The True Spirit of the Season

Okay I know I'm a nerd, but one of my favorite shows is Frontline on PBS. About a month ago, the show discussed the concept of microlending in developing countries and it made so much sense that I haven't been able to get it out of my head since. For those who are not familiar with these types of programs, organizations like Kiva, allow people like you and me to lend money to small business owners throughout the world to help people out of poverty. Most banks will not loan money to individuals that do not have collateral or a down payment, microlending does not have such requirements, so it gives opportunities to people who have very little. They have a 100% repayment rate with the average loan being repaid in about 1 year (and even if you don't get repaid, its a tax write off). Paypal waives its fees, so loans can be transferred and repaid through paypal, it's great! You can go to the web site and read about the different people and their business and pick one or more to support, average loan requests are between $500-1000, but some are a small as $100 and you can lend as little as $25. It is truly astonishing how far a few American dollars can go in some of these countries. Once you lend the money you get updates on the status of the business owner and follow their success stories. I chose to lend $50 to a woman named Santa de Jesus Antunez Motiño (Santa & Jesus in the same name, it seemed like a sign of the season--haha!). Santa lives in Honduras and wants a loan to expand the grocery store she has been running for the past 5 years. Many of these recipients not only better their own lives, but also the lives of their children and any employees and their families that may be hired. Entire communities and economies can be changed by one successful small businesss. Kiva believes "this is one of the best ways to empower our neighbors, and give them opportunities to become economically independent, improve their standard of living, and alleviate poverty for themselves and their communities." I will keep everyone updated about Santa's progress, but I would also like to encourage everyone to try to give a little back. We all seem to get wrapped up in the commercialization of Christmas, but programs like this really do represent the true spirit of the season. I know many business adopt families during this time of year, which is also a wonderful program, but in the spring and summer encourage your company to adopt an entrepreneur and raise funds to sponsor one of Kiva's business owners. I can't wait to see Santa's business grow and it makes me feel really good knowing I had a hand in helping someone out of poverty. Good Luck, Santa!

I've missed you world!

As most of you know our area was hit with a major ice/snow storm on Thursday. Since we live kinda far from town I knew we wouldn't be going any where for a couple days and accepted that. What I wasn't prepared for was the loss of the Internet. I don't know how, but the storm must have knocked out my DSL lines or something, because I have been without the Internet for over four days! It finally started again today (Mon.), so please forgive me if I haven't blogged, myspaced, or returned emails for awhile. Other than that we weathered the storm just fine. The boys have been off school since Thurs., and have enjoyed playing in the snow every day since. We didn't get to go out for their b-day, but we celebrated here and they got lots of fun stuff, some great clothes, and a mini vacation over their b-day weekend, so it worked out fine. Hopefully, it will be back to school and work tomorrow and things will be back normal. Is winter over yet? Oh yeah, it hasn't even officially started!

Happy Birthday, Alex & Brady!

Today, November 30th, is Alex & Brady's 9th birthday--Happy Birthday, Boys! While the twins are very excited I just feel old, I can't believe they are already 9! I have to work until 6 tonight and Brian & the kids are suppose to meet me at Chuck E. Cheese's for pizza and fun, but with the crazy weather I don't know if that will happen or not. The boys have another b-day party to go to on Sunday at the Rec-Plex, so it will be quite the weekend of celebrations. I'm sure everyone will have a great time, no matter what we end up doing. Next year they will hit double digits, how scary is that?

You've Got to Be Kidding!

5 Day Forecast(according to Dave Murray Fox 2 News St Louis)

High: 68
Low: 56
TUESDAY
Rain
A Few Showers

High: 71
Low: 37
WEDNESDAY
Thunderstorms
Rain and T-storms

High: 37
Low: 20
THURSDAY
Rain
Sharply Colder...periods of rain

High: 29
Low: 15
FRIDAY
Snow
Very Cold...sleet and snow

High: 32
Low: 20
SATURDAY
Sunny
Sunny and cold

Okay I know St Louis weather is known for its rapid changes but this is just a bit ridiculous. We go from highs in the 70s to highs in the 20's with snow two days later, give me a break. I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much, since we have had unusually mild temps for more than a week, but I'm not ready for winter. I hate the cold and snow! I just needed to rant a bit, spring starts again on March 21st!

Shopped 'til we droppped!

Our annual day after Thanksgiving holiday shopping marathon was a success, although I am still feeling the after effects today. I always stay the night at Brenda's (Brian's mom) Thanksgiving night since we get up so early, we also have to have time that night to make our lists, check them twice, and plan our routes. Brenda and I are also both night owls and not use to going to bed at a decent time, so it was 2 am before we even got off to bed and another 30-60 minutes before we both fell asleep. The alarm went off at 4 am and we were off to Kohl's which opened at 5, which was an hour earlier than usual, damn you Kohl's! The doors opened and we were off, the initial rush is very exciting, but it is always soon followed by the chaos that ensues as hundreds of people fight for the few remaining $60 portable DVD players or whatever the hot bargain of the morning is. And no I didn't get one, but I was so close! I did get one later that night at Target, I paid $20 more for it but didn't have to fight anyone, well worth $20. (Don't tell the boys though--SHHH!) 14 hours, 12 stores, and hundreds of dollars later we called it a night and went back to Brenda's to unload. I have well over half of my shopping done and at least have ideas for the rest, not bad for one day's work I guess. Although I think I may have pulled something in my back about half way through the day yesterday and was in severe pain by the end of the night. The pain is better today, but I am still VERY stiff-- maybe I am getting too old for all this? One good thing about this year was the amazing weather, we have been doing this for the past 8 years or so and this was by far the best day weather wise. The best bargains of the day were at Dillard's of all places, they had all their Cardinals/World Series attire for 50% off! They had t-shirts for under $10 and sweatshirts, polos, and pullovers for $15-$30-- what a deal! Happy Shopping Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and of course, Happy Shopping. We will be up at the crack of dawn on Friday and probably won't get finished until well into the night. It is always one of my longest days of the year, but I guess that's the price you gotta pay for all those good bargains.

Voting Machine Problems

Last night I watched the HBO documentary "Hacking Democracy," which discusses potential problems with many of the electronic voting machines being used throughout the country today. If you haven't seen the film yet, try to catch it sometime this week it is very disturbing how easily an election could be manipulated.
So as I went to vote this morning I was already concerned about the integrity of the election using these machines, but what choice do we have I HAD TO VOTE!! So I fill out my ballot and go to insert it into the scanner that counts and records the ballot. I live in a small area and we only have one scanner for the entire polling venue. Anyway, I go to insert my ballot and notice an election worker standing next to the machine on the phone trying to get a hold of someone at the board of elections, because the scanner was flashing that it had a low battery and they were afraid it was going to lose power all together. IT WAS 9:30 AM!!! I know if I'm going to have a busy day, I make sure to charge my cell phone overnight. Don't you think that would be a top priority especially, if there is only one machine for the entire place! I reluctantly put my ballot in, but this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed ASAP, the integrity of our democracy depends on it!

P.S. If you do have problems at the polls today you can report the issue by calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Don't Forget to VOTE!!!!

It's election day and this is not your normal midterm election! Not only is the Missouri Senate race the tightest in the country and could shift control of the Senate to the Democrats--GO CLAIRE! But Missourians are also voting whether or not to allow embryonic stem cell research, whether to raise the state minimum wage to $6.50/hour, and whether to raise tobacco taxes by 470%! If you have never voted in a midterm election this is the one to start with, if you want to vote but don't know where or when you can vote--call 1-866-MY-VOTE-1 to find out. If you are eligible and registered, but chose not to vote then you are not allowed to complain about anything related to politics or our government for at least the next two years. Exercise your civic responsibility as an American and make your voice heard!! See you at the polls!!

More Halloween Pics

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! We all did Wizard of Oz characters this year and they were all so cute! For my mom and Bill's halloween party on Saturday I was Dorothy and Brian was the Scarecrow. Then on Halloween Alena was Dorothy, Brady was the Tin Man, and Alex was the Cowardly Lion. We went trick or treating around Brenda's circle and a few around my mom house. We have tons of candy, so let me know if anyone wants to come over and eat some Halloween candy!

Pumpkin Patch

Here are some cute pics from the pumpkin patch from two weekends ago. It was a cold and dreary day, but the kids had a good time although we didn't stay as long as we would've had it been a 65 degree day. Alena had a great time at the beginning, but by the end even she was cold and done. At least we got a three beautiful pumpkins and some cute pics out of the trip.

WAY TO GO CARDINALS!

Congratulations Cardinals, you are the new World Champions! It has a nice ring to it doesn't it? What a great postseason! I come from a family of loyal Cardinal baseball fans and have waited my whole life to see a World Series victory (I was only 3 in '82, so I don't really remember). I do remember being devastated in '87 and I was at the 2004 series when we got swept by the Red Sox. It has been a long time coming and it was very ironic that it happened this year with all our ups and downs, but who cares about all that now because we are the WORLD CHAMPS BABY!!!! Thanks to the team and to the new stadium for making this an inaugural season to remember. WAY TO GO CARDS!

I'm Soooooo Jealous!

Most of you know that Brian & I are both HUGE baseball fans and are EXTREMELY excited that the Cardinals are in the World Series again. Tonight is the first World Series game at the new Busch Stadium and guess who gets to go--BRIAN! I'm very excited for him, but I must admit I am a little jealous, especially since I have to go to school tonight and take a test on Criminal Law. Not only does he get to go to the game, but his boss is also taking him out to dinner at Mike Shannon's, which is a very nice restaurant downtown right by the park. Last time we went to Mike Shannon's, there were four of us and our bill was well over $300! We both went to game 3 of the 2004 World Series against the Red Sox, but we lost and eventually got swept, so it was neat to go but wasn't that fun to watch. Hopefully, Brian will have a great time and help the Cardinals bring home a winner! GO CARDINALS!!!

No More Crib!

For the past month or so, Alena has been constantly wanting to sleep with us at night. It all started when she was sick and teething and woke up in the middle of the night and I brought her into bed with us, from that point on she was hooked. I've tried all types of different things to get her to stop, but she still would wake up and scream until we gave in out of desperation for sleep. So we decided to just get rid of the crib and put the toddler bed up. The first night she screamed for 35 minutes before she finally went to sleep in her own bed, but then she slept until NOON! Then last night she only cried for 15 minutes, so we are making progress! It is very nice to get a good nights sleep, free of paranoia and little feet in my ribs. Hopefully, it will just get better as the week continues, but I still can't believe my little baby is already in a big girl bed!

Make it STOP!!!!

So I'm sitting here at work today, my boss is on vacation and I'm the only one in the office. I was expecting a nice, quiet easy day to get a few things done and goof off the rest of the time. When got here (10 minutes late, but that was Brian's fault), I opened the door and heard this horrible sound. For some reason our EXIT sign above our door is making this loud, obnoxious buzzing/moaning sound. I have beat on it and yelled at it, but nothing seems to help, so much for my quiet and relaxing day! It will occasionally get quieter and I will think it is going to stop, but it never does and then it just keeps getting louder again--I think it is taunting me! Somebody please MAKE IT STOP!!!

Happy Day to Everyone!

So my birthday was this past Sat. (10/7), I want to thank Amy, Cara & Darren for going out and celebrating with us and thanks also to Joe, Joanne & JD for hosting the after party. October is an absolutely crazy month for birthdays and anniversaries, so I decided I would wish everyone a happy birthday/anniversary in this one blog entry and be done with it. So....



Happy Birthday:

Joanne-10/10
Mindy- 10/13
Kenny- 10/14
Amy-10/15
Jenny- 10/17
Randy- 10/20
Bill-10/22

Happy Anniversary:

Missy & Steve-10/10
Joe & Joanne- 10/16

Hope everyone has a great day and if I forgot anyone please let me know!

Fun Sunday

This past Sunday 10/1 was quite a day. Amy's daughter Alivia had a play date at 1:00, so Alena and I went over there to play with Alivia, Jack and Brayden. They were all so cute and played really well together, but they were definitely into everything. We had to leave early to get to a first birthday party by 3 and when we left it looked like a tornado had gone through Amy's house (actually I guess it was 4 little tornados). Alena and I met Brian and the boys at Kim's parents house for Lexy's first b-day. Lexy is Jeff and Kim's daughter and she officially turned 1 on Mon. 10/2. Everyone had a great time and Lexy got lots of cute things. All the kids played outside all afternoon and Alena racked up some serious swing time. Needless to say, they all slept very well that night! Happy Birthday, Lexy!

Call for Change

Most of you know I am very into politics. With the mid-term election coming up I decided this year I was going to volunteer instead of just voting and complaining. So Saturday I hosted a "Call for Change" party for moveon.org. There were over 600 parties nationwide calling progressive voters in tight races. I had five other people attend-- a political science professor at UMSL, an occupational therapy graduate student, a teacher @ Francis Howell, a lady that has been a member of the DNC since the 60's, and a longtime Boeing employee. Our group was calling voters in Pennsylvania for there close Senate race between Bob Casey (D) and the controversial incumbent Rick Santorum (R). Our group made over 300 calls, but nationally all the parties made over 212,000! It was so nice to meet other intelligent people to converse with, progressives are hard to find in very conservative St. Charles county. We had pizza, discussed independent film, national and international affairs, and even South Park (new episodes start tonight 10/4). It was nice to know I'm not alone in this area, although it would be nice to meet more people my age that have similar interests, so if anyone knows someone let me know. We all plan on getting together again the weekend before the election, at least I feel like I did something this time even if it wasn't much. Also don't forget to vote on Nov. 7th, Missouri has a lot of important issues on the ballot including stem cell research, increase in tobacco taxes, and of course our own close Senate race, if you have never voted in a mid-term election this is definitely the one to start with--make your voice heard!

Spanish Senility

The boys began taking Spanish again this school year. They stay an hour after school on Wednesdays every week for the entire school year. Their school offers this program through 8th grade and then they can take it in high school, so they will probably take Spanish once per week until they graduate. They aren't real thrilled about it right now, since it is just a review of everything they already know, but I keep telling them they will thank me someday. Some parents make their kids play soccer or the tuba, I'm making mine learn a second language-- at least that's useful!
So anyway I'm sitting at home Wednesday watching the Days of our Lives episode I had TiVo'ed earlier. The boys typically get off the bus about 3:45, so at about 4 when they still hadn't arrived home I started wondering why they were late. "Maybe they had a new driver or they changed the route," I pondered. I finished my program go back to change Alena, when I glanced at her clock which read 4:15, "I wonder where your brothers are?" When I remembered they were at Spanish and I was suppose to pick them up at 4:15! We hadn't planned on going anywhere that day so we were both still in our PJ's, so I threw on clothes and raced to the school. Luckily Alena's clock was a little fast, so I got there just in time to sneak into the back of the line, that was moving particularity slow that day. Crisis averted! I'm pretty confident I won't forget Spanish again-- arrepentido, los chicos!

Labor Day Weekend

We had been planning to go up to the Lake house for Labor Day Weekend all summer. Since Brian has been working so much overtime lately, he was particularly looking forward to his weekend off to get away from Imo's for awhile. We drove up late Friday night and Brian wasn't feeling very well by the time we went to bed and by Saturday he was miserable! I think he got the stomach bug the rest of us had a few weeks ago. He didn't leave the house, or the couch for that matter, all weekend long. Poor Brian! The rest of us had a good time. My mom & Bill, the boys & I all went out fishing on Saturday afternoon. Brady caught two fish, Bill caught six, and the rest of us didn't catch any! Although we did get to watch two otters catching dinner for about a half hour, which was very entertaining, especially since I wasn't fishing well. When we got home from fishing we headed down to the annual block party, which is held every year on Labor Day weekend. This year the party had a western theme, last year was a luau, and next year will be a Mexican fiesta--FUN! The kids had a lot of fun and the food was good, but this year they added karaoke to the festivities. Keep in mind that the majority of people who have places up there are over 60, so it was a lot of old people singing Patsy Cline and other artists of yester year, mainly country-western (sticking with the theme). It really wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either. Since next year it is a Mexican theme, maybe they will all have to sing in Spanish and salsa dance. Now that's entertainment!