October Chit Chat

cindigirl wrote:Pattygirl sent me this video of deep-sea photos. IMO this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It's in 3D if you can get it.

Thanks for sharing that amazing video.

To think that one would find such ray of colors and
creatures under the ocean is breath taking.

Okay so its 9.30pm and my 7 year old is at his first school sleepover with his classmates. I can't stop thinking about him and if he's okay. He's asthmatic (very problematic when stressed), scared of the dark, very nervous when I'm not around him at night. Trying to chill and relax, hoping that his teachers will be able to soothe him. He asked me 4 times in a week to stay home and not go, but I didn't want him to miss out on what could be a fabulous night of fun with teachers/friends. Hope I've done the right thing in telling him he had to go. I understand that in the scheme of things this is not a huge problem, but I'm the type of Mum who has my kids around me all the time. The only time he in particular has stayed at his Nonnas was when I was in labour with his sister/brother, so in other words I'm not used to him being in the house with us. Okay will keep looking at pictures of George until the urge to run to the school and spy on him passes!!! Thanks for allowing me a place to vent for a minute.

Oh you vent as much as you like theminis and do let us know
how he got on ? Better than you most probably !

ammmmazing!!! lot of LIGHT
lot of L I F E !!!!

don't worry theminis!
he will be fine
and come back a bit more grown up


let him go!

Thanks Jo, It's Me - its 2.00am, still not sleeping but I do take comfort in that hopefully this will be one of those fears he will conquer and yep he will be just a little bit more grown up. Let him go!, well I let him go to the sleepover and that was a big step for him and me HA HA

Update: Sleepover went well I guess. He wasn't happy when I came to get him - Teacher said he didnt cry but his friends said that he was awake a lot. He doesnt want to talk about the night so guess it wasnt fun for him.

So sorry TheMinis. Maybe he's just "mad" at you for making him go. He'll get over it - kids do. Maybe you can do something fun, just you and him? Give him some special time without the others, if that's possible.

Good for him, and good for you, too. Must have been horrible for you both, but you both managed it. Praise him tons for controlling his fears for the night.

you said 'He wasn't happy when I came to get him'
so I guess
at the end
he was happy to be there

he must be proud of himself!
(Theminis, are you an Italian Mom? we are all like that.... )

melbert wrote:So sorry TheMinis. Maybe he's just "mad" at you for making him go. He'll get over it - kids do. Maybe you can do something fun, just you and him? Give him some special time without the others, if that's possible.

Melbert - you are spot on, thank you, I asked him and yes he is mad at me for making him go. Him and I are going for a bike ride together today so I'm thinking he'll forgive me by the end of the day!

Katie - I asked him if he felt happy with himself that he went to the sleepover and had some fun, and what did he learn from it - He said, Mummy you were right that I need to trust myself more and not let my worries stop me from having a good time - He is an articulate 7 year old but his response stunned me. He added for good measure, that he's still angry with me for making him go. But I praised him lots and told him he should be very proud.

It's me - no, not Italian, but married to one - my mother-in-law is Sicilian and was very unhappy with me that I let him go at his age to a sleepover - she punished me last night by putting my favourite dishes that she makes for only me back in the fridge! She loves me and I love her to bits so I watched her stomp around the kitchen for awhile. I know I am a little clingy with them, perhaps hold too tight at times, but they are only innocent and young for a short time and I want to soak it all in. My Dad told me when I was young, that you can never spoil a child with too much love!

Oh wow, what a great son you have. You must be so proud of him now.

Thanks Katie - I am very - (even though 5 minutes ago, he just pushed his little sister off the swing)

you can never spoil a child with too much love!

sure
but it depends on what you do
or make him/her to do
bec this love

Here's a bit of trivia for anyone who has time to read it.

I got an email from my Ford dealership wishing my car a happy anniversary. LOL We've come a long way baby!!!!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

Anyway:
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and
$4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of
which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels,
and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. None of us will ever know!

Oh well..... we might know Cindi if reincarnation is available Lol

But we'll have to make sure we take our present day technology
with us to use when we pop back again for a catch up !

That would be fun

Yay, I'm so happy! I've just booked my flights back to England for Christmas. For the first time in a decade I'm spending christmas at home!

How wonderful Katie....I am sure your family will be thrilled.

I'm really happy for you hoooney!!!!

Hahaha! And you want to know the funny thing? As soon as I posted that, the advert in the sidebar changed to 'Disaster Relief Tents'! Should I be worried?

'Disaster Relief Tents'

what is it???

They are sent out to disaster areas for people to live in after,
say, an earthquake IM

From MSN....


Man held over 'New York bomb plot'



Law enforcement officials have arrested a man they say was plotting to blow up the Federal Reserve building in New York City, just blocks from the World Trade Centre site.

Authorities say 21-year-old Quazi Nafis was arrested on Wednesday morning after a sting operation that involved
the FBI and New York Police Department.

The suspect parked a van filled with what he believed were explosives outside the building and tried to detonate it.

But his associates were actually undercover officers who arrested him at the scene - and the bomb was not real.

Federal prosecutors say the man was monitored closely by the FBI in New York and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force,
and the public was never in danger.

Kylie Minogue, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Will Smith... the list goes on!

And they're all standing up to cancer.

I'm posting an article from Huff Post about a girl who was severely abused by her father along with comments. The questions come up about her being able to forgive him. My ex severly abused me, my kids and our pets and I wish I would find it in my heart to forgive him, but it's not there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/abusive-fathers-a-teenage_n_1971519.html?1350563431&icid=maing-grid7%7Ccompaq-desktop%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D222173

Sorry to hear that happened to you cindigirl - true forgiveness is hard, all I know personally that if you are able to forgive little by little, it does give you some inner peace, so that when you think about that time in your life, that is all you are doing, you are not re-living it, hope that makes sense - and for you that will be my wish for today - inner peace.

I'm so sorry to hear that cindi....

It's not always possible to forgive. We all have to find our own way through that dilemma don't we ?
And I believe the person has to show genuine remorse anyway before they can be forgiven.

I found I was able to partly forgive a serious occurrence because I eventually found out the reasons for it....but it doesn't stop the anger coming back sometimes.

Thanks theminis for your kind words. I probably shouldn't have read that article but every time I read something like that it brings back all the bad memories. My two kids are grown up now and successful in their own right but I can see the bitterness in their behavior. The funny part is they still don't like but love their father. They are better people than me.

Thanks Joanna - I'm working on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBGXvQXK3VA

tired
he is always tired


malaria?

Message from Maxine
I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
II finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart.
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.
If all is not lost, where is it?
It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.
Some days, you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.
I wish the buck stopped here; I sure could use a few.
Kids in the back seat cause accidents. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.
It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.
The only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom.
If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.
When I'm finally holding all the cards, why does everyone want to play chess?
Its not hard to meet expenses . . . they're everywhere.
The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter . . .I go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what I'm here after
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

DID I SEND THESE TO YOU BEFORE..........??????

Maxine is my friend!!! I love her! Thanks CindiGirl!

For anyone who's interested I posted a video about what your sleeping position says about your personality.

Funny video- Salma Hayek on Letterman show talking about how she got her breasts. Hint: the secret is holy water. This is the first time I've ever seen Letterman look embarassed.

Does anyone else have Sweet Caroline stuck in their head since yesterday?

LOOOL !!

I'm an animal lover and certainly not the shiniest penny in the bank but the woman in this video makes me look sharp. LOL This video went viral by the way.

Yes Katie...it keeps going round and round still. I like the song but it seems to be stuck....

Perfect excuse for missing work:

Hello, Boss I can't come to work today. A moose was born on my front lawn and the Mama won't let us out the front door! "Makes it really tough to use the front door!"

For anyone looking for another excuse, I have a t-shirt that says "I ran out of sick days so I called in dead."

Haha! I know that feeling well, Cindigirl. Thinking of using it today in fact.

Notte,

TVB

I signed up to be a District Election Board worker for November 3rd presidential election which means I get to sit by the voter booth all day from 5:15 a.m. until 9:00 pm and greet the voters. It's not that I'm especially politically astute, let's face it I'm doing it for the money. I'm pretty antsy and don't like to be tied down.

But now I don't know what I was thinking. Aside from having to get up at 4:00 a.m. I'm trying to figure out if I should stay up all night or blast the radio alarm to wake me up. I'm a zombie in the morning. lol

I used to be a Presiding Office at a polling station for
General Elections, 6.30am until 10.0pm... then on to the poll count until around 1 or 2 am, purely for the money which used to be tax free, legally.
It was quite worrying really, as legally I had the power to close the Polling Station if there were riots or drunks or I could call for someone to be arrested for impersonation !

Hope you get on alright Cindi with your public duties,
on Election Day.

Joanna - your poll hours are worse than mine. I give you a lot of credit for doing it. There will be four of us. I'm a "newbie" so the other three others will have more experience. It's also tax-free here and I will be experiencing the only tax free moment I will ever have in my life. LOL

cindigirl wrote:I signed up to be a District Election Board worker for November 3rd presidential election

CindiGirl, maybe you can sleep in on the 3rd so that you'll be rested for the election on the 6th!

Could ANYONE be this DUMB? YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED.
I don't write it, I just offer it for your consideration

A DC 'airport ticket agent' offers some examples of why the US is in so much trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for
an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
2. I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's (Moore) staffer (Howard Bauleke), who wanted to go to Cape Town. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts ..'' Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Cape Town is in South Africa ..'' His response -- click..
3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, sinceOrlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, 'Don't lie to me!, I looked on the map, and Florida is a very THIN state!!'' (OMG)
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife (Landra Reid) who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?'' I said, ''No.''
She said, ''But they look so close on the map'' (OMG, again!)
5. An aide for a cabinet member (Janet Napolitano) once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas .. I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas ... When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)
6. An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky) called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker, (Jerrold Nadler) called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?'
He replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!'' After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno , Ca. is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage..
8. A Senator John Kerry aide (Lindsay Ross) called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii ?''
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman, Bobby Bright from Ala. who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?''
I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''
10. Senator Dianne Feinstein called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida . Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?'' I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola and fly on a commuter plane. She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''
11. Mary Landrieu, La. Senator, called and had a question about the documents she needed in order to fly to China . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.'' I double checked and s e enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ''Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!''
12. A New Jersey Congressman (John Adler) called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .''
I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'' 'Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the man.
After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, sir, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere."
''The man retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!'' So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo , do you?'' The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''

Excuse me but the above is right wing bs. All of the "idiots" are Democrat and I've met Bernie Sanders and Jan Schakowsky...they would never do what this piece says they would and they are very smart people. I think if Schakosky lives in Chicago, she's well aware of the time zones.

Now if you want to talk about really stupid politicians how bout the Republican men who think there are legitimate rapes as opposed to what? Or did you know that when women are raped, they have a special response that makes it impossible to get pregnant? Or, did you know that climate change is a figment of your imagination? And, even funnier, if you live in VA, you must pay for your own ultrasound if you decide you want an abortion.

Now that's "funny."

Obviously, living in UK, I'm not biased either way regarding
American politicians.
But I was absolutely horrified when I read about the rape stories.

Was it Romney who said that ?