Photo Tag

This is crazy, I am putting the fourth picture that I still have from when I first got my digital camera July 06. This was taken in August, 06 along Colorado state highway 287, near Eads. A nice rain storm brewing off in the distance.

Dr. Phils Personality Test

My result: The Lively Center of Attention

Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not one to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

I don't know but I am kinda liking Dr. Phil! LOL

Just a little humor

We the People...

We the people.........Have the right to choose!
This is the American "Way". I respect everyone's right to make
choices in our Great Country! I challenge each of us to use the tools
at our disposal and do so. I have done my research and found all
the pro's and con's of each of our Candidates for this Presidential
Election. Finding links on the internet for Obama / McCain are
relatively easy.
For example:

Links to Obama and Frank Marshall Davis/ Communist Activist
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-communist-mentor/
http://thelonggoodbye.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/barack-obama-and-frank-marshall-davis/

Vetting Candidates:
Obama-http://www.aim.org/aim-column/who-vetted-obama/
Palin-http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ien_6EeZb9on-oFB_RO7DSzoKWvQD9319KS85

When it comes to the media, what can be said? Other than reporting something/anything be it
true or false-- partly true/partly false, and-- just because they CAN.
Thankfully BECAUSE there is such a thing as "Freedom of Speech"!

Controversy is nothing new when it comes to a Presidential Election.
Rumors are not either. I do not believe all I have heard about Obama, Biden, McCain, or Palin.
I am seriously concerned about the safety of our Great Nation, Oil Dependency, Education and Taxes.

Based on these issues alone I have made my choice for Voting in this Election.

Here is a Republican, who by the way, Barack Obama agrees with (for you Obama supporters)
on Oil, Energy,
---T. Boone Pickens.
http://mytexasmag.com/blog/news/politics/t-boone-pickens-bringing-unity-energy
http://www.boonepickens.com/media/default.asp

Education: http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/palin-praised-by-nea/
and the list could go on.......and on

I am really glad that my life is not under the microscope, surely the media would not
have far to dig to ruin my chances of Serving!

Article from Michael Reagan

Here is a good article from Michael Regan about Sarah Palin.
Click here

McCain and Palin

Clearly I am voting for John and Sarah! Besides-I like the ring of those two names! Very biblical! And their campaign was in St. Paul-- hmmm! Above and beyond that I trust them to keep America safe. I will concede to Mayor Giuliani when he said that you take the applicants and elect the best candidate for the job. McCain and Palin all the way! To me this is and never has been a party thing. I have voted both ways in the past. It is "WHO" is right for the job PERIOD! I grew up an American citizen, I have always known how many states we have, never any question about that. Click here
Don't be swooned by this Obama guy just because you want a party change, my advise is to check out his background fully, after all there is a lot there not to be desired for AMERICA!
And how about the Vice-President! Sarah Palin, you rock! A great example for all women, black, white, red, blue, green, whatever! I wish the McCain - Palin ticket success!
A "US CITIZEN" FOR MCCAIN-PALIN!
some interesting links to Obama background:
Here

Excited to see this Exhibit in Fort Worth!

I can't wait to see this exhibit of some of the worlds best
artists. It will be in Fort Worth and is about a 20min
drive from me. The best thing is for the "old" folks on
Tuesdays it is half price. Eye candy for sure!

The exhibition brings to Fort Worth works that have come to define the Impressionist achievement—paintings that will be familiar even to those who have never visited the Art Institute since they have been so widely disseminated through reproductions. They include Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877) by Gustave Caillebotte; 7 Cézannes, including Madame Cézanne in a Yellow Chair (1888–90) and The Bathers (1899/1904); 6 works by Degas, including Yellow Dancers (In the Wings) (1874/76) and The Millinery Shop (1879/86); 7 Gauguins, including Arlésiennes (Mistral) (1888) and The Ancestors of Tehamana (1893); 5 Van Goghs, including Self-Portrait (1887) and The Bedroom (1889); 7 Manets, including The Races at Longchamp (1866) and Woman Reading (1877/80); 26 Monets, including 6 paintings of wheatstacks, 4 of London, and 3 of water lilies; 12 Renoirs, including Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (1875), Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (1879), and Two Sisters (On the Terrace) (1881); and 3 Toulouse-Lautrecs, including Moulin de la Galette (1889).

My Chihuahua likes to wear undewear!

Crazy Little "Nellie Belle"!
She loves to rut around in the covers, but
particularly loves the underwear! Oh, and
in case you are wondering--- these
were clean! On the "Big Truck", I
would come in with clean laundry and
she would get real excited. I have a special
plastic bin for my undies. I couldn't get them
put away fast enough, she would pull them
out as fast as I tried to put them away! I
thought this video was hilarious, if you listen
to the TV show in the background, makes it
even funnier. I did not know it when I was
taking the video........how funny is that!
Can't tell me "Chihuahua's" don't know
what they are doing! GO FOR THE UNDIES!
Who Knew?

Some happier days!

I have recently connected with some old friends of mine. Well meaning of course, as I do not wish to think of us as "OLD". We shared some really good times together, and I have memories with them I shall cherish forever. This was during the time my children were young(which I always think of as "HAPPIER DAYS"), and I enjoyed my "job" of being Mom and caretaker of everything in the home and family. My husband was hard at work making all this possible and a great provider and Father. I was afforded the luxury of not having to work, unlike a lot of Mom's of today that have to juggle these responsibilities with career. I am forever grateful for that! I was able to do many things with my children that would not have been possible otherwise. One of those was our "riding" horses. Both of my girls learned at an early age and had their own horses. My riding included showing jumpers, riding "English" on a thoroughbred, and showing at National Horse Shows. We also did gymkhanas "western style", and the girls also vaulted on horseback. These ladies were "my trainer and my horses trainer", and one of the gals "in training" at the barn like myself. We have compared notes and find we still have many things in common after 25+ years! WoW! that seems like a long time. If all goes well for us we will plan a reunion to catch up and visit in person. My youngest daughter, Robin, posted a Mothers day tribute/card this May, and in my earlier post today I have created a link to that post, showing me in my riding regalia.
Welcome Lindell and Jacqueline back into my life! I can't wait to see you both again!

Robin's Ramblings: Happy Mother's Day!

Robin's Ramblings: Happy Mother's Day!

Have a party!

Going Green!
I saw this on the news this morning. Get together
and make safe cleaning products for your home. Most
cleaning products are between $4-8.00, for approximately
$.38 you can have safe products for your home.
Have a party with your friends!
Here is the information from a good web site.
womenandenvironment.org

Tomatoes! Fried foods?

Salmonella and Tomatoes
Remember, highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI) is not in the US right now, but you could get a lot of other diseases at a restaurant. Some of the tops on the list are salmonella, norovirus and E.coli just to mention a few.

So, when you are in a restaurant, how do you know which foods you should order to wake up the next morning in one piece? Here are a few tips that will keep you from getting food borne illnesses at a restaurant, roadside food stall, or fairgrounds food tent.

Do's and Do Not's of Eating Out

• Do eat foods that are served very hot.
• Do order fried foods recently plucked out of the grease. If you are traveling and must eat from a food stall, have your food cooked in front of your eyes and do not allow the vendor to lay bare hands on your food. If possible, get your food plucked out of the grease with a pair of tongs that have had a good dunk in that boiling grease.
• Do ask for drinks directly out of the can or bottle and open them yourself. Use a straw that comes in an unopened wrapper.
• Do skip the ice.
• Do wash your hands properly before and after eating. On the road, carry a bottle of an alcohol hand cleanser.
• Do not order fresh fruit juices.
• Do not drink out of glasses or eat from plates that appear damp from recent washing.
• Do not eat salads or fresh fruits.
• Do not eat meat that is pink.
• Do not eat raw animal blood.
• Do not eat undercooked eggs, no runny yolks.
• Do not eat any cold foods, especially if they should be hot.

Aren't Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Good for Me?

Of course, but fresh fruits and vegetables may have been sprayed, washed or irrigated with contaminated water containing fecal material, human or animal. Salads are ripe for disease at a restaurant. You cannot always be sure the restaurant properly washes and handles fresh produce.

And What's Wrong With Ice?

Tap water is often used to make ice and this could be contaminated. Ice may also be picked up by hand by the waiter or waitress, increasing the risk of transmission of a food borne illness.

And From Where is the Fried Foods Tip?

New Orleans, of course. The elevated cooking temperature of deep-fat fried foods kills food borne germs. A professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine would never eat at a restaurant in New Orleans or anywhere. He missed out on a lot of jambalaya and you could not pay him to eat raw oysters.

When this professor was asked to go to a banquet or awards dinner with other faculty members about twice a year, he would try everything to get out of going. When he was forced to go, he limited himself to ordering anything that was fried, which, fortunately for him, is not very difficult to manage in New Orleans.

from about.com filed prevention of disease

Simple Salad

This salad was real good and simple. Some al dente curly
pasta, celery, green onions, yellow peppers, sweet red
peppers, fresh raw zucchini, and Kens light balsamic
vinegar dressing. Real good!




This does not taste like those yuckie light dressings.

The Look from Nellie

The Chihuahua look! My Sister read me a very funny
article on Chihuahua's and we laughed about the "LOOK"
they give you when you sit down to eat something. Mine
does not believe dog food was meant for her! So,
Sharon, here is the Nellie look! Pretty pathetic!

Surgery

Finally, getting around to blogging the unexpected surgery
on my right arm. This has been a real challenge for me.
Evidently I let it get too bad before it was at emergency
status. Carpal tunnel is nothing to mess with, all of a
sudden I lost just about all strength and feeling in my
hands. So here I am sporting the latest fashion in carpal
tunnel post surgery fan fair! (also had to do ulna nerve release)


shortly after getting home.



About 10 days later, I was able to manage to make
breakfast, that was exciting! OMG, I feel like I have
reached the geriatric group discussing their ills!




Now, this was a real challenge, do NOT try this!




My first glimpse of the scar on my elbow!





Looking happy here, on my way to the Doctor hopefully
to reduce the size and bulkiness of the cast.

Galveston, TX

I planned a trip to Galveston for the weekend after
finding out that my injury to my knee was going to
require me to have surgery. This is a picture of where I
stayed with Nellie Belle. The La Quinta is located on the
seawall, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Texan hospitality.

Ship

At the end of the seawall you can watch all the big boats
coming in and out of port.....

Crab Shack

I visited this shack for crabbing supplies, and watched a
storm blow in and out again as fast as it came. I used to
tell my newbie drivers, if the wind isn't blowing, you are
probably NOT IN TEXAS!

Seawall

A couple walking along the seawall.

how does he do this?

Amazing, just crazy and amazing!

http://apps.facebook.com/watchthis/?ref=profile

Happy Anniversary Mike and Robin!

Happy Anniversary Mike and Robin,
Here are just a couple of the blessings that I feel I have
been blessed with from your union.
1. An awesome Son-in-law
2. Two beautiful grandchildren
3. An incredible extended family
4. Great joy in enjoying you all!
Love you, MOM

Happy Birthday Sister Sharon!

Happy Birthday lil' Sis!
Hope your birthday is a great one!
I love my sister because.........
1. She is mine! and she loves me!
2. She loves my kids!
3. She is beautiful, intelligent, has a great sense of humor,
and she loves her family above all!
4. Lets me come over and eat John's cooking
5. Always reminds me I am older than her......
6. Selflessly helps out whenever she can!

Love you Sis, have a good day!

Tests

Tests, tests, tests. Currently I am not working, waiting to schedule a program to cure a knee problem that I have from trucking. I have taken this time to get some of the tests done medically that some of us put off (seems especially truck drivers that never get home on time). Anyway I thought that this list was good information for those of us creeping up on middle age....tee hee!
From the Womens Health Center.

Women's Health Center

Screenings, Tests, and Immunization Schedule

Screening, test, or immunization	Frequency/comments
Blood pressure, height, weight	Periodically from age 18.
Obesity screening	Periodically from age 18. Adults whose body mass index is 30 or above should be offered intensive counseling and behavioral interventions.
Cholesterol testing (total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol)	Every five years from age 45. Screening should start at age 20 if risk factors for heart disease are present. National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines recommend testing everyone starting at age 20 and every five years thereafter.
Pap smear	Every three years until age 65. Many organizations recommend that Pap tests be performed annually until two or three consecutive tests are normal before lengthening the screening interval to three years. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends screening until age 70. Pap tests may be discontinued in women who have had a total hysterectomy for benign (noncancerous) disease. There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the routine use of new screening technologies (e.g., liquid-based cytology) or HPV screening.
Tests for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases	Discuss testing with your physician.
Mammography, clinical breast exam for breast cancer	Mammogram, with or without a clinical breast exam (CBE), every one to two years from age 40. Women ages 75 and older should discuss mammography with their physicians. There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against a CBE or breast self-exam, although both may be prudent. The ACS recommends a CBE annually for women over age 40 and every three years for women ages 20–40; it also recommends monthly self-exams for women ages 20 and older.
Colorectal cancer screening	From age 50, using one of the following: Fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) every year or flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years, or both Dual-contrast barium enema every five years Colonoscopy every 10 years. Begin screening earlier in people who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 60.
Skin cancer screening	The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force makes no specific recommendation about skin cancer screening. The ACS recommends a skin check every three years for people ages 20–40, and annually after age 40.
Osteoporosis screening	Bone density testing starting at age 65. Women ages 60–64 with risk factors, especially low body weight (less than 154 pounds), should speak to their physicians about testing.
Alcohol misuse, tobacco use	Discussions and counseling as needed from age 18.
Vision testing	For women ages 40–64: eye exam every three to five years. For women ages 65 and older: eye exam every one to two years.
Tetanus-diphtheria vaccine	Every 10 years from age 18.
Pneumococcal vaccine	Once at age 65.
Influenza vaccine	Yearly from age 50.

Cornbread

"A little of this and a little of that.."
Made some delicious cornbread! OK, skip the
green beans but use 1 of those cups (like shown in green
bean picture) of corn and chop some canned
roasted red peppers, add some cheddar cheese,
grease one of those pans, and you have some of the best
corn bread I have had in quite a while. Enjoy

GOOD music!

This morning on "Good morning Texas" I listened to what I thought was a very TALENTED young artist. I recommend listening to her music. ENJOY!

Mothers Day

I got a call from my daughter Robin this morning to check my email. She gave me a Mothers day card that could not have been better. View her post "Happy Mothers Day" Thanks again Robin, that was the best way to start the day being so far from all my family. Love you and Happy Mothers day to you too!

New Blog

I have added a new blog called "Along the Way" to post all of my trucking pictures.
Some will be of scenery and some of trucks. I see all kinds of crazy stuff out there on the
road so view with caution!

Mountain Hiking

I happened across a website on face book today. If you like the outdoors, check it out here.
There are some amazing pictures and crazy mountain climbers. I enjoyed looking at all the photos, although I do not climb, there are also some amazing shots of those who have climbed and then skied from the top. Enjoy!

I am tagged!

I am now officially tagged! Nellie and I are leaving for Galveston today for a little beach activity.
Have included picture from Google Earth of our digs! I plan on fishing from the pier there, will take plenty of pictures.

My pic makes local weather news photos

I have long since been a weather nut, as my Sister Sharon would tell you. I am sure she will remember me leaving the confines of a perfectly good shelter at home in Kalamazoo to maybe get a look at a real tornado. Photographing the awesome beauty along my travels of storm clouds and scenery is my favorite sideline. Weather is just one of the majestic and sometimes tragic bounties of driving interstate. Very recently this spring I experienced driving for four days and not being able to get out of the RAIN. My wipers were so tired that they were leaving rubber tracks on my windshield that had to be scrubbed off. Unusual, yes, since I move from state to state, I am able to drive in and out of storms. The flooding I have seen was indescribable, this year. I travel these same roads over and over, and IL, IN, AR and the Mississippi River, had some of the worst that I have seen. There were literal lakes, once farm land, where rivers had flooded their banks. Often the flooding reached the main highways. I am currently off the truck, awaiting news on the probable surgery on my knee. Still taking photos from my new digs, I submitted one to a local Dallas station and they have posted it on their site of our most recent storms. You can view it here. By the way, I decided it might be time to take cover after lightning revealed this cloud!

Nellie is not down with this storm thing, she wanted her
blanket and favorite toys! Right after we moved in
we got a real Texas storm, it dropped tennis ball sized hail
covering the ground and breaking lots of windows.
I was taking pics of the sky when the lightning
lit up a good view of the cloud you see here heading at my
apartment. I decided it was time to
take cover.........Good idea!

Nellie is a full fledged WOMAN now!

WHO KNEW? How does a 4lb (more or less) dog run the show? Nellie has reached a mile post, even though she didn't think so with diapers on! My brother Thom gave me a good idea though for dogs in season. Put a baby onesy on them. That saved my shirts, as she likes to ride on my chest so she can see all the action.

Trying Out Blogging

Ok, My daughter is keeping me up on the all the new things to do on the internet. I love her blog - Robins Ramblings. I am able to see my family growing and everything she is doing while being miles away. Oh, and no Robin, I am not on my way to do your laundry! I am currently in the center of Dallas with Nellie, we have gotton a small apartment suite to stay in monthly now. I will be getting my Texas drivers license, and setting up residency here as a Texan, OH MY! YEE HAW! I love Texans!