Drat. November. A horrid month indeed. But since it is a new month, I am changing some things on the blog, just like I do my ebay business each month. Learn. Grow. Right?
So on the board for Blog news, you can see I changed the homepage up some.. please leave comments with your feedback.
Also I am gonna post my blog numbers for this month (later today). Its pretty dang interesting. Someone in Missouri reads often! I don't know anyone there ( do I)? So COOL I have a new reader. This is my goal! Stranger, whoever you are, feel free to join in on commentary etc. You don't have to be a friend to participate!
I love all the comments & emails b/c its challenging and interesting. Kevin is great with emails on neat ideas, and Jessidesign too! Thanks dudes.
Can everyone see the pictures/Videos? Does the page take too long to load?
Please direct your attention now to the POLL on your LEFT. I wanna see what you think, plus I just thought it would be neat to have a poll .. but anyway are you guys getting bombarded with too many email updates on the blog or are you enjoying and want to keep the way it is? I started this as a form of mass communication for practical reasons, and that is still my #1 priority.Vote soon as poll is just temporary.
Anyway, I think thats all for now so let me hear what you think.. please.. comments are really strugglin lately!! Discuss.

The Fireplace people were back today, and I guess they know me pretty well by now, cause they had the new guy come get his pic taken without me having to ask! HA
I really do love this company and recommend them to anyone in the area. They are very educated, honest, hardworking, AND they clean up after themselves each time they work!
CHIMNEY KLEEN is the name of the company. Today I was telling them how I love their secretary and turns out that was the dude's momma, and then his dad is the guy below in the hat! Its a Family Operation!

Tonight was fun! My poor snuggle husband had to work, but I had plenty of company! Lisa came over with friends to go trick or treating with Stevie, and Stevie's Mom & Stepdad came over with his brothers to go trick or treating. While they were all out trick or treating Kathy let me hold the baby the whole time(almost)! Gahh he is precious and so tiny!
Then surprise of all surprises Sellers & Tammy came over with Allie all dressed up to say hi! It was great to see them! Then Sellers told the story of how he came up with "The Griza" (eriks nickname)! Goodtimes were had by all.
Here are some pics:

and this time you guys are lucky enough to see a video! I LOVE him! He is so hilarious!

We have ALOT of electronics between Erik & I... many of which are small. I got an email today about a new service offered by GearID which provides you with a way to register your electronics online and gives you a small label to adhere to them with a registration number and advertises a reward if found. So say you lose your digital camera, the finder can see the sticker, call the number and GEARID will send them a shipping label to send it back to you and pay them $20 for staying honest. You can also add more $ to the reward offered if you choose. This service will cost you $12 every 3 months. I'd say that's pretty worthwhile.
Click Here to read more about it.

yesterday, was a hard day for me, well really last week in general and last night I had a small mental breakdown. My sweet husband comes home from work this morning bearing flowers and groceries and offered to drive Stevie to school for me this morning!! I can't explain the relief that flooded over me as I realized that I would be able to drink coffee while watching the morning show and that I don't have to go to the grocery store this morning. I HATE going to the grocery store. This family drinks about $50 in drinks a week! Each time I go to the store I have to get 2 Purity Lemonade Cartons, several cases of sprite & coke, red bull, milk, caprisuns & vitamin waters. That is ALOT of drinks! (which are heavy and a pain to carry to & from the car!!)
So unexpectedly this morning, Erik shows up with all of these drinks plus food AND FLOWERS!! One of my favorite things about him, since we started dating, is his ability to recognize my needs and provide them without me even having to say anything out loud. That, in my opinion, is not a very common male trait!
I say all this to say: Thanks to my Erikhead, but also to let you guys know that our life is not all sunshine and concerts... I get emails sometimes about how fabulous our life seems etc, so I would just like to take this opportunity to say, I only actually write about the sunshine & concerts... there is plenty more in between that I don't speak about publicly so don't go gettin' too envious, except of my Husband.. he's pretty rad.
Now I hate to leave on such a serious note, but my doggles are going absolutely crazy this morning, and Flossie has taken it upon herself to unpack my suitcase for me so I have to go gather up all my clothes before she hides them.
Happy Halloween!

Just a few of my Favorite Costumes this year! Some Very creative ones too!! Some friends and some randoms from New Orleans.. HA

Today, Flossie came trotting down the hall with these in her mouth. I cant imagine how much this little snack will cost us, but safe to assume she is closing in on Ralphie's Tally with one small (crunchy) bite....

Pray for me as I am feeling short supply of Love for just about everybody these days... Ha just kidding but seriously this is one of my biggest struggles (forgiveness being #1)..
My Devotion for Today:


A SHORT SUPPLY OF LOVE

by Gail Rodgers


When Susan thought of some of the dear people in her life spontaneous feelings of love sprang from her heart. Then there were others who were not so easy to love. They challenged her sense of justice, her patience and even her Christian faith as she grappled with how to love them.

She re-read the chapter in her Bible that outlines the characteristics of love. One phrase stood out to her: "Love is patient and is kind..." (1 Corinthians 13:4).

She thought about the group at church who were talking about the pastor and trying to get him to leave. Or the woman at work who just seemed to want to make her life miserable. She had a neighbor who mistreated his wife and she felt disgust for him. The politician who represented her was making decisions contrary to her beliefs. Even some extended family members were awfully trying. She felt justified in withholding her love.

Yet here God was clearly outlining the characteristics of love. His Word said the world should know we are Christians by our love. Love should be the hand - rail that will steady us in all our relationships and dealings with the world around us. Yet how is it possible? One could not just turn a blind eye to injustice, mistreatment and gossip.

The springs of love are within God...love does not naturally exist in our own hearts when love is not returned. God tells us exactly what is required of us when we face this dilemma in our hearts. Listen to His wisdom....

"And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly
To love mercy and
To walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).

It began to make sense to Susan. Her responsibility was simply to walk humbly with her God. She would allow Him to keep her heart soft with mercy while striving for fairness. This would make the difference in the situations where people seemed so irritating. His Holy Spirit would give her patience and the ability to be kind. This approach would even bring balance to situations at church or work that were getting out of control. This love made sense to her. She had new perspective. Mercy and fairness from God's heart could help her deal with some of the hard spots in life.

CLICK THIS

Try and imagine the USA with Hi-lary and Bill as president, a democratic House and Senate, Reed as speaker in the Senate and Pelosi as speaker in the House, Pelosi as third in line for the presidency and Teddy Kennedy on the sidelines. That will curdle your milk for you and if it doesn't scare you nothin will.

On another issue. I mentioned the importance of distinguishing an immigrant from a migrant and immigration from migration. The ACLU argues that immigration is the sole province of the Federal Government. That is correct (see definition of immigrant). We have been and are invaded by 10 to 30 millions of citizens of a foreign power and they now occupy our country. These migrants are costing the citizens of the USA dearly and have migrated throughout our country. Many of the migrants tend to aggregate in certain areas, especially cities that provide sanctuary. The problem is discussed by James Jay Carafano in the American Legion Magazine, October 2007, "Southern Discomfort" page 26-33.

Scattered communities around the USA have decided to enact local laws to help them control the costs associated with their migrant population. The ACLU and others have succeeded in having these laws declaired unconstitutional on the grounds that immigration laws and management of immigration is a function of the federal government. Why not write local laws that relate to migrants? The defining characteristics of a migrant may include proof of citizenship, sponsorship by a local business, medical and hospitalization insurance, etc.

Now suppose local communities write such laws and begin to enforce them. Migrants, facing arrest and jail time, might relocate to sanctuary cities. The sanctuary cities may become overburdened by the mass of migrants. Will the federal government use tax monies from the rest of the USA to support this illegal activity? Will the communities, as Governor Spitzer is doing, arrange for the migrants, citizens of a foreign power, to be able to vote?

Now suppose that the federal government gets around to enforcing our laws. Do you think that our laws could be enforced in the sanctuary cities? Would the migrants just pack up and peaceably depart for their home country?

When you vote for the next president or legislature you might wonder how the elected one will react to some of these problems.

Happy Halloween to all and to all a good night. Sleep well, don't fret.

LSG

That missing 15 minutes of sleep a night in children can be the difference between an A & B student? I heard it on the news today. There were several different studies showing how much sleep affects a child's grades.

Today we walked down to Canal St. and had some cajun food and shopped around the flea market. The weather is beautiful down here right now.


After all of that we came back to the hotel and got ready for the Festival. Tonight was really nice b/c it was less crowded. We saw The Black Crowes who were AWESOME.
I have never liked their music much but they are amazing performers. Chris Robinson is so funny. He dances around a lot like a girl, but you can tell he is into what he is doing and that makes a difference!
We also saw Common, who I like a lot b/c of his work with Eryka Badu. After Common was WILCO, also a great band.
I ran into some more friends today; Keela Britton from AU, and Shay Click & Guy from the Ham.
Overall, I have to say VooDoo fest needs some work. There was hardly adequate trash cans, and NO recycling cans at all, which is totally irresponsible in a crowd this large. The bathrooms were not spread out well and there were not enough so those got really gross! People love to throw up down here in New Orleans. Completely disgusting! I can handle a lot of things but dodging puke ... I cant do it without gagging. UGH
Despite the nastiness we did have a really great time! I thought I had lost my love for New Orleans when Erik & I were here for the Sugar Bowl, but I still love it here.. the atmosphere, the food, the cajun accent etc.. We never felt scared or in danger either so we had a really good trip down here!

Now tomorrow we fly home and see the dogchildren! I cant wait! Ralphie will probably not even be speaking to me for leaving him behind. I also have massive amounts of ebay packages to ship and 4 cases of Juicy that came in while we were gone so... I shall be rather busy when we get home! Hopefully I will still have time ( and energy) for blogs!
I have been really tired lately... which is NOT normal for me. I dont take naps or sleep much and I am always on the go... and since last week I have taken a 2 hour nap each day.. which is odd and makes me think something is wrong! However last time this year I was really tired a lot and terrified that it was b/c I was pregnant but that was a false alarm! ha so maybe its something seasonal.. who knows..

Click here to read the 22 Tips for Iphone!

Last Night was really fun. We were just randomly walking down Bourbon and some guy said we should come in his club because he has a great R&B band... and he was SO right. We had a wonderful time ! They played Al Green, Stevie Wonder, to OutKast.. Erik was accosted by many strangers wanting to know WHY he wasn't dancing with me! Ha so after a few times he decided to get up and dance. The whole band had iphones.. which we loved!! I gave them my business card with our blog address on the back! So, Fun band from 544, if you are reading this PLEASE let that girl that sings with ya'll sing Eryka Badu!! Her voice is perfect for Ms. Badu covers..




So today has been fun! We had brunch at the Court of 2 Sisters today and it was so delish! Erik decided he would chug Orange Juice before we left for Brunch and it made him have a terrible stomach ache and he couldnt eat Brunch with us. The waitress kept thinking he was hung over and wanted to bring him crackers and stuff and just kept talking to him like he was hung over but he was really just sick from the OJ! Poor erik..
Then off to the concerts.. VooDoo Fest is not near as organized or clean as Lallapalooza. It is still cool though. Rage Against the Machine was awesome tonight! Marshall (Colquett not Lewis) I think you look like the lead singer of Rage and that you should grow your hair out into a fro like he wears it. What do you think of that?

Believe it or not we ran into 4 people from Monroeville (Stefanie Pulfrey, Trent Taylor, Courtney Barnett & Seales) and 3 from Auburn!

So I am adding a new feature to the bloggle! It will be a political rant from Louis Sparkman Graham (Erik's Grandfather) because he is very passionate about politics and wants to educate people like myself who are ignorant to current political issues. I also love how computer savvy he is! He lives in Sebastian, FL with is wife Gloria and precious dog child Sadie.
Below is Granpa's 1st Edition. Let the commentary begin!!!!!!!!


What should we fear? There are so many facets to this that they can only be cussed and discussed piecemeal.
We are economically at the mercy of China, Japan and others because of several factors including our inability to live within our means. Our welfare state is ready to go broke. The social security system is said to be in danger of running out of money. No nation in the world has survived "multiculturalism", because they have submerged their own nationality. The "white" races of the world are not reproducing adequate replacement to maintain their place on the planet. The surface of the planet is finite yet people are reproducing at an alarming rate and in the process destroying the ecological system upon which we are dependent. We are fast using up natural resorces that are not replacable. The "elite thinkers" and business interests believe that we must have "globilization" to survive. ETC.

Lets look at problem which we all can currently relate to.
In my Webster - Nation - A body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or possess a government peculiarly its own.
"Particular territory" indicates some form of delineation, such as boundaries or borders.
"Seek or possess a government peculiarly its own"- the constitution of the United States.
It would seem that we qualify as a nation.
How do nations define immigration? The government of each nation sets up rules and regulations that delineate the qualifications a person must have in order to immigrate into that nation. Such a person is termed an immigrant and the process of becoming an immigrant is termed immigration. If this be true it follows that one can not be an "illegal immigrant" nor can there be "illegal immigration". If there are no borders a defining element of a nation is lost and since there is no nation no immigration can occur, ie. on may immigrate only when there is a nation to immigrate into. One may migrate into areas that are not defined as a nation, borders mean nothing to migrants. These distinctions become important in any debate concerning immigration or immigration reform.

Where does this leave us?
We are invaded by 10 to 30 millions of citizens of a foreign power and they now occupy our country. However, these migratory citizens retain citizenship in their own country to which they are are loyal.

We began poorly designed (from our standpoint) trade treaties in the Clinton administration and even further back. We have a host of treaties, NAFTA, CAFTA, etc. which were developed without the oversight of Congress. In 2005 Bush, Fox and the Canadian prime minister set up a "Security and Prosperity Parnership of North America" agreement. The Council on Foreign Relations published in2005 a report "Building a North American Community". It seems the plan is to have a "North American Union" similar to the European Union. We are to have free flow of trade and people across our borders.

Let me close by asking a question. If we have free flow of people across our borders, does this effectively remove our borders? If our borders are removed, are we a nation? If we no longer have borders, have we also done away with our constitution?

See you later.

LSG

So while Erik naps, I walked down the street to have lunch at EAT. It was Ok. I had a Portabella Burger with Fresh Fruit. Cute little place but more fancy than I was looking for. I love hole in the wall type places.
My waiter was good, however he was wearing ill fitted capri pants and lots of "man gold" which made it hard to concentrate on my food.
I had planned to walk to the river after lunch and go to the French Market, however about half way there I got a call from Dear ole dad and when he asked what I was doing, and I answered, he told me to "get my butt back to the hotel and not to be walking around the NO without Erik b.c people will kill you !" and he said it pretty serious so I turned around and came back to the hotel room.(yes I still mind my father) Erik will be lecturing me as soon as he reads this. HA (according to Granpa Erik's great lecture skills came straight from him) How can I ever thank you Grandpa? @#$%^&
On the way back, I did make one small short stop to this store called "Dark Spice" b.c it had a cute dress in the window. Upon entering the store, it was all too obvious that darkspice is code for "white girls don't come in here", but I was already inside and embarrassed so I just walked around and browsed for a few minutes. I think it was my inner 14yr old Black girl that drew me to that store to begin with. (My friend Matt swears that deep inside of me there is trapped a 14 yr old black girl.) He may be right
and so that was the end of my adventure. Its getting cold here! Yikes.

Well I can assure you she was! This lady pictured above, got in her seat spread all out and then proceeded to lean her seat back as far as it would go till it was resting on my knee caps, and she kept it that way the duration of the flight, as did her husband so that me & that captain dude you see pictures were all boxed in. We could barely read a magazine it was so squanchy. People like her always amaze me... how oblivious or unconcerned they are with other people around them.. Little did she know she was gonna be photoed droolin all over herself and blogged about to the masses! That'll show her! HA

The man flight attendant had the strangest version of a mustache... and i totally would show it to you but he wouldn't stand still long enough for me to capture it on the iphone and ya'll know erikhead gets embarrassed for me to ask strangers for favors. HA

So we are here, safe, sound & Hungry in the N.O.!! Erik is snoozing since he hasn't slept since 5pm yesterday afternoon (he worked last night). As usual he found us the perfect hotel room in a little Bed & Breakfast in the quarter. (pictures soon as he wakes up :)

and Shay has texted me that she will be here for VooDoo as well so this weekend is shaping up to be awesome!

Dear Santa,
My Name is Flossie Bossy Graham, and I would really really like this for Christmas. I hope you read my mamma's blog cause she said Daddy will never go for this. He thinks I am too spoiled as it is. I promise I will pee outside (only) for a WHOLE month if you get me this.
Juicy Couture Posh Pooch Set:





Love, Flossie B. Graham

Yes, Erik & I are off to New Orleans, LA tomorrow for the Voodoo Music Festival! We are super excited to be going with some friends from Auburn, Joe & Samantha Newcomb. They are a really fun, upbeat couple and we love traveling with them!
We will be seeing such bands as Rage Against the Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins, Gym Class Heroes, Red Jumpsuit Aparatus, Dr. John, Dumpstaphunk, The Black Crowes, Paolo Nutini, Fall Out Boy, and many many more!
Stay tuned for some pics and updates from the NO. We do have WIFI access in our hotel! Ya'll know I wouldnt be staying somewhere that didnt! ha

Now, Most of you know that Flossie's paw has been promised in marriage to this young lad Tucker. The fact that he is an Auburn Fan is only one reason why she loves him!
All we need is for Flossie to have her 2nd round of Woman hood then we can take her to meet her man! I wish she would hurry up because we all thought it would be fun to have puppies around during the Holidays. How much longer do we have to wait Uncle Louie?

Hip Hip Hooray!!!! This is GREAT news! Internet Guru Kevin (who is private and doesn't like me talking about him on the blog... sorry Kev) sent me a great article this morning. He is a computer expert who is always in the know with computer stuff, and always alerts me which I love!
IMAP for those who don't know, is a way to keep your email in sync on your phone, computer etc and thus far was only offered to Yahoo Premium members. You can read all about it at:
Gmail Article
and while i am talking about email clients I will just say Hotmail/MSN is terrible. UGH Don't use it! They have no POP access.
If you need a full list of why Gmail is superior I can send you one, but for now here is one great reason:
Picasa (the photo sharing ) is awesome and does not allow the people you send your albums to, to sign in before viewing. They also will give you html code to paste slideshows of that album on your blog or myspace etc. If one more person sends me a KODAK album I am gonna lose it. HA

As promised, after the boys left I had Stevie an extra night so we could do some fun things together and he didnt have to share our attention. We started this out by going to this huge crazy Halloween place and picking out a costume. He always likes the same sort of look, year after year, and that didnt change this year! We also carved pumpkins. Below are pics of him with his pumpkin and in his costume, which the dog children didn't like!




Upon checking the backpack this week I notice that Stevie is having trouble in Language. This is my worst homework nightmare because it is my worst subject. I never really had a proper teacher in that subject and so I don't know how the heck I can explain compound sentences etc to Stevie. Pray for us as we make it through our next homework challenge. Report cards just came out and I havent seen his. It mysteriously has been missing from the backpack...

"Me" is actually Elijah. Stevie's 3yr old brother. We had a spend the night party here last night with all his brothers b/c Mike & Kathy are still in the hospital with the the new baby (which has now been named :Samuel Lewis Stovall).
So last night was pretty hilarious, trying to get the all fed and in the bed on time and stuff. Elijah refers to him self as "me" a lot and pretty much speaks his own language. "Me not sleeping here, me sleeps at ours house".
"Me" also grabs at his wee wee a lot. I asked him do you have to TT and he said yes, so we went but he kept on with the grabbing so I said why are you doing that and he said " Me peepee has dust on it" which of coarse is not true but still made me laugh for 5 mins, which encouraged him to continue saying it over and over. I think I have been laughing since he first opened his eyes this morning. "Me" also spent about 20 minutes playing in a pumpkin garbage can, which he insisted on doing while I take his picture.
For those of you who think I am crazy, just remember that alot of you lived together before marriage so you could "try it on" and see how it works... well this is me trying on kids to see how they work! HA
I also am trying today to stick with my normal routine and see how that works with Kids in tow (just for future reference). So far we have been doing laundry, gone to target, and to the post office AND it is pouring rain here so it has been especially challenging. "Me" has told me that he likes me to carry him while running through the rain b/c he thinks its fun. "Me is ready to do that again, ME IS READY TO DO THAT AGAIN" (he also likes to repeat himself a lot getting louder each time, just to make sure I heard him.
Me tells me as we are pulling up to target " Me tummy is telling me hungry and me tummy is gonna hurt till I feed it. Me needs a snack here" ... This is after the 4 tangerines "me" ate 20 minutes prior to the trip.
David who is 5, requested steak and corn for breakfast this morning! Which I provided but then he changed his mind and wanted oranges instead, except he calls them lemons.
Poor Ralphie and Stevie, are not used to sharing me (laura) and this has been rougher on them than anyone. I told Stevie he could stay an extra night and we will carve pumpkins together so he could feel special. Ralphie.... just doesnt know what to do, last night he got in between me and Elijah and pushed Elijah away from me with his paws so that he could lay there. He barely lets Erik sleep next to me, and there was no way he was letting a new kid take his spot. Flossie stays hidden b/c all the noise and movement is scary to her.
Now what I really want to know is, how do Mom's shower? I mean what do I do with the kids so that I can shower? ha Do you always have to have another adult around in order to shower?

Provocative title much? Ha yes.. cause I am just curious if any of you have noticed that every single time you check out, anywhere, they are trying to talk you into a credit card.
Last week, I am in the DRIVE THROUGH at the bank (you know, the line you go to when you are in a hurry) and the teller is asking me did I know about this and that credit card... and I was like DUH our one and only credit card is with THIS BANK, and she is all "yeah but you don't have this card and blah blah blah, and so just to try and get her to shut up, I said " well does that card offer purchase protection?" and she says " What is that?"
I am not even kidding. She works at a bank, and is shoving credit cards down the customers throat, and pretty much runs out of things to say after " Do you want one " & " Are you sure"...
Even today, as I come out of the dressing room at Express
the girl says, "was everything Ok?"
and i said "Yes, Thank you."
and then she says, " Do you have an Express Card yet?"
and I (being SO annoyed that now, I cant even browse without being offered a credit card) say NO, I don't have one and I DONT WANT ONE" and I walk away.
rah rah rah.
Now you know, Somebody has got to take them up on these ridiculous offers, or else they wouldn't constantly suggest that you apply for a credit card so that you can save 10% on $30.00. Do you know anyone that needs to save $3 that much? Or perhaps the people who accept these offers can't count and think its just a super idea... This happens everywhere you go, even the grocery stores , and you can bet your fanny that they will offer it EVERY SINGLE TIME you check out at Target. Its an epidemic that must stop! (shall I rally?)
I am gonna stop talking about it now, cause I think you get the point. I was totally gonna skip this blog until I got harassed in Express today so you all have that girl to thank for this rant.

This weekend, Erik and I decided to be productive and do some things in the yard. I picked up tons of mulch at Lowe's (which has left my car smelling JUST LIKE famaldahyde..) does anyone know why it smells like that? Its NASTY.
Anyway, after doing my part ( the purchasing) I leave Erik in the yard to put out the mulch. He comes inside saying he needs a tree for the side of the house and that he and Stevie are taking the red truck around the block to look at trees. I am inside on the phone with AT&T (who over charged us on our bill and that usually takes me 30 minutes to explain the error to them... or shall I say 30 mins for them to understand...) ANYWAY... they leave for the store.
Well, Erik tries to call me from the store and I am still on the phone with AT&T so I didn't click over and next thing you know he is home with a new tree.. But not just any tree.. a tree that costs $160 !!!!
Is it made of gold you ask? No it isn't...
Does it grow money you ask? Not that I can tell
Then why the H is the tree costing $160.....? I have NO idea.. but I do know that if I had let AT&T keep that $10, then the $160.00 tree not made out of gold, would still be at Johnson Landscaping... but since I didn't click over Erik says he had no one to consult with and had to make the executive decision.
Feast your eyes on this new tree:

Stevie has a new brother! He has not been completely named yet so you will just have to settle for some pictures right now. He is absolutely beautiful and looks just like Kathy & Mike's youngest son Elijah. This is probably the closest I have come yet to wanting a baby, when I saw him in the hospital with her and how sweet they all were. ( but Don't go gettin all crazy: I still have a ways to go before jumping on the baby train...)He is soooo perfect!
Stevie, upon meeting him for the 1st time said " I am gonna teach you how to play video games, and annoy your sister, and how to play football". It was hilarious!

Why is today so great you ask? Well its great because i just got a HUGE, Wonderful shipment of Juicy Couture Velour Pants and Hoodies for MrsGriza.com!! Velour is Juicy's #1 Selling item and I cant wait to get them on the website. Also.. I managed to get Julie a new pair of Juicy Black Velour Cargo pants, like the ones that she basically lives in, that Ralphie ate for dinner the last time she was home.. (remember this post).....

Now all my readers get 1st pic from the site! Except TONYA HOLLIS, who is such a devoted reader of my bloggle, that she was the VERY first one to sign up for subscriptions and she reads each day! So for TONYA she gets one FREE Juicy item of her choice from mrsgriza.com.
Thanks Tonya for being so cool! Love you!

Anyway I must go and work and work today to get everything up on the site. Keep checking back until I have it all listed!

According to my secret spies... (Coco via Perezers).. Jessica Simpson is in Nashville today. Why? She is recording a country album (lucky us..) Jessica Simpson is a pitiful pop artist, and not much of an actress either. What she is however, is pretty, at least she was until she started altering her looks with artificial means...
She is another "artist" that makes her audience wait a few hours while she plays with her dogchild backstage... and ya'll know how much I love that!

Hello!

We’ve reviewed your resume and application for the our Apple Store, and based on your qualifications, would like to invite you to take the next step in the process.

What:
Attend an invitation- seminar at the Apple Store to:

* Meet represenatives of our amazing team at the Green Hills Apple Store.
* Learn about the stores, hiring process, and positions available.
* Ask questions—and get answers.
* Show us your personality, and have fun!
* Do some activities to showcase your skills.

When:

We will be hosting a Hiring Event on Sunday, October 21st from 7p - 8:30p.

Where:

Green Hills Apple Store
http://www.apple.com/retail/greenhills/

How:

Reply by email to greenhills@apple.com to register. In your email:
• Provide the best phone number to contact you.
• Describe your hardware and/or software expertise.
• Describe your customer service experience.

Please RSVP by 10/20 to reserve your spot.

Thank you,

Jen Carter
Guest Recruiter, Atlanta Market
greenhills@apple.com

and as it so happens I am a Fire expert.. ha well I have had a few fires in my life. Freshman year in college.. my friends and i had a fire and managed to ruin 2 dorm rooms thanks to Emily's Pink Casio alarm clock from 1983. (remember Pink Casio's?)
Then 2 years later, I was burning a Glade candle (you know the ones in the glass cups?) . The candle was on my desk, the cup burst, and the fire spread to the desk, shelf etc.. and since I wasn't in the room at the time I did't notice it for a bit. Thank God my dad insisted he install smoke detectors 2 days prior to this fire!!
and recently... keeping with our daily struggle to be responsible adults, we had the fire place people out to clean and inspect the chimney.. and boy did we find out a lot. So I will share with you all here some things to remember and perhaps check this month for Fire Safety.

1. Dryer Vents (this is a tube that takes the hot air from your dryer and carries it outside.) This needs to be checked yearly for loose lint, and is a major source of house fires. We had ours checked and not only was it plastic instead of metal, it just so happened it was a piece of drain pipe, not vent pipe and FULL of lent!! Here is a pic of what we found:


pretty bad huh?

2. Yearly cleaning and inspection of your fireplace. Way too many reasons for this but basically that brick part coming out of the roof needs to be properly sealed so water stays out, and also you need to be up to code for your homeowners insurance to cover damage ( i think).
also ( and this is super interesting) the mantle here didn't pass inspection and here is why. Wood has to get up to like 495 degrees hot before it just combusts.. well each time that wood gets hot, the temp. it needs to acquire before combusting goes down a few degrees, so this mantle that has been here for years may only have to get to 300 degrees before combusting because of all the past heat exposure! This is why people are mystified when their house catches on fire after 10 years of doing the same thing... so all wood etc needs to be at least 6 inches from the firebox.

3. Did you know that when you burn firewood it is supposed to be at least a year old already? If you burn younger wood, it causes a bunch of tar and black stuff to build up and that stuff does not come off easily or cheaply, and will also cause a chimney fire.

and so that sums up my safety talk for the day. Go check your Smoke detectors, make sure you have extinguishers handy (that work) and don't throw water on a grease fire.

THE END
Oh wait... not the end...

just for the sake of adding interested.. I will add this tidbit..
I am perhaps slightly paranoid about strangers in the house.. for a variety of reason but mostly, I don't want them casing out the joint to come back and rob later, and also I don't want them coming back to get me in the middle of the night. SO... whenever we have workers in this house I make them pose, and I take their picture, and they know why I am taking it! So if anything happens, I have a complete file of possible suspects.. ha
Now there is your proof, that I am every bit as crazy as you think I am.
Here are some recent work mens:

Will Google put out the Gphone or what? Rumors are running rampant. It is my prediction that everyone needs Google Stock (and we should have bought some 3 or 4 months ago) ....
Isn't it Pretty!! Rachel & Dave.. will this get you on board or what?

Ugh, well maybe I will! A real job that is.... last night in all my despair, it occurred to me that perhaps I should work for apple. I do love them, I love everything they make, and I really want to learn more about how to operate efficiently, so by working for them I could
- potentially get discounts on all these things that I want from that store! Did you know all Apple employees who had been with them for a year got a FREE iphone? How cool is that?
- Free training! YES! They will school you for free in all their stuff
- Wear what I want to work. Very obviously they do not have a dress code, as a matter of fact, I have never been to an apple store that had normal looking employees so the freakier you are, the more they want to hire you. Perhaps I will show up for an interview in a Halloween Costume.
- they are in dire need of a NICE person working for them, because most all of them are super smug, and treat customers as if they are morons... Oh how fun it would be to join their super special smart kid elitest club, and no longer be the poor snubbed customer..

I had like a list of 20 reasons why I should work there last night, however I cant remember them now So you will just have to use your imagination.
I might also mention that Erik laughed when I told him I had applied for a job at the Apple store! However much he covets his title as "Only Bread Winner" I think he secretly will be happy to see me turnover a real(i.e. Steady) paycheck. We shall see.

...which is still barely functioning due to the computer issue, I have granted myself a free day. I will blog to my hearts content, and I will not do any laundry (what a rebel!). That is my plan for today so get ready to read, and be patient with my rants. I am a bit testy still, so pretty much everything is getting on my nerves right now..

I am currently on the phone with apple ( on hold) to try and recover some lost files... like say oh my 5,ooo songs in Itunes that I have spent the last week organizing, renaming and importing album artwork to.

rah.rah.rah.rah.rah.rah.rah.rah.

I hope you did! I hope you go back and read it and read it and re-read it until it has been appreciated to the full $812.00 it will cost me to fix my computer!! That little crash of Stevie's did more damage than I was aware of and isn't covered under my warranty or homeowners policy b/c it was self inflicted....
and that is about all I can say about that at this moment.................

Flossie chews toilet paper and My bro kills hogs... That's just what they do!!
Nice one Bro!

So I had this brilliant idea of a way to clean of my mess of a jewelry collection.It seemed like a really simple idea in my head! (they all start out that way, b/c I am not much of a logistics person) Anyway, I thought I could just get a piece of pegboard and hang it on the back of the bathroom closet door and Ouila! an instant jewelry board.

I go to Lowe's and the man there explains problem #1 with my idea - If i straight out fasten it to the door the peg thingys wont go in the holes #2 Its only sold in 4x8 sheets (he assured me of this) and I will have to buy the whole sheet. So I hunt down some man to move this huge board and slice it in the correct measurements.
Then when on the peg thingy aisle , I notice a nice ALEADY CUT Perfect size white plastic peg board piece. And so I unload my whole sheet of cut pieces and lay them next to the already cut sheets and then purchased myself one of those perfectly cut sheets. I do this so that when they find my sheets they will notice the already cut ones and suggest those next time.
Gah, this story is getting long, well when I get home and nag Erik enough till he finally gives in to hang my peg board, we discover it wont accommodate the door handle, and it had to be cut. So down to the garage we go and attempt to work a skill saw ( for the 1st time ever) and then the belt comes off the saw and it stops working. Just as we were about to give up, I say those magic words " Babe you are such a good husband for trying so hard and not giving up on my idea" and he was back on that saw till he got it working.
Back upstairs we go and attempt to hang again, but the door is scrubbing the ground (pre-existing problem) but if you are gonna do something, do it right, yes? So then he takes the door off the henges and attempts to plane it (sp?) ... this is the part where bro got roped into project "Hang jewelry board".




All in all, this was like a 5 hour deal and worked out perfectly to be what I had designed in my head ! HA. Thanks Snugs!! "Kisses to your forehead"
Ya'll may not know but Erik is a CHM (closet handy man) and he knows how to do lots of neat things I never thought he knew about. (Favorite Erik trait #269)
Wonder what all the neighbors were thinking as the drove by the scene pictured above?!?!?