Why does it seem like we are all so inclined to pick a side and and dig in, defend it and block out anything that comes from "the other side"? It is obviously the case in U.S. politics these days.  You pick a party/candidate and only listen to points coming from their "side".  Everyone denies they do it but most get caught doing exactly that. It isn't just politics though.  If you aren't ready to declare your support of gay marriage then you're a homophobe.  If...

Remember when Liberals were all about questioning authority, ant-censorship and free speech?  Now if you question our government you are racist. Events in history are being erased (censored) in the name of political correctness (take the case of ESPN cutting out Curt Schillings game play from broadcast).  The new wave Liberals need safe spaces to protect them from speech they don't like. I guess I'm old but people saying things has never scared me.  Now the thought of n...

I knew it had been a long while since I had posted here but I didn't realize it has been about 4yrs!  I have been living via cell phone during that time so popping on FB and Twitter has filled my social media time.  I recently went back to work at our office building so I'm back on the computer! I keep up with some of my old JU buddies on FB.  I don't know if anyone who is on here these days even knows me.  I intend to start blogging again because I miss writin...

A friend of mine recently posted a blog article on Facebook about Governor Jan Brewer pointing her finger in the President's face.  My friend's status above said article was " It never entered my brain that this was anything other than a crazy woman disrespecting our president." but she wanted us to read this blog article to teach what it was "really" about. The article was a lesson in rules for "White Folks" when dealing with "Black People".  The author instructed White F...

I read a blog recently written by a mom of young children who got irritated by everyone telling her to enjoy the time she has with her kids now because they grow so fast.  I understood where she was coming from because when you're living the days of constant feedings, diaper changes, no sleep, etc. you don't want to hear "enjoy this time".  You have plenty of moments when you just gaze at your babies in wonderment and gratitude that you have them but  you have a lot more t...

Hi There!  I haven't been around JU in a really long time.  Thought I'd stop by and see how things are going.  Seems like the only time I'm on the computer anymore is for email or Facebook.   I now have 3 kids in 3 different schools so that has kept life interesting....and busy.  High School boy is all about girls and games.  Middle School boy is playing basketball and gaming with his dad and big brother (Star Wars right now) and the little girlie is ...

So, on April Fool's Day do you do any fooling or receive any?  What's your favorite prank?  The only one that really comes to mind for me is when kids took apart a car and reassembled it inside the school.  On a lesser scale, they picked my car up and moved it so I freaked out when it wasn't where I had parked it. I like silly pranks but don't like the ones that really freak people out and either make them upset or mad.  I think it's especially funny when something strange...

I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and it really points out some major issues we need to address as a country.  How do the kids have a chance when all of the adults in their lives are overweight?  Parents, teachers, nurses, doctors...right on up to our Surgeon General are overweight if not right out obese! As a parent, I know that kids learn what they live.  If they see their parents playing sports, they're going to want to play sports.  If they see their pa...

I have dealt with death before.  I have even lost loved ones to cancer before.  Nothing has ever been as difficult as this.  A piece of happiness is gone that I can't get back. I can't even write much about it yet but hope to be able to some day.  For now I will just lay out what I can: I met Debbie in Kindergarten.  We became best friends in the 4th grade.  We became "The Debbies" We grew from awkward little girls together.  We ended up at the s...

My husband has talked to our kids about the different parts of who a person is, that being 1) Instinct 2) Conditioning and 3) Who you choose to be.  I usually take those things for granted but recently observed those parts in myself while confronted with someone who is truly noone as far as I'm concerned.  This is someone who I have only read blogs of and only knew what this person put out on the internet.  As we all know, you can be anything you want to be on the internet. Thi...

When it comes to TV, my guilty pleasures are: Real Housewives series on Bravo & High School Reunion on TV Land I love to hate those Housewives and the High School Reunion show is about people my age acting out soap opera type relationships. I also like to watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 because it makes me feel so much better about my own life One of my new fav shows that I have no guilt about is The Doctors.  They provide so much real life information about extremely co...

A conversation I had with a friend on Facebook inspired me to write about this subject.  He had joined a movement urging the state of Michigan to ban smoking in businesses including bars and restaurants.  I for one would be ecstatic if everyone stopped smoking altogether but I don't think the government should have that power over businesses. First of all, smoking is legal.  Why should the government be able to tell a business owner that they can't have something legal occurrin...

Today our son Ryan’s class had a “Wax Museum”.  They all dressed the part of a historical person and gave a one minute speech whenever a person came up and pushed their “button”.  Ryan was Milton Hershey and was very popular  

I know many of you have heard about the family that just gave birth to Octuplets.  I am interested to hear what people think about this.  Not only do they now have 8 tiny newborns to care for (which is impossible in my mind), they already have 6 (yeah, that's right, 6) children at home! Here are my thoughts.  First off, who has 6 children and then gets IVF for more?!  What kind of doctor implants 8 embryos at a time?!  8 babies in the NICU, how many millions of d...

On another blog taxes were compared to slavery because for some, half of their work goes to the government.  Many voice the opinion that those people have plenty and that money should be given to those who “need” it more.  If it can be judged by others that one person has more than they “need”, shouldn’t the people having their money taken get to judge what is “needed” by those on the receiving end? I say, if you are receiving government money, you get disqualified if any of your ...