Read Between the Lines

When David Gregory asked John McCain if Palin's resignation was consistent with his qualities of leadership, McCain said "Sure".

"McCain said it was a question of how Palin could serve most effectively, and that she had decided she would be most effective if she stepped down. 'I respect that position and that decision," he said, "and I cannot tell you the appreciation I have for her.' "

McCain cannot tell us the appreciation he has for her because he has no appreciation for her. To flat out admit it would be admitting he effed up in his choice of a running mate and thereby screw himself over for any future political aspirations he may have.
See whole post here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/12/mccain-palins-resignation_n_230178.html

Sarah Palin is to politics, what William Hung is to American Idol. I wish people would stop speculating on what she will do politically from this point forward. Her candidacy for V.P. was absurd. Her governorship was absurd. There is no way that the majority of Americans will ever vote her into the Presidency. To speculate on whether or not she will run in 2012 is a waste of time. She says she quit the governorship of Alaska because it was a waste of tax payer money to defend her against the ethics charges, imagine what a huge waste of money it will be if she runs for President. But I’m curious, do the ethics charges go away now that she’s quit her job?

I watched Erica take her two year chip last night. She's working a good program. I predict she will live a long sober life. She understands the deal. I'm proud of her. I know it hasn't been easy an easy road for her and she's blessed to have found sobriety at an early age.

Savanah is spending the morning volunteering at Houchin Blood Bank. She doesn't even realize the significance of today.

July 1, 2009.

10 years since diagnosis.

Progression in pictures.

The Beginning, 1999.

The Middle




The End.

June 15, 2009 = 13 years of marriage.

16% vs. 84%

My daughter, Erica, told me that one of her professors taught that only 16 percent of Bakersfield is actually educated. So what that means is that if you are driving down the road and you call another driver stupid, there is an 84 percent chance that you are right.

Last night Martin and I went to our best friend's graduation at Cal State where he graduated Outstanding Master of Public Administration. I say "Outstanding" because he was actually awarded Outstanding MPA Student.

Sitting in the audience watching the Masters Ceremony I could see the 16% vs. the 84%. The audience was without a doubt the rudest audience I have ever been in. It talked the entire time with some people actually trying to talk louder than the speaker. No one was listening to any of the speeches. Granted, graduation speeches are boring, but these people didn't have even a modicum of decency at any point during the ceremony.

Masters Schmasters, I guess.

The 84 Percent

The 16 percent

Regardless of the rest of the crowd, Martin and I are very proud of Geoff for his hard work.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERRY

I have a birthday coming up. Today my mom bought me a pair of tennis sandals. Walking shoes in a sandal like form

(see attached image.)

My mom cracks me up. Generally, every year between the months of March and June, my mom buys me presents and tells me they are my birthday presents. She's already given me two other presents for my birthday this year and has told me "This is it. Don't expect anything on your birthday." So today when we were shoe shopping she offered to buy me these sandals for my birthday. I told her she's already given me my birthday present. She said, "I know, but this is it. Don't expect anything on your birthday." She's so funny. I really do like my tennis sandals.

Thank you Mom!

MY FUNNY HUSBAND

Martin bought an all white linen pant suit. I asked him to pose like this.

Want to take a spelling test?
Here is an example:

"Excessive talkativeness." (For Stacey)

1. Logorrhea 2. Logorhea 3. Logorhia

Take the whole test here:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=342

I got 4 out of 10. You can call me Dopey.

Erica and Savanah's dad is back in town. He lives in Mexico. He's lived there for about 5 years now. He moved there because he'd been arrested a couple of times for non-payment of child support and the court told him he had to start paying or he was going to spend a significant amount of time in prison. So he did the selfish thing and moved to Mexico. Today he gave Savanah her Christmas present. Christmas 2008. Only 6 months late. But she can consider it her graduation present. And what better present could a selfish, narcissistic dad give to his daughter whom he hasn't seen for over a year? Why a crystal block with his own image lasered into the center. Yep, he's a real piece of work he is. Your probably wondering how I could leave such a charming individual.

Momma Got Glasses

I've noticed that I can't see things up close as well as I used to. Arg. I decided to get some cheapy over-the-counter glasses and VIOLA! I can see up close again. Tis a miracle!

Getting a Scholarship

Last night Savanah received two small scholarships. One in the amount of $250 from the Clarice Dollar Memorial, and another in the amount of $500 from the Rosemary Dunlap Memorial. These are very generous donations and will go a long way toward books for Savanah this next year. We are very proud and grateful.

consuming carrots

The Bell Peppers of My Labor

What you are looking at is a teeny tiny bell pepper. The first evidence that my garden is going to be fruitful or veggiful. I planted squash and maters too.

I heard someone say Disappointments are inevitable, but misery is optional. I thought, to myself, That is so true. Wow, that person is wise.

Every day I face some sort of disappointment. Whether it's because I feel slighted by someone on the road on the way to work, or because a co-worker has offended me. These disappointments don't need to take over my entire day. I can let them go immediately if I choose to.

Today I'm going to strive to let disappointments go as quickly as they come.

Jerri's Cat.

I haven't felt like posting much lately. I've been pretty busy at work and have entered that phase of life when you go to bed at 7:30 p.m. and wake up at 4:30 a.m.

Here is a picture of the family on Martin's 44th birthday, which was last Friday. We had a fabulous dinner at the Black Angus. Very yummy. And everyone had a good time.

L to R: Shon, Savanah, Martin, Me and Erica.

This is Savanah's latest art project. She's rather wicked!

Yesterday Erica turned 23. She's a full-time student at B.C.

She's gone through quite a bit in her young life and she's

accomplishing much. I'm a proud mama.

Four years old this month!

Happy Birthday Mikey!

March 28, 2009, 8:30 pm local time

World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses,

governments and organizations around the world to turn off

their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to

make a global statement of concern

about climate change and to demonstrate commitment

to finding solutions.

I spent a wonderful day with my mother taking photographs in the Caliente area this weekend.

I'm just sayin'...

Nana's Sleeping

We've had a few weeks of worry, but Thursday the doctors put our minds at ease. It turns out that Savanah has had a chronic sinus infection which has led to bloody noses and lethargy. These symptoms led us to believe she relapsed. Even her platelet count had dropped. It was pretty nerve wracking. She's had a pretty hard winter, sick most of the time, but she's doing well.

My Babies!

A couple of nights ago I woke up around 1:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. Two things were keeping me awake. One, I could not stop thinking that Martin was going to landslide down into the deep end of our pool while inside the tractor he is using to fill it with dirt; and two, I couldn't remember the name of the University in London. I know! I'm a total weirdo! However, I eventually recalled the name of the University around 2:45 a.m. and was able to put that particular thought out of my mind. Kooky. But, the landslide visions continued to haunt me. When Martin got up I questioned him about the possibility of sliding into the deep end of the pool. He tried to assure me that it was an impossibility, however, physics seemed to play a bigger part in my brain than Martin's assurance. I simply could not let it go, but had to live with the fact that Martin was going to fill the pool with loose Earth in his own way. And you know what? He successfully filled the pool, in his way, without incident. What can I say? I'm a worry wort.

And, in case you are as slow as I am, the University is Oxford.

I asked Erica to come over this morning and collect her Valentine presents. Scroll down to view her's and Savanah's pictures.

Ceramic Heart Gee Gaw

Sweets for my first born sweet!

A Brighton necklace to match Savanah's. The necklace has charmes that say "sister", "Love", and a peace symbol. It's very cool.

Erica's new shirt!

This is Savanah opening her Valentine's presents very early this morning. It was still dark out. In this photo she's reading the card I got for her which says "Before I held you in my arms, I held you in my heart." When I was picking the card in the store, I literally started crying in the card aisle. Never has a card made me cry. In this photo, Savanah is also about to cry after reading the card. Following this picture are several other pictures I snapped while Savanah opened her presents.

A ceramic heart gee gaw

A new Brighton necklace

A little candy

A pink shirt! Soon Erica will be here to open her presents. I love my babies!

Progress rather than perfection.