If you were to, for example, have a car accident and were in critical condition and you had a Living Will, it would tell people:

* If you want treatment withheld and you want to die a natural death.

* If you DO NOT want treatment to be withheld from you.

* If you want foods or fluids withheld.

* If you DO NOT want foods or fluids withheld.

OR

If you have appointed what is called a surrogate, this person would make the decision for you if or when you could no longer make decisions for yourself.

* With a Living Will you can also authorize or NOT authorize organ/tissue donation.

Kevin and I discussed this years ago. We would both choose to have a surrogate. We realize that this person must be able to put aside their personal feelings in order to honor our wishes. This person can also make a judgment call based on the doctor’s recommendation.

We would not want to check the box which withholds treatment because we do want to give ourselves some time on life support. In many cases people who are on life support come out of it and are fine. In my opinion, by withholding treatment completely, you give yourself no chance at all for survival.

As far as the organ/tissue donation goes, we have no problem with that. If we are dying and someone needs a heart, kidney or something else they can have it. I won’t need it and it could save someone else’s life.

If you live in Kentucky, you can download a Living Will FREE HERE. It is much easier to do then Kevin and I thought. You just check some boxes, sign it, and have two people witness it who are not relatives.

I am sure other states have similar sites where you can get a free copy to print.

I love looking through older books; especially books where I recognize the faces or names of people I have known. So imagine my glee when Kevin delivered a cookbook to me made by the Winchester Lioness Club in 1980.

My friend, Deanna, found this book somewhere and wanted me to have it. I recognize many names. Ashley’s orthodontist even has a recipe in this book for baked beans.

It is neat seeing advertisements for places that are, sadly, no longer here.

For instance, my mom remembers this dress shop and said she bought many dresses here:

I don’t remember it, but I was young.

I don’t know if any business has ever moved into the building which housed Webster’s Pharmacy:

IGA was right up the road from our house. I remember one year at Christmastime a radio station was broadcasting from the store. If you went up to the DJ and said “such-and-such is my favorite radio station” they gave you a free Poinsettia. My dad was on duty, in his police uniform so he couldn’t go in and get a Poinsettia while on the clock, so he had me go in and say those magic words. I was so nervous and said the line over and over in my head. I wish I remembered the call letters of the station! Anyway, I got the sentence right and was handed a huge Poinsettia. I remember just being glad I had said the words correctly!

If you grew up here, you know about The Skating Place. My dad was friends with the owner, so he asked the man for the keys so he could bring me, my sister, and my mom in after hours. I believe it was around 2 in the morning when we went in. It was odd being there with no one else around, but we weren’t there for long. Before I knew what was happening, my mom fell and broke her tail bone. As a child, I could not imagine what the big deal was, however as an adult, I cannot bear to think of the pain she must have suffered. My tail bone hurts when I sit in hard chairs; I cannot even imagine breaking it!

There are many more ads in the book, but I wanted to point out a few :) One of these days I will have my dad guest blog about the time he spent the night in Wal-Mart. It was back in the days when Wal-Mart closed at night! Imagine that!

Are you a Democrat, a Republican, or a Redneck?

Here is a little test that will help you decide.

You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you.

You are carrying a Glock cal 40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family.

What do you do?

Democrat's Answer

Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!

Does the man look poor! Or oppressed?

Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?

Could we run away?

What does my wife think? What about the kids?

Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?

What does the law say about this situation?

Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?

Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?

Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?

Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?

If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?

Should I call 911?

Why is this street so deserted?

We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day and make this a happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.

This is all so confusing!

I need to discuss with some friends over a latte and try to come to a consensus.

Republican's Answer:

BANG!

Redneck's Answer:

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click....
(sounds of reloading)

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click

Daughter: 'Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?'

Son: "You got him, Pop! Can I shoot the next one?'

Wife: "You are not taking that to the taxidermist."

This will probably be my last photo of beautiful leaves on a tree this year (don’t applaud too soon; you never know):

I had a good time helping Mom today. We put her fall decorations back in the attic and brought out the Christmas dishes and linens. We dusted the dining room and I brought the card table and chairs downstairs for our Thanksgiving dinner. Since the main table only seats eight people, we put four people at a card table and two more at a smaller table along a wall. It is full, but I love it that way.

I enjoy making everything pretty!

Okay, I know that little post last night was not needed. Kevin says it’s as if I have a scab and keep picking at it. I am a sore loser. What can I say? Had your guy not won, people projected there would have been riots in the streets. Would these people have been sore losers? You bet.

Kevin’s analogy is correct; it is akin to a scab, but that scab will go away. You just have to give me time. I will try to move on. I have to for myself. I certainly don’t plan on being unhappy for the next four years.

Since Deanna asked in the last set of comments:

The recipe for Oyster Casserole is super easy and only has four ingredients; butter, oysters, milk, and Zesta crackers. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Layer three of the ingredients in a casserole dish in this order: crushed crackers, drained oysters (save juice), and dab butter. Repeat this layering in the dish until you get to the top at which time you will want to have crackers as your last layer. Add a small amount of milk, pour the oyster juice over the layers, and dab butter in several spots on top. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top layer of crushed crackers. Cook until the crackers are golden brown.

Neither Kevin nor I have ever tried this dish so we cannot say if we like it or not, but it would seem that anyone who likes oysters would enjoy this recipe.

*****

My parent’s backyard is full of different birds and squirrels. Since there are no flowers in the hanging pots, dad is using them to hold peanuts and shelled corn. You can imagine how this delights the critters.

This one is talking with its mouth full:

Oh, and let us not forget the biscuits! Below you see Skippy clutching his biscuit:

You should have seen him turning it around in circles in order to eat all the edges first. That is one happy squirrel!

Nah!

The Hefty brand aluminum pans have been purchased for Thanksgiving dinner. If you haven’t bought these, you should give them a try. There is nothing better than having a few less pans to wash after eating that huge Thanksgiving meal.

I have also bought the ingredients for the dishes Kevin and I take to mom and dad's house each year: hash brown casserole, broccoli casserole, and baked macaroni and cheese. You have to buy these things a little early (especially the hash browns) or they can sometimes be hard to find.

Mom and I sat down last week and divvied out the list. I believe one of my aunts will bring the green beans and pistachio salad while another aunt and her husband will bring sausage balls for a pre-meal snack, along with corn pudding, and fruit salad. My sister will make vegetable casserole and her husband is in charge of desserts. We have never eaten his cooking before, so this will be his baking debut! Mom and dad will make the oyster casserole, turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, country ham, biscuits, and tossed salad. I don’t think I am leaving anything out.

We are very optimistic that mom will be in perfect health and able to enjoy this day of thanks fully. Right now she has a little cold, but is doing wonderfully otherwise.

Yesterday we bought Ashley a winter coat because she is growing like a weed and needs new clothing with every new season. We also bought her dress for the Winter Ball which is sometime in December. When that event occurs, I will take pictures and she will hopefully let me share them.

Lately she has not wanted me to share any pictures with her in them. She doesn’t even want pictures shown with her hands in them because people will know it is her. Okay. I can respect that, but I hope it doesn’t last long because, like it or not, the holidays are coming and I do put those pictures online. I am nice enough to weed out the bad ones though, so that should be appreciated.

When we came home from church, Kevin and Ashley made sausage balls. They were delicious and I am now very content and ready to do some reading. I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Spotted today at Gordmans

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like.

Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby and said, 'Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today.'

After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. 'Oh,' she said, 'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together.'

November 5, 2008

On we go.

Ashley went on a field trip today to our local theatre to see the Chamber Theatre Productions. She was supposed to travel to a neighboring town, but since the play was here, the kids were told there would be a refund on some gas money. This is as it should be since each child paid $5.25 for gas.

She said the plays were excellent.

She saw:

* The Fall of the House of Usher

* The Ransom of Red Chief

* The Most Dangerous Game

* The Open Window

* The Lady or the Tiger?

She said The Fall of the House of Usher was scary and The Ransom of Red Chief was hilarious. It sounded like she had an outstanding time. They ate at the golden arches after the play and before returning to school.

Kevin is taking a school finance class at Eastern and they just talked about field trips. He says the rule for field trips is it has to have some instructional merit. Since the kids heard classic stories today, I believe this trip is justified. However, before summer break each year the chorus takes a trip to Kings Island. The kids do not sing at the park, so there is no justification for this trip. If someone were to complain, they could get in trouble for this particular trip.

I am a typical parent. I know the kids love it, but I hate it. I see it as a useless trip which places my child in danger for nothing. I cannot just say no either. When all the other kids get to go, you don’t want your child to be the one left behind in the classroom. That said, each time she goes I cannot help but think about the Carrollton, Kentucky bus collision which happened on the way home from Kings Island.

I am thankful she had fun today and arrived back at school safely :)

I showed you the first replicas he made from paper. They were photographs inside The Haunted Mansion at Disney.

I thought you might enjoy seeing his most recent projects. The chosen images are first printed out on card stock. Then, each item must be very precisely cut. This takes a lot of time. Every item is folded certain ways and then glued using Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue.

In this photo, Kevin worked on an Indian:

The completed Indian couple:

The pilgrim couple:

A detailed look at the pilgrim couple:

As you can see, this is not something for everyone. It takes patience, time, and skill. I have not personally tried to make anything, but Kevin says some things are definitely more difficult than others.

The teacher’s name was misspelled. It is Diatha Harris and she works for the Cumberland County School system in Fayetteville, North Carolina (not Asheville as labeled on the video). She was apparently a former teacher in Asheville.

Click to read the response:

Dr. William Harrison

At the end of his letter, you can even “view video response”.

From email (Thank you Dana!):

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace.

'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.'

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kailua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.

Please pass this on to those whomever you think might be in need of inner peace.

I have never tried this drink, but I know it is very popular with the younger crowd.

(You will be able to understand about 17 seconds into the film.)

Ashville N.C. School teacher browbeats student over being a McCain supporter

Her behavior disgusts me. How dare she terrorize the little girl whose dad is in the military and who supports McCain! The poor child was thoroughly intimidated.

Hello! She doesn’t “browbeat people for who they support”? She “moved on”. When did that happen???

When they told her they were voting for John McCain she claims to have said, “Oh, that’s good”??? When did that happen because all we heard her say to students who were supporting John McCain was, “Oh, Lord, John McCain” and “Oh, Jesus, John McCain”. When exactly did she tell them their decision was good???

I also think someone needs to inform her that taking the Lord’s name in vain in the school setting (or any setting) is not proper etiquette. I believe when a person says, “Oh, Jesus” they had better be praying!

Also, she should not have been allowed to wear a pin on her shirt supporting her candidate. This is my opinion for both parties.

As you can tell, I am infuriated!!