http://www.bethanybelleblog.net/
The link above is to a website of a very, very great photographer. Her pictures that she captures is sometimes funny, cute, quiet, and awesome.
She did my niece’s wedding a couple of years ago and the pictures just took my breath away so many times.
If you are looking for someone to take some awesome pictures of a special occasion you may want to take a look at her site to see some of her work.
She is in Southern California.
Today, Feb 29, 2012 Davy Jones of the Monkees passed away at the age of 66 years of a heart attack. My little 12-year-old child inside felt very sad. I was quite surprised at my reaction when I heard the news on TV this morning. It threw me right back to Tillamook, OR, running home from school with my best friend at the time, Becky Thomas. We would always watch the Monkees at her house, eating American cheese sandwiches on white bread with Miracle Whip. Everyday Monday-Friday we did this without fail. No one bothered us which looking back now was pretty amazing. No one made fun of anyone back then, at least not in Becky’s home. We were free to enjoy our show and drool over Davy…and Mickey ( I liked him too) and gaze dreamily at the black and white TV screen.
It was a special time to be 12 years old when the Monkees came on the scene. Davy was so cute and we were all in love with him. Probably the first real crush for most of us.
We could all sing the opening song to the show, and again, pushing real hard on the door of 60 years old most of us can probably remember most of the words today. It makes me smile to remember that time in my life.
It is sad to lose another entertainer at such a young age, but Davy Jones left a loving mark on a lot of little girls that has stood the test of time.
Here is a link I found with a great article about Davy Jones.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/arts-and-entertainment/Remembering-Davy-Jones-141108893.html
Good bye my first heart-throb, rest in peace.
As I was reading a comment section on one of my friend’s site on Facebook, I knew what my next blog would be about. People were starting to complain about the price of gas. This is not a surprise to any of us. This is the third time that they have tried to run the price to $5 a gallon. And the anger has started again.
The picture above is of my father, Edgar, his sister, Betty, and their mother, Theresa Lambert. This picture was taken during the depression years in 1932. Grandma had secured a room for Dad and Aunt Betty above a grocery store in Portland, OR. She would pay for the room and give the owner money for my Aunt Betty to buy food so she could cook dinner for her and her brother. While the kids were living in Portland, Grandma was living in Seattle and working in a restaurant as a cook. Why were the children and the parent living in different states? I don’t have the answer to that, except to say that in the depression years life had become a survival test between making it through or not. My father told me stories of him being sent from people to people just to keep food and shelter for him. The money was dried up for the people. We have all heard the stories about those years, and like me I am sure that there are many people who could comment on here of the stories that have been handed down from the earlier generation in their families. Why do I mention all this about my father’s years as a youth? Because he and his family survived some of the toughest times in our American history. Are we very different today in these times that we are living?
My husband and I just had our taxes done, and the woman we always go to made the statement that the economy is not getting better, that this year there are more people that she has worked with over the years that have lost their jobs and either can’t get unemployment benefits, or if someone had them the benefits have run out. When we are given the numbers about unemployment numbers going down I believe they are skewed. My husband is a good example, he wanted to work until he was 60 before retiring, but because he was the oldest and closest to retirement, he was handed his walking papers after 31 years with his company. He was one of the many thousands that got caught up in the avalanche of downsizing. We are ok, but there are so many out there that aren’t. My husband did apply for unemployment benefits and was turned down because he did get his retirement from the company. I say all that to help you stop and think, how many times did that happen across our country and not show the real numbers of unemployed people to the American public. We know that if you do not add these people into the numbers of unemployed at the beginning of this great recession, the numbers work in favor of the government to sugar coat what is being given to the public so that the numbers they give us do not put us in shock.
No, we do not have it as bad as the generation before us, not yet. However, we have been handing over so many of our rights, our jobs, our very lively hood that I believe if we as Americans don’t start working to get them back we may never.
I am not talking about any kind of movement, we know those don’t work. We have been witnessing that for the past couple of years. But, if we as individuals start doing things differently, maybe we would actually see the pendulum start to swing to a more balanced place. What can we do you ask? Well, we have all heard them telling us to buy American, and most of us would if we could find products that say USA on them. It can be done. It takes time, but if you look and do not tire because it takes longer, you can find your products. My big thing is in the grocery stores. Not just the fresh produce, but anything canned, where the meat comes from and the dairy. Our farm lands are being covered over by asphalt because there is not enough tax money in farming for the communities, so where rich farmland once thrived, now sits empty warehouses. What does that tell us about our priorities?
I love my country, but to see so many people hurting because they cannot find work to support their families breaks my heart. It has always been said of the U.S. that we are the land of the free and the home of the brave? Are we? Are we free, are we brave? Do we as a people want to stand back up on our two feet and be a part of a great nation again? YES! I know that we do.
If the gas goes to $5 a gallon how will people continue to look for work? At $5 a gallon what will the families have to do without? At $5 a gallon will people be able to make their mortgage or rent payment? There are so many people out there that have to face these questions everyday! Let’s start working at making our country strong again! I know that as an American citizen I believe we can do it if people really want their country back.
Below is a recipe from my dearest and best girlfriend of 40+ years that she shared with my husband and me on one of our trips to vacation with her. I had it for the first time a couple of years ago, she fixed it for her kids because it was all she could afford at times. I believe this is a great recipe to share with anyone you know that sometimes in today’s world finds it hard to make ends meet. Please, if you have a recipe that could help someone else with ideas share it in the comment section. This is how we can start as individuals.
Have a blessed and great day! There is a knot at the end of your rope…your guardian angel tied it there for you.
A poor man’s delicious meal!
one box of mac and cheese, one can of chili, and as much hamburger you can afford to put in it. Cook your hamburger, drain it, cook your mac and cheese according to directions, mix chili, hamburger and mac and cheese all together…YUM! No, it is not a healthy meal by today’s standard, but if you are hungry you won’t mind. If you can afford it, a few crushed frito lays chips mixed in gave it a nice little crunch. Yes, I do fix this for dinner….it is just to good not to have! Watch the sales, go online and print off coupons if they are available, and you could fix this dinner for between $3-$5 with the hamburger raising up the cost. Plenty for a family of four. Enjoy and share with someone you love and know.
Update 2-23-2012: Gas prices reached $4 gallon for regular gas and $4.15 for the supreme here is Western Washington today.
Update 2-29-2012 Gas prices reached $4.05 for regular gas today…how much in your neck of the world?
