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Do you see what I am saying?
March 24, 2009 by Nicki
“And my shoes began to squeak…”
5 points to whomever gets that reference! 
I’ve had a lot going on lately, but honestly hadn’t had the energy or desire to sit down and write — or type, as it were. For anyone who hasn’t been reading/following me for a while, the more crap I have going on the more I unplug.
Not fun, but some of the crap has been kind of funny. I think the best way to sum this up would be in a meme-like format, so here goes:
In the last 30 days …
- I’ve been called a baby killer.
This one is actually pretty funny now, but at the time it was a bit unnerving. Long story short: a website one of the studies that my department maintains experienced some down time. Because of this, a certain doctor involved in the study completely flips his shit and tells me and everyone else that because the website wasn’t up, a certain drug (which had a 50% chance of being a placebo) they are studying couldn’t be administered to a dying baby. The next day, the baby died (from a cause unrelated to the drug OR the study!), and the doctor implies that because of our “inaction” that we’re at fault. There was much panic about lawsuits, audits, and whether or not some of us would have a job …
Anyways, our boss, his boss, his boss’ boss, and that boss’ boss are all furious and said doctor has had his hide handed to him. One of my coworkers joked, “I haven’t been called a ‘baby killer’ since ‘Nam!”
- I realized that I had erroneously packed up all available liquor in the house.
Funny enough, while the above-mentioned debacle was going on, I came home one day and realized that I needed a drink in a bad way — and couldn’t find a single drop anywhere! For whatever reason, I must have thought it would be a good idea to pack up all the alcohol and keep it in storage.
Good Lord, what was I thinking? 
- I’ve been turned down for a house loan.
Yeah, we were turned down. We’re not completely out of options, but part of me really wishes we had started trying a year sooner. I’d seen places that were practically giving away loans to anyone and everyone who applied.
*sigh*
Oh well, we’ll keep on plugging and I’ve no doubt that it will all turn out in the end — but the keeping the faith part is always hard.
- I have been asked by a friend to match him up with a mistress.
Uh … do what?
Definitely one for the “sharing too much” category. I was catching up via email with an old friend. He went into great detail about how unhappy he is in his marriage, about how he wished he had married someone else, and so on. I feel bad for the guy, I really do … but when he suggested that I try to set him up with one of my girlfriends so he could “be happy with an affair”, I (as politely and courteously as I could) declined.
And I haven’t heard from him since.
Yikes … so, um, yeah.
- I have had a new term suggested for Jim’s ex.
A friend of mine was listening to me rant about the latest drama stirred up by Jim’s ex over Jessie (which of course quickly became over me), she exclaimed, “Of course, she’s your stepwife!”
According to Word Spy, a stepwife is (in my case) the ex-wife of my husband.
Funny, I have plenty of other names to call her … but this is probably the most kid-safe!
She has seemed to have been in an uproar about anything and everything lately though. I was talking to Jim about a rather nasty remark she made to me one night and he replied, “You will always be ‘the other woman’ in her eyes.”
Oh give me a break.
Never mind that they ultimately split because Jim caught her cheating on him — REPEATEDLY! That said, there is some truth in what he said. For whatever reason, she has always seen me as her competition. Even now, despite the fact that I have been in Jessie’s life since she was 4, and the woman has even admitted TO ME that she thinks I’m a good influence on Jessie, she still goes off on this “I’m her mother and I will never let you forget it!” bullshit trip every time she has one of these manic (maniac) moments.
But I digress …
So those are most of the reasons why I’ve been burying my nose in a few fave books, catching up on some DVD’d tv shows, and pretty much avoiding the ‘net in general.
How’re y’all?
Seriously. How’s your day/week/month been? 
Wander with me a while
February 9, 2009 by Nicki
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Courtesy of Cookie, this video covers misconceptions that many Americans have about our country, government, and so forth. As the film’s creator says, “Prepare to be educated.”
Out of context, out of line?
January 5, 2009 by Nicki
This afternoon, Jim (unintentionally) gave me quite a scare. When last I saw him this morning, he was going to head by the house then on to work. I remember pulling onto the highway and watching him roll onto the lane going in the opposite direction. Fast forward to this afternoon, John called me at work asking me if I knew where Jim was. “What? He’s not there?” My mind raced. John had spoken to him not long after I last saw him and hadn’t seen nor heard from him since.
Long story short: Jim had sat down “for a few moments” at his desk and apparently had fallen asleep — he had been at home the whole time.
I was able to get a hold of him after calling the house a few times and he explained what happened. I fussed a small bit (not wanting to yell at work) and got my things together to leave for the day. A few co-workers had overheard and came by to make sure everything was ok. I was still pumped up on adrenaline and my blood-pressure I’m sure was through the roof. I jokingly replied, “Yeah. I’m going to beat him upside the head when I get home!”
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I say that in jest. In fact, I say that I’ll “beat his head in” all the time. I don’t beat my husband. I don’t beat my child. I laugh and carry-on, but it is entirely in jest. I do as my mother did — joke about it to keep from pulling my hair out and going crazy.
But what if someone had heard what I said, took it out of context, and called the police?
I ran across a Google Reader item shared by Ike Pigott linking to a post by someone who had something along those lines happen to her. Thordora had (in jest) commented on Twitter about bringing harm to her child, who wouldn’t go to sleep.
What NORMAL parent hasn’t uttered a snarky or humorously ludicrous remark out of frustration, annoyance, and dare I said it … love?
Someone following her tweets had local police notified of the “threat”. Officers arrived at her home and demanded to see her children (who obviously had not been harmed). Understandably, Thordora is upset with this person. (As I would be too!)
To me though, this reinforces something that I had come to realize through my experiences on other social networking services (mainly MySpace and Facebook) — careful who you “friend”.
For what are you thankful?
November 26, 2008 by Nicki
During our Thanksgiving celebratory lunch today at work, someone posed this question: “For what are you thankful?” Most everyone had the same answers: family, work, health, …
The merriment continued, and a good time was had by all. After a round of desserts, I went back to my desk and quietly reflected. I would add one more item to that list of things for which I’m thankful — freedom. My Cotillion sister, RightwingSparkle summed it up nicely in her post earlier today: Freedom. It isn’t free, and it isn’t a gift.
While we were on vacation, I had the opportunity to meet a couple veterans and a soldier who were staying in our hotel, vacationing with their families. As I do here at home, I thanked them for their service and handed them a card with the Soldiers’ Angels information on it. One morning at breakfast, I thanked a Vietnam vet. He looked at me with warm, grateful eyes and stammered a quiet “Thank You.” His wife came by our table and thanked me a few minutes later with tears in her eyes.
No one had ever thanked him for his service.
As I’ve stated before, too often we take our liberties for granted. Sadly, those who have made those liberties possible, along with those who now defend them, don’t get anything near the recognition and thanks that they deserve. It saddens me to think that many never have, or quite possibly, never will.
Tomorrow, when you are thinking about those things for which you’re thankful, please remember freedom. If you get the chance, thank a soldier or thank a veteran. And if you are of the praying kind, please remember those in uniform who are out there defending our freedom.
I don’t carry a gun …
… to kill people. I carry a gun to keep from being killed.
I don’t carry a gun to scare people. I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.
I don’t carry a gun because I’m paranoid. I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.
I don’t carry a gun because I’m evil. I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.
I don’t carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.
I don’t carry a gun because I’m angry. I carry a gun so that I don’t have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
I don’t carry a gun because my sex organs are too small. I carry a gun because I want to continue to use those sex organs for the purpose for which they were intended for a good long time to come.
I don’t carry a gun because I want to shoot someone. I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.
I don’t carry a gun because I’m a cowboy. I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.
I don’t carry a gun to make me feel like a man. I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.
I don’t carry a gun because I feel inadequate. I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.
I don’t carry a gun because I love it. I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.
H/T: Jo’s Cafe and Front Sight, Press
Will you meet me under the Liberty Tree?
November 16, 2008 by Nicki
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This morning I received an invitation from my Cotillion sister, Beth of Blue Star Chronicles:
Defend Liberty
An Allegory to Liberty
Do you remember The Liberty Tree and the story that surrounds it? There was an old elm tree that stood in Boston Commons in the days before the American Revolution. It was a beautiful old tree that became a real rallying point – a symbol really – for the growing resistance to the rule of England over the feisty American colonies. Called ‘The Liberty Tree,’ it was often decorated with banners and lanterns by ‘the resisters’ and used in communicating their secret messages to each other. Their meetings were regularly held there to express views against the Crown and to vent frustrated emotions.
When the news of The Liberty Tree spread throughout the colonies, local patriots in each of the 13 colonies formed a ‘Sons of Liberty’ group (or network of sorts) and identified a large tree to be used as a meeting place. In those times, holding an unauthorized assembly was really dangerous business that carried threats of imprisonment or death so the usual places to plot and plan were out of the question. But, the casual appearance of a group chatting beneath a tree seemed much, much safer!
As resistance to the British grew, flags bearing a representation of The Liberty Tree were flown to symbolize the unwavering spirit of liberty itself. These flags were later a common sight during the battles of the American Revolution.
The British made The Liberty Tree an object of great ridicule and scorn. However, the ridicule and scorn were simply ‘just words’ and many from that day forward said it was under The Liberty Tree that America was born, giving its sons and daughters a legacy of liberty.
Liberty is Under Attack
Today, our country faces a threat from abroad and a threat – in the form of ideological conflict – from within. With the coming of a new administration and the promise of a more bloated and opportunistic government, the need for citizens to resist complacency and to let their voices be heard, has led to a rekindling of the spirit that founded The Sons (and Daughters) of Liberty.
We at Right Pundits have established a network comprised of blogging patriots who understand that it is the duty of each of us to champion the principles of liberty, freedom, an educated engaged citizenry and representative government. Our network is called ‘The Liberty Tree’ and we are asking you to join us!
In becoming a member of The Liberty Tree Network, you will join an informed community of bloggers that, instead of offering nothing but clever yet empty rhetoric, will actively support and promote liberty, civic responsibility, national security, and the American heritage as our Founding Fathers intended.
We will actively work to expose lies and propaganda of incoming administration and the main stream media while being diligent to maintain honor, truthfulness and integrity in our own reporting.
Join The Liberty Tree Network Today!
The Liberty Tree Network uses a feature of feedburner that allows blogs to group their posts together into a common “network feed.” This feed is separate from your normal feedburner feed which remains on your blog. The latest posts from network members will display on all member sites who place the feed on their blog, so for a short time each of your posts will be highly visible across the network. See what the display looks like in the lower right sidebar on this page.
First step is to put the network feed by copying this code to your blog:
[ get the code at http://www.rightpundits.com/?page_id=2379 ]Second, Email us at libertytree [at] rightpundits [dot] com and we will send you an invitation to add your own feed into the list. Once you are added to the network, your blog posts will be seen on all the member blogs. You must have a feedburner feed for this to work.
Participation in The Liberty Tree requires that you display the code on your blog, preferably your homepage for the benefit of all members. The code is configured to display the 5 latest posts from the network, but you can choose to increase that number. This will always be the latest posts regardless of who made them.
Who will stand with me?
Reflection and call to action
November 5, 2008 by Nicki
I received a text message from a friend late last night which said:
“Now I know how you feel when Auburn wins.”
Jim woke me up last night to tell me the news. While the three-ring media circus leading up to this event is finally over, I could not shake this feeling of dread. I had to remind myself that even though the man I wanted to win did not, the one that did works for me and the other 300 million Americans who live in this great land!
Taking my cue from BlackFive, I will now stand up and demand that the man in charge listen. And I hope others will do the same.
Demand that President Obama not cut and run from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Demand that President Obama not allow tyrants and thugs to threaten us our the world with nuclear weapons.
Demand that he respect our constitutional rights regarding free speech and gun ownership.
Demand that our “wealth” will not be “shared” with some lazy, no account, welfare dirtbags who would rather have a hand-out than a hand up to something better.
Demand that President Barack Obama respect the sacrifices of the great men and women who keep this nation the last best hope for those that yearn for freedom and keep us from going gently into that good-night.
God bless those who have fought for our freedom to choose who we want to lead us. I think too often we forget how blessed we really are to live as free people. With that freedom comes responsibility, and that my friends, is in OUR HANDS.
“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing.” — Daniel Webster
Stand, and be heard.
Congress Twitters (Critters?)
August 4, 2008 by Nicki
H/T: Vivian and the Cotillion ladies, and Ari Herzog!
In following Friday’s debacle (read about it here, here, here, and here) I realized that there were quite a few tech-savvy House/Senate members who were fellow Twitterers. I have never seen a listing, so thought I’d start one here:
(Alphabetized by state, last name)
- George Miller (D, CA)
- Mark Udall (D, CO)
- Chris Dodd (D, CT)
- Christopher Shays (R, CT)
- Joe Biden (D, DE)
- Neil Abercrombie (D, HI)
- Chuck Grassley (R, IA)
- Dan Burton (R, IN)
- John Yarmuth (D, KY)
- Pete Hoekstra (R, MI)
- Thad McCotter (R, MI)
- Keith Ellison (DFL, MN)
- Roy Blunt (R, MO)
- John Boehner (R, OH)
- Bob Latta (R, OH)
- Tim Ryan (D, OH)
- Jim Inhofe (R, OK)
- Jim DeMint (R, SC)
- John Culberson (R, TX)
- Eric Cantor (R, VA)
- Rob Wittman (R, VA)
Feel free to submit the Twitter accounts of any elected officials who are not listed in the comments below — be sure to include their Twitter account name as well as the party and state!
Honorable Mention:
Update: Ari Herzog has erected the US Congress on Twitter Wiki, so be sure to check there as well!
Busy weekend and belated ‘thanks’
May 11, 2008 by Nicki
I swear, I think our weekends are getting to be busier than our weekdays! ;P Friday was pretty hectic, and add the bad weather on top of that, it made for an interesting start to the weekend. Jessie’s karate test was Saturday — she’s now moved up from orange belt to a purple belt! Jim and I took pictures and filmed, so hopefully those will be up soon. We had a chance to talk to Jessie’s senseis for a bit, and both had nothing but good things to say about our little ray of sunshine. I noted that ever since beginning taking karate, she’s shown so much improvement … both in the dojo and outside of it!
Jessie left after the test with her mother. Jim and I went over to see my folks and saw my brother Jeremy and his wife Christy. They had Ryland with them, so I got to spend a little time with my favorite niece. 
Isn’t she precious?
Stupidity knows no bounds
Today Jim and Jessie took me to brunch for Mother’s Day. I got a little aggravated earlier because I specifically told her mother that I was picking her up early and that we were going out to eat. Originally it was supposed to be breakfast … I pick Jessie up and find out that her mother had her EAT BREAKFAST right before I was to pick her up!
*beats head into wall repeatedly*
I swear, one of these days I’m bound to say something to this woman that I know I will regret, but that she also fully DESERVES.
So we waited a bit and went for ‘brunch’ … Jessie was hungry enough and Jim and I were starving! There was a slight ‘incident’ with a group that cut in line infront of us and another family. When I said something to one of the party members, she muttered something about us being ‘racists’ — the party members were black. :roll:
They moved on before I could say anything else, but I was fully ready to retort with, “It has nothing to do with race. The color of one’s skin does NOT exempt one from using common courtesy and manners!”
So I fumed a bit, but got over it. We were at Ryan’s and the food and service were great, which fully made up for the inconvenience before being seated. In their defense, it WAS packed, which made it a bit hard for the staff at the front to keep track of who should be where. However, that being said, I find it hard NOT to notice the general lack of manners by people I run across in public nowadays.
To most of these people, I am dying to say, “I *KNOW* your mother taught you better!”
A heart-felt and belated “Thanks!”
If all goes well, it looks like I’ll win this round in the Lunarpages’ WordPress theme design contest. I am completely overwhelmed by the response and surge in votes from family, friends, and extended community. I emailed a few close to me, and just about every one of them emailed their friends and family, and so on and so forth; and I posted on here and you each voted and responded in kind. (thank you!!) My Cotillion sisters rose to the occasion offering support and votes (thank you, girls! I love y’all!). Jim reached out to his guild and the guys have been very supportive with votes and feedback. (thank you!!) And last but certainly not least, the gargantuan legion of members over at the Soldiers’ Angels forums were a tremendous help in attaining and keeping the lead. (thank you very very much, Angels!!!)
Tell me they’re kidding
April 4, 2008 by Nicki
I first ran across this on Degree of Madness and thought to myself, “You have GOT to be fucking kidding me.”
:shock: WTF?!!? Were they high? Did they seriously think this was a good idea?
Unfuckingbelievable. You know, I love Absolut’s products but I guarandamntee you that I won’t be buying any more!
Billboard shot on SondraK’s site. More on Michelle Malkin’s site here, here, and here.
There’s treatments for all kinds of mental/physical ailments nowadays, from acne treatments to organ transplants. Why isn’t there a stupidity cream out yet!?? ;P
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