Today In History

I've blogged this type of thing before.. but it's worth sharing again today. My mom sends me an e-card almost daily telling me what important day it is. I've seen everything from Refrigerator Day to Squirrel Appreciation day.

But today is one truly worth recognizing and remembering.





The U.S. Congress officially recognized the Pledge as the official national pledge on December 28, 1945.






Unfortunately I can't remember the last time I had the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I know that in grade school and even junior high we said it every day followed by a moment of silence.

Since some people don't like their rights infringed upon - we no longer have the moment of silence in schools nor do we recite the pledge. There are even those sectors that are trying to get 'one nation under God' removed from the pledge and "In God We Trust" removed from our currency stating that it is an infringement on their first ammendment rights. This isn't the blog or the place for me to get into all of that... it's a soap box I may never come down off but I will say this. I have rights too. I have the rights to repeat the pledge loud and proud and give God the glory for it. My rights to say it are just as important as your rights not to. Sit there...be quiet...cover your ears and let me have my 30 seconds of patriotism.

I am a proud American and I have a huge respect for our motto and our pledge and the flag. And even though it's not recited in schools anymore - it doesn't mean that the younger generation shouldn't know it. Be sure they know all about the things that our country was built on and let them draw their own beliefs from there.




For the History Of The Pledge.. go here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance

Meet The Parents

Yes.... more about parents. But today - not mine. If you've been paying attention I've been talking a little bit about my new sweetie..

Well there's been a couple of big steps in this new relationship and so far things are outstanding!! But tomorrow is a whole new step. I'm meeting his mother who will be in town from Port Arthur. It's going to be a very informal event.. throwing some chicken on the grill and having lunch.

I've known about this since earlier in the week and I've been super nervous since. To make it a little worse he told me last night that he hasn't introduced anyone to his mom in a long time but not to worry - she'd love me.

Myself I haven't had a lot of "meet the parents" experience. Not much dating experience for that matter.

Through a very funny conversation Steve and I discovered that we've both been told by friends that we are far too selective and need to loosen up the criteria some. Oddly enough...the people who told us that were wrong. Being selective has paid off so far. I'm meeting mom. So I must be doing something very right.

I'm all prepared for the "meet the parents ettiquitte" and have purchased a beautiful christmas cactus that should be in full bloom by the end of next week. I hope she likes it. I hope she likes me. I hope I'm not nauseaus. He keeps telling me to be my wonderful amazing self. I think I'm going to remind him of this when he meets my mom and dad. :)

So... any words of advice??? Is the Christmas Cactus a good idea? Guys - come on. Chime in on this.

I'll post tomorrow evening and let you know how it all went... until then have a great day!

********* UPDATE!!!**********************
PHEW! We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Mom loved me! Got the big 'ol seal of approval. She was even calling me Suzy by the middle of the afternoon. She was very very nice and we had a great time together!! And the Christmas cactus was a hit!

The Best Fruitcake Ever

The Best Fruitcake Ever






1 cup water
1 cup of sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
nuts
1 gallon Rum

Sample the Rum to check for quality.

Take a large bowl.


Check the Rum again to be sure it is of the highest quality.


Pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 cup butter in a large, fluffy bowl.


Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again.


Make sure the Rum is still OK.
Cry another tup. Turn off mixer.

Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.


Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.


Sample the Rum to check for tonsisticity.


Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something, Who cares.


Check the Rum.


Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.


Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.



Grease the oven.


Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner.


Throw the bowl out of the window.


Check the Rum again. Go to bed. Who the hell likes fruitcake anyway?

Who's My Daddy

Bet you thought this was going to be about a bad re-run of a Maury Povich DNA special??? LOL Nope. This really is about my dad.

My parents are pretty amazing people and I admire them a great deal. Even though they are in their late 60's they haven't slowed down one bit. I'm going to write about mom later in the week but today it's about dad.

Dad has always been into art in some shape or form for as long as I can remember. Sketching...drawing... but never painting until the past couple of years. He has advanced his talent so much that he is winning ribbons in shows. There are even a few people in Florida that collect his paintings. When I was there last I met a man who has 8 hanging in his living room. I think that's pretty cool! That guy has caught up to me LOL.

But yesterday dad really stepped off the ledge with his art. He created his own website and it was just launched yesterday. And I couldn't be any prouder!

http://www.rasselin-art.com/

Take a few minutes to check it out! There's a page where you can leave a note for him. Say hi - he'll love it!! Granted everyone has their own taste in art and there are some of my dad's not just aren't my style - but it doesn't subtract from his talent.

Just goes to show you that it's never too late to start something new with your life. Mom and dad continually tell me how proud they are of me....but lately they've been turning the tables.

Be blessed....be happy. Have a fantastic day!

Something to Ponder

I got this in an e-mail this morning and found it to be very worth to share. Feel free to re-post it if you like Have a great day

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.
She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

You Are Like A Pencil

Yes you heard me right.... be a pencil! I saw this on my good friend Sylvia's blog page on another site and she gave me permission to repost. But she couldn't tell me where she found it.



You're Like A Pencil




1. Like a pencil, you can correct your mistakes. You can't change the past, but you can rectify it. And though you can't erase history, you can erase Guilt and anger with forgiveness.




2. Like a pencil, painful sharpening can serve to Make you better. Your difficult times can actually Sharpen your skills or shape you into the person You were meant to be.




3. Like a pencil, you can do great things when you Allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.




4. Like a pencil, you can leave your mark whenever Possible. That is what you're here for -- to leave your Mark. It may be in small ways, it may be in the lives Of people you have touched or nurtured, but you must Leave something good behind whenever you can.




5. Like a pencil, it is what is on the inside that matters. Whether it is understanding or intolerance, love or Bitterness, peace or unrest, kindness or self- Centeredness, hope or despair, courage or fear, What is on the inside matters most.




Next time you use a pencil, pause and think about That little writing tool. It teaches some great lessons About living.

Saying Goodbye to Adulthood

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.



I want to return to a time when life was simple, when all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, because . . .

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple again.

I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.




So . . . here's my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.




***Thanks Sylvia for sending me this e-mail today!!!