Jill’s Blog

random rants and raves

I’d be interested in hearing about your best moment of 2006. What stands out to you? A good moment, a funny moment, a touching moment. What is your best memory of 2006? I’ll share mine later this week.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you we don’t celebrate Christmas. The reasons are too numerous to go into here. However, when my cousin sent me this Christmas message, I wanted to pass it along, so here it is:

Dear children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are
taking My name out of the season. Maybe you’ve forgotten that I wasn’t
actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of you’re
predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a
time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being
remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily
understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.
I don’t care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate my birth just,
GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now, having said that let me go on.

If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene
depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and
put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers
did that there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square
because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday
tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees.

You can & may remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine
if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching explaining who I am
in relation to you & what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that
one, look up John 15: 1 – 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my
wish list. Choose something from it.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is
being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home.
They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me
all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them
personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards
his staff sent out this year, why don’t you write and tell him that you’ll
be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice
hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and
they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and
why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind
them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own
life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don’t
know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile it could
make the difference. Also, you might consider supporting the local Hot-Line:
they talk with people like that every day.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the
holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile
and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas”
that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on
Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and
let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary,
especially one who takes My love & Good News to those who have never heard
My name. You may already know someone like that.

9. Here’s a good one. There are individuals & whole families in your town
who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any
presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them (and I suspect you
don’t) buy some food & a few gifts & give them to the Marines, the Salvation
Army or some other charity which believes in Me & they will make the
delivery for you.

10. Finally if you want to make a statement about your belief in and
loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that
you wouldn’t do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are
one of mine.

P.S Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me & do
what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the
list above & get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now
in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you
love and remember.

I’ve been working a new blogging project. So, head over and check out my new Natural Product Review blog. Be sure to let me know what you think. Or let me know if you have a product you want to see reviewed.

I’m almost embarassed to say that this is a Texas creation, but a man from Dallas has created… are you ready for this… FRIED Coke. Yes, you read that right— fried Coke!! I just can’t think of many things that could be worse for you. I’m trying to think of something that could be worse— maybe fried lard?— but I think fried Coke tops the list. Oh, did I mention that after it’s fried, it’s served with coke syrup over it? Mmmm. You probably don’t want to test your blood sugar after that snack.

And that’s why they don’t let you name your baby just anything in Germany. A couple in Mississippi named their baby ESPN. The scariest thing is there are three other known cases of couples naming their babies ESPN. What’s the thought process there?

This week’s question over at WAHM Blogger’s Network is about our blogging goals. I’ll be honest with you. At least 90% of the reason I blog is monetary. I’ve never been very good at journaling (you see from my lapses on this blog why), and I don’t know that I would really want to put a journal out on the web for everyone to read just because I felt like it.

Now, for some of my readers that may be a real turn off. What??? You’re not writing simply for my enjoyment?? No, dear readers, I’m not. Each of my blogs if profitable (some more than others). If they cease to be profitable, they may have to go by the wayside. So, my number one goal for my blogs is that they must be profitable.

But what about the other 10% of my reasons for blogging?

I really do want to help people. I could probably make a TON of money from certain websites from certain kinds of businesses. But I don’t want to add anymore trash to the world, much less the web. Some of my blogs are entertainment-based; some are education-based. But I hope all of them add something positive to the world.

So, make money and help people (or at least entertain them)... those are two goals. I probably have more, and I’ll really have to think about it more in-depth. But it’s been a hectic, chaotic week, and deep thought will just have to wait for another time.

Thanks to a fellow blogger’s website, I came across this site that blew me away. I never knew such a think existed. You can go there, and people will bid to loan you money. Regular people loaning money to regular people… what a concept.

It’s hard for me to narrow down what my first job was— would that be babysitting, mowing, helping my Dad set up mobile homes? Or do I consider my college on campus work-study job to be my first job? Or would it be my post-college days of waiting tables and working retail? Or how about my first salaried job teaching?

I decided to share my top 10 lessons that I learned from an assortment of my early jobs, some serious, some not so serious, in no particular order…

1. Working at Sonic is harder than you would think— especially if you’re in charge of making the drinks. Geez, how many different flavors can you put in a Coke? And those shakes don’t make themselves, you know.

2. Left alone for five seconds, children will put anything they can find into the toilet.

3. You can sell pretty much any baby product to a first time grandparent.

4. You can sell pretty much any dessert to the table that has margaritas.

5. You can sell pretty much anything to a woman if you can convince her it makes her look thin. Note to self: Look into creating website that convinces women they look thin (www.youlookmahvelous.com).

6. Your best defense when dealing with a classroom full of teenagers is to develop a great knowing stare to follow the question, “What are you doing?”

7. I don’t want to mow for a living.

8. I don’t want to set up mobile homes for a living.

9. I like jobs that let me interact with people

10. And, finally, from my work study days working in an art gallery where I set up for receptions— it’s all in the presentation.

Blog spam. I log in, I see I have comments, I click on the comments… and there it is… blog spam. I’m not sure what the suitable punishment is for people who send blog spam, but it’s got to be worse than just deleting their messages. Any good ideas?

Over the years, you’d think that you’d learn to appreciate a lot of simple things. But I really had to think on this one. Nothing came to mind instantly.

But then I thought about one of the recent changes we’ve made in our house— we bought a second car. It has been really wonderful to be able to run an errand without having to wait for my husband to come home. Forgot orange juice? No problem, I’ll just pick some up. Now, granted, with five children I still prefer to run errands in the evening when my husband’s home, but at least now I don’t HAVE to wait.

When we bought the second car, I was actually a bit sad. There was something really special about being dependent on one another for our transportation needs. But I’ve learned that there are special things about having two cars, as well. For example, we can be more spontaneous. For the first time in the past 6 years I recently called my husband to tell him to meet us at a restaurant for dinner. No planning ahead of time, just “we’re here. Come meet us.”

So, one of the simple pleasures I’ve rediscovered is the freedom of having transportation at your disposal.

I’ve been posting a lot today on my Natural Family News blog. Ironically, today I am equally annoyed with Wal-Mart and Horizon. Why is this ironic? Well, I’m always annoyed with Wal-Mart. But Horizon? I thought they were one of the good guys. Turns out, maybe not so much.

I guess I should have known better. I have friends who really support buying locally. I think it’s a good idea, but sometimes I just find it so darned inconvenient. But maybe this is just the wakeup call I need to get me refocused. Maybe I’m just going to have to accept that corporations can’t be good for us in the long run, no matter how much easier they make life.

I’m trying something new here— participating in a blog carnival. There’s a Work At Home Mom blog that posts a question of the week. This week’s question is “How do you stay fit mentally and physically?” So, here’s my answer.

I have five children. When they’re not draining my brain power , I think they help me stay mentally fit. Not only do they ask about a million questions per day, but they also want me to play games with them and that’s bound to keep me more mentally fit. Finally, I like to play computer puzzle games, solitaire, etc.

As for staying physically fit, well I haven’t always done particularly wonderfully in this area. I’ve had a membership to Lady of America for about a year, and my attendance has been, um, sporadic would be one word for it, I guess. So, I’ve finally bitten the bullet and hired a personal trainer (it was my Mother’s Day present). At the very least it requires me to be at the gym at least twice a week. Generally speaking, I walk on the treadmill and do some of the weight machines. They have a yoga class that I’d like to try out sometime soon, as well.

Today I had to take my son to the airport, and I’m counting that as my fitness regime for the day, since I had to walk through three zip codes to get from the parking lot to his departure gate. You’d think carrying around my 25 pound 1 year old and nursing would be enough to keep me fit, but, alas it isn’t.

So, what about the rest of you? What’s your favorite thing to do to stay fit?

We all know that gas prices are ridiculous right now. And we know that not buying gas for a day, boycotting certain suppliers, etc. won’t really work. But there is a way to greatly decrease gas use immediately.

Many companies have telecommuting policies, and many employees could telecommute, but for whatever reason, there is a stigma attached to telecommuting. So, managers frown upon it. But if all the employees who COULD telecommute actually DID telecommute, then it would immediately greatly decrease the dependence on foreign oil.

This may seem like a selfish way to approach things. After all, if my husband works from home, and we don’t have to pay as much for gas, how does that help my neighbor if they work in a job where they are unable to commute? Well, if gas prices fell to $1.50 or lower per gallon, I don’t know too many people who wouldn’t be jumping up and down, even if they still had to pay for the gas to go to work.

So, I would encourage each of you to write to your state and federal representatives and encourage businesses to utilize telecommuting as a means of lowering gas prices. Feel free to forward this, and feel free to use the sample letter below when you contact your representatives.

As with most Americans, I am concerned about the current price of gasoline. While more fuel efficient vehicles, exploring alternative fuel sources and better public transportation may be a long-term solution in decreasing Americans’ dependence on foreign oil, it is unlikely to help me pay for gasoline next week.

I appreciate that legislators are currently coming up with ways to decrease pain at the pump. I am not thrilled about the environmental impact of many of these ideas, but I do have a recommendation that could immediately cut a great deal of the demand for foreign oil and actually be environmentally beneficial.

My husband is a software engineer for Hewlett-Packard. Hewlett-Packard has a telecommuting policy, but many managers frown upon this mode of working. While there are periodic meetings that my husband does need to go into the office to attend, probably 80-90% of the time, he could work from home. He is allowed to telecommute when it is necessary but not in order to save on gasoline. Each week, we spend at least one tank of gas for him to travel back and forth to work.

That’s approximately 50 gallons a month that we could save. Obviously, 50 gallons isn’t going to make that big of a difference, but my husband is just one of tens of thousands of employees who could easily be telecommuting with no cost to their employers. If anything, the current labor trends show that many employees see flexible work options, including telecommuting, as a benefit more appealing than a 401k, so this is truly a win-win situation. There would be no obvious downside to a bill that encouraged telecommuting for those companies where this is a possibility. There would be no downside to a strong recommendation from Legislators or the President that companies allow workers who can to telecommute.

After Hurricane Rita narrowly missed the Houston area, my husband was encouraged to work from home for a week to ease gas shortages because Houston’s mayor had asked employers to not call workers in unless absolutely necessary. So I know that companies are susceptible to encouragement from government officials in this area.

I thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Today on Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids there was an interesting modern take on the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper. For those of you not familiar with the classic Ant and the Grasshopper story, here is the original:

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about,
chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by,
bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the
nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper,
“instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant,
“and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; we have got
plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and
continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no
food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants
distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had
collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

The first difference was that the ants were the slothful creatures. Now, that’s a pretty minor change, but it made me wonder “why”. Well, obviously part of the reason is because Miss Spider needed to be the wise one in the story. But I also wondered if this wasn’t a reaction by grasshopper advocates against years of unfair portrayals that villified grasshoppers and exalted ants.

The second change was more disturbing. When one of Miss Spider’s adopted children was upset after Miss Spider proved to him that winter was, indeed, coming (note that the parent had to prove that she was right, whereas the peers’ word was enough— but that’s another post), and he was unable to convince the others. Miss Spider simply told him, “That’s okay. We’ll gather enough for everyone”. WHAT?!? What happened to the moral “It is best to prepare for days of necessity”?

So, what’s the moral of THIS story? Work really hard while everyone else is playing so that you can feed everyone who was too lazy to get off their rears? Don’t bother working because there’s always welfare? What are we trying to teach our children? I’m all for teaching them to be nice and to help others, but I’m totally opposed to teaching them that there is no consequence to slothful behavior. Is anyone else as concerned about this as I am? Or am I completely off base?

I didn’t really go anywhere. But my blog did. I don’t know exactly what happened to it, but it crashed. Fortunately, my husband was able to fix it.

Whenever I recommend blogging to people and talk about how easy it is, I always neglect to mention that it might not be so easy if my husband didn’t handle the promotion of my blogs and the technical part of setting them up and the technical part of keeping them running and… you get the point.

I’ve decided that I could really easily be a true media hound. I love it when people write about me— or even when something I write about myself gets prominently displayed. Like today, an article that I submitted about my blogging experiences is being featured on Problogger. Problogger is a website devoted to helping people make money from blogging (duh). It’s a really big site that gets tons of traffic, so this is great exposure. Plus, we’ve already had people approaching us about advertising on some of our sites. So, this has been truly exciting. If you want to check out what I wrote, you can directly link to it here.

One thing I didn’t really emphasize in the article— and perhaps I should have— is that the Olympic idea was really divinely inspired, not in a weird, kookey sort of way. But we’ve had some debt issues, and I had been praying a lot about it, and this seemed to be the answer. I believe the project was blessed by God. By that I don’t mean that we had the Divine stamp of approval, per se, but more that I believe God has complete control over whatever money comes our way. So, if God’s will is that our site makes money, it makes money. If not, it doesn’t. That doesn’t mean that we don’t put in the effort. I don’t believe that if I put up a blank website that God is going to bless that… Well, anyway, I seem to have passed over into rambling. But I hope some of this makes some sort of sense to someone I guess I can wrap it up by saying that I’m very grateful and humbled that God has seen fit to bless us in so many ways, including financially.

I thought this was really funny. After dismal ratings last year, the Miss America pageant has chosen to go reality. Reality television and beauty pageant… aren’t those oxymorons? Do you think we’ll get to see the contestants without makeup and without their hair done? But it is a good idea and probably the only thing that could save the dinosaur pageant from extinction.

Rats. One of the last bastions of sanity in this country has fallen. Perhaps you didn’t even know that it existed. But most of Indiana has never followed Daylight savings time, choosing instead to remain on Eastern Standard Time for the entire year. For the first time this year, they will be setting their clocks forward. This is just sad to me, as I really deplore Daylight Savings Time and really wish that I lived in a place that just said no. Indiana gave me hope. Alas, today that hope is dead.

But a new hope has arisen. You see, I never realized that Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe Daylight Savings Time, either. So, I guess someday I can always retire to Arizona, or perhaps Hawaii.

If you’re French, I suggest you stop reading right now because you’re not going to like what I have to say. The French are nuts. First, they look down on everyone else because they think they’ve created this French utopia. Oh, yeah, utopia— except for the constant rioting.

The latest rioting is all about jobs, or lack thereof. You see, IF you can get a job in France, it’s very hard to fire you. So, in an effort to increase hiring of the French youth, the government has proposed a law that would make it easier to fire young French workers in the first two years of their employment. The French youth would clearly rather take their chances with the security of the few jobs that are available. So, they’re rioting.

Now, some claim that what they’re really rioting against is any proposal that smells like the tiniest move towards a free market economy. Why would that be bad? Well, because a free market economy equals an AMERICAN economy, and the French hate the American economy.

Why? Because the French are nuts (haven’t we already been over this?). In French logic, 20% unemployment is preferable to 5% unemployment. Well, really they’d still like the 5% unemployment, but only if they can get it without doing it the American way. I told you— they’re nuts.

A Washington man was rushing to catch his commuter train and forgot his daughter in the car. Even though it was clearly not intentional, and the little girl was unharmed, the man will face charges of leaving a child under 8 unattended. I bet that no sentence the court can hand down will be worse than what his wife is going to do to him.