. It's great!

Christmas packages / cards to soliders & vets

I've gotten many emails about sending Christmas cards / packages to Walter Reed attn "Any Soldier". I just wanted to say that I tried this last year and due to security concerns, these will only be returned. If you want to help by sending cards & packages go to:

www.emailourmilitary.com

This is the best way. They're a great group of people who are doing great work and need all of our help. I joined this great group almost 3 years ago and have loved every minute of it.

Happy Holidays All !!!

Veterans Day

IN FLANDERS FIELDS
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place;
and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead.
Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throwThe torch;
be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.
John McCrae

**Remember them and say thank you before you can only wish to.
~Jenn

Sand & Stone.......... Sage Advice

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT
DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT;
AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE
THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, HE WROTE IN THE SAND " TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE"
THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH
THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.
AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING, HE WROTE ON A STONE: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE"
THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM,
"AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?"
THE FRIEND REPLIED "WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US, WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WIND CAN EVER ERASE IT"
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.
THEY SAY IT TAKES A MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL PERSON, AN HOUR TO APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN AN ENTIRE LIFE TO FORGET THEM.

Football Funny

A guy took his blonde girlfriend to her first football game. They had great seats right behind their team's bench. After the game, he asked her how she liked the experience. "Oh, I really liked it," she replied, "especially the tight pants and all the big muscles, but I just couldn't understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents." Dumbfounded, her date asked, "What do you mean?" "Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: 'Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!' I'm like...Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!

Back in Buffalo

Hi everyone. I'm finally back in Buffalo and aside from my cousin, the only thing I really miss about Austin is the warmth!! LOL Ok, and Massage Envy, and Hannah D's, and Colver's. When I left Austin it was 80 and sunny; arriving in Buffalo when it was 48 and raining wasn't too much fun. I did get to do something really great though. Mom & dad picked me up with Kari because Donald had a board meeting for football. We went straight out to the dance studio because for their anniversary, dad purchased ballroom lessons for him & mom. Isn't that sweet!! 32 years and they're still newlyweds. :-) Well, there really wasn't a place for Kari & I to sit since it's so small in there. We sat on a bench outside & I helped (more like watched in horror) as she did her math homework. I haven't been out of school that long but when she starts her math homework I feel like I'm 100 years old. Mom & dad did great. Once the lesson had ended, Kari & I went inside and mom showed me the Fred Astair room. My bedroom is painted but a bit of a mush when it comes to a theme. Well, I found it. I want to make it look like a dressing room you'd see back stage and hang up b&w prints of Fred & Ginger. I've got my autographed Ginger photo somewhere.

Ok, on to the medical front. I was so busy this weekend I hardly remembered to take my synthroid but it didn't seem to matter. I didn't take my metformin because I felt so sick the last time I took it & didn't want it to ruin my weekend. Gotta get back on track & I'm so glad my doctor doesn't read this! Ladies & gentlemen, don't get off routine, I'm really bad about this and that's something I need to pay better attention to. I also need to make sure I focus on the gym. I thought I'd been doing so well until I got in the plane. The seats seemed smaller (or are my hips bigger?) and the seatbelts seem shorter ( or am I rounder?) I'm going to give myself until the middle of February. If I don't see a marked change by then, I'm going to talk to my primary about the gastric bypass like dad had. I'll of course have to go through the same steps and my only fear is that the insurance will decline me. I don't have heart disease (that I know of but of course will have to be checked for), I don't have high blood pressure (that's the best part about me), I don't have sleep apena (as far as I know but when I'm stuffed up I can snore to drown out the navy! lol). I am more than 100 lbs overweight (1 of 5 morbidity factors) and I can't remember what the last one is. Dad stopped talking about them when he rattled off 4 and said he had them all. Mom's thinking of doing it in the spring and that would actually be perfect for me as that's our slow time at work. I'd only have to be out 2 weeks because I work at a desk...... already got the PTO saved up! This isn't something I'm jumping into so please don't think I'm taking the easy road. I've watched dad go through the process so I'm very aware of what's ahead if I do this. The first day won't be too bad except for the waiting to go into surgery. The 2nd day will be hell because that's when the drugs really wear off. The 3rd day is when I get the blue popsicle and can tell if I'll go home. After that it's a lot of walking, no driving and taking it easy. Life won't be the same but I know my family will support me. Dad's done all the research and I know Caruana is the best in the business so I have no fear there. The important thing is that I'm too young to be this old. I've got a list of things I want to do in life (I crossed 2 off this weekend: Visit Austin, TX and Ride an elephant). Time to get moving on more. I've hired a couple of financial advisors - one's pretty cute to! - and have really made up my mind to get get my financial act together. I've pushed off & on for years when it comes to my medical health so I've just got to buckle down there. I'll keep you posted as I go forward.

For those of you who are curious, I didn't get to meet Iggy on my trip but that's ok. I'm still holding out for Travis. ^_-

Hola from Austin

Hola from Austin, Tx everyone!! I got here Thursday evening and boy was I tired. We had a lot of turbulence from Buffalo to JFK (not to mention 4 screaming kids), a 3hr layover at JFK (boring!!!!!) and the flight from JFK to Austin was long. I didn't have the screaming kids but I wasn't off the hook either. We hit some air bumps over a few states and the screaming kids were replaced by frat boys on their way to a friends wedding or reunion or something. After getting in we hopped over to the Hula Hut for dinner. I had such a great Hawaiian burger I can't wait to remake it back home. We hung out at the house for a bit then ran over to Amy's (it's been on the Food Network folk's, I just HAD to!!) for some ice cream. It's just like Cold Stone but as the guy behind the counter said "Yeah, but we were here first." LOL Chilled at the house then fell asleep. I won't lie, a bit of homesickness hit. Friday was another great day and I spent wayyyy toooo much money. We started out by going to Hannah D's (www.hannahdonline.com) and I picked up a few things for my sister. Then we went next door to Massage Envy (www.massagenvy.com) for a 1hr massage. Guys, check out the site. It was so amazing I can hardly tell you. Then we did some shopping, ok, we did a lot of shopping but I got all of my gifts - almost. (g) Picked Brandon up from school and did some more shopping and looking around at different store. Friday night Nikki & I got glammed up and we hit 6th street. For those of you back home that's the equal to Chippewa but I'd say better because only the dance clubs had cover. We started out at the Dizzy Rooster, wound our way about a block up to the Chuggin' Monkey, walked around to check out the sites, had a drink at the Apple Bar then ended at Marq. Guys, they shut the street off at 11:00 so no worries about the sidewalks getting crushed. They even have cabs lined up on sidestreets in case you can't drive home. We got back to the house and flopped into bed at about 1:00 a.m. but weren't there long. We were up at 5:30 and on the road by 7:00 to Houston to see a Ren Fest. Now, that has nothing to do with Ren & Stimpy. Rennasaisance (sp?) is what I mean and boy were the costumes awesome, in more ways then one. Stop by for pix, I'll try to upload them soon. Nikki's friend Lee was with us and so was Brandon's friend Alfonso (he's such a cute kid!). Lee & Michael were eating they're way around the fair and I kid you not. Scotch Eggs, turkey legs, beef jerkey, sausage on a stick, alligator on a stick, bagels, kettle korn and that was before lunch! We finally left about 6:00 or so and started the 2.5 hr drive home. Nikki hadn't been feeling good all day but on the way home we stopped at a Sonic (yes, I finally got to eat at one and it wasn't half bad) then made it home. Today we got to sleep in a bit later and relax. Michael is teaching a class and left for the lake by noon. Yup, they're still in open water folks. Nikki, Brandon & I hit Al Cappone's for the pasta bar. I'm so making my dish for the Christmas party! LOL We went to Best Buy to pick up something for Brandon, got some world famous Round Rock donuts - they're really yellow! - then it was off to the Round Rock Outlet Mall. I got a few more things to bring back. I did eat lunch Friday at Rudy's which my brother raved about. I even had to buy him sauce. Since I didn't want it to get all over my clothes I had to put it in my carry on..... it's over 3 oz so I can't take it on the plane...hmmm.... what's a girl to do? Yup, this girl went back to Hannah D's (in all fairness, I did it Friday afternoon) and bought another carry on bag. This one is so cute. It's balck with pink polka dots, pink handles and pink bows over the front pockets. It's even got a zipper portion on the bottom for pots & jars of your favorite beauty products. In my case it'll be used for shoes. LOL I just printed my boarding pass and am ready to go. I'll miss Nikki as I've had such a great time with her but I'm ready to get back to what I'm sure is a disaster on my desk. Hope the coffee pot's still standing! LOL Did I mention Nikki's aunt in El Paso passed away Thursday afternoon? She's been so great with me here. We're riding to the airport early tomorrow so she can catch a flight out for the funeral tomorrow. I'm going to hang around and get letters written that I was supposed to do on the way down here. Hope everyone got their post cards and I can't wait to see you all!!!!!!!!!!!