Happy Birthday Nevada!

Home Means Nevada
Written & Music by Bertha Raffetto


Way out in the land of the setting sun,
Where the wind blows wild and free,
There's a lovely spot, just the only one
That means home sweet home to me.
If you follow the old Kit Carson trail,
Until desert meets the hills,
Oh you certainly will agree with me,
It's the place of a thousand thrills.

Home means Nevada
Home means the hills,
Home means the sage and the pine.
Out by the Truckee, silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines,
Here is the land which I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see.
Deep in the heart of the golden west
Home means Nevada to me.

Whenever the sun at the close of day,
Colors all the western sky,
Oh my heart returns to the desert grey
And the mountains tow'ring high.
Where the moon beams play in shadowed glen,
With the spotted fawn and doe,
All the live long night until morning light,
Is the loveliest place I know.

Home means Nevada
Home means the hills,
Home means the sage and the pines.
Out by the Truckee's silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines,
There is the land that I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see.
Right in the heart of the golden west
Home means Nevada to me.

USS New York

My sister-in-law e-mailed this to me...WOW!!!

It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center .

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, 'those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,' recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. 'It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.'

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the 'hair on my neck stood up.' 'It had a big meaning to it for all of us,' he said. 'They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back.'

The ship's motto? 'Never Forget'

Tonight is the Great McQueen White Out!!!! Everyone wear white as we “White Out" the Reno Huskies!!!

Another Pinewood Derby

Last night we had a 2nd pinewood derby this year...(yeah, good times)

J totally didn't get to Mr. Butler's car until Monday.

Like the great mother I am, I forgot the camera, so you'll have to go blind trying to look at the blurry blackberry pics. Sorry. And, no, I didn't take a picture of the 3 day car, either...Bad Mom! Bad!

Mr. Butler's car didn't win, however, he was awarded the "Slickest Paint Job" award...And he had fun with all his friends. But, honestly, he had more fun throwing around the football in the gym before and after the derby.



The best part of the evening was when my brother-in-law stopped by to see Mr. Butler and his car, in full Reno Police Officer uniform. A hush fell over the entire room, and someone said "Uh oh!" Classic.

Halloween? Bah! Humbug!

I'm sorry, I just don't really care for halloween. I hate handing out candy to other people that I could eat my self, especialy chocolate. I don't really have the money to buy candy to just give away these days, anyways. Sorry, gas and food for my family are more important than giving candy out to others with no return investment.

So my friend sent me an e-mail with these comics, and they pretty much sum me up...






They brought a smile to my face.

And, yeah, I'm not handing candy out this year since the ward trunk or treat is Friday. Woo Hoo!

The boy is tall...

My father-in-law and his wife took a wall in their laundry room and started marking the kids height on it. They started this back in 2003, so the wall is pretty well marked up with height marks and the date it was made. It's fun to see how little they use to be, and how much they've grown in 5 years.

Last night we went over to their house to cut out Mr. Butler's pinewood derby car, and had to mark the kids. Louie Blue hasn't grown at all since August (the last time they did this) Big A grew about 2 inches, and Mr. Butler grew about 5 inches!!!!

I'm telling you, this boy is so tall. At 9 years old, he is as tall as Big A was when he was 12. Crazy. Big A was not a short boy, he was about the same as all his friends at the same age back then. Mr. Butler is just super tall.

Well, That Painful Proceedure Is Over

Voting early wasn't really painful, quite easy in fact. Went to the library on my lunch hour and it took me all of about 8 minutes total.

Why is it painful, then, you may ask?

Well....I don't really like any of the choices this year. I don't think any of them will do any better than what we've been stuck with the last 8 years, and I'm not looking forward to the next 4 with the options given us.

So, that's why it's painful.

I think they need to have a "None of the Above" on the ballot, and if "None of the Above" wins the popular vote, we have to come up with new people to vote on....but that's just my thought.

Sushi Shots

On Saturday, J and I took the kids to Woo Chon here in Reno for sushi. It was actually Mr. Butler's idea to go...what can I say, I've worked for a fish company for the kids entire lives, and they love seafood...

We totally stuffed ourselves and had a great time. The kids can't wait to go back...Here's some shots of them enjoying themselves and the yummy rolls.
The ever elusive "teenager that hates to have his picture taken" shot...



Boy, this boy can sure use those chop sticks!

We worked out in the back yard all Saturday morning to get it ready to till up and put in the sod this next weekend. We moved so many pieces of scrap wood, cement, bricks and dirt, the kids really deserved a nice lunch.

Better Pictures

Here are a couple of cell phone shots of the Halloween Yard work in some day light so you can see them better...I wish I had a video camera to record the sounds, they are great! Very spooky...ooohhhh...Like I said in the post yesterday, for those of you that live in the area, seriously, drive by the thing...

Gas sightings at $2.99 today!!!

WOO HOO!!! We made it below the $3 mark! How sweet is that?

All I can say is "KEEP FALLING, GAS PRICES!!!!"

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

The scariest thing on Halloween is you! You definitely don't want any kids in costumes crossing your path - and you're willing to scare away any who do. Sneaky and devious, people should really watch out for you. You are usually underestimated and forgotten. Your inner child is stubborn and a bit bossy. You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope. You're prone to be quite emotional and over dramatic. Deep down, you enjoy being scared out of your mind... even if you don't admit it. You are picky and high maintenance. If you wear a Halloween costume, it's only when you really feel like it. And it has to be perfect.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

It's hard to tell...

But, these pictures are of the new Halloween decoration in our front yard. J's Aunt bought it for the kids...For those of you in the area, you should drive by, roll down your windows, and listen and watch the whole huge thing. It's pretty cool, seriously huge, and perfect for the season!

YAY!!!

It's 4:00 and I get to go home!!!

Darn It!

I found them this way inside my purse...I think Louie Blue sat on my purse...one crack and missing the lens. Oh well, at least they weren't really expensive ones. I liked these sun glasses though. That's usually how it works, huh? The stuff you really really like has bad things happen to them.

Gas Prices

OK, J's job is delivering stuff all over town, and it tends to cover a lot of gas stations, so he sees the falling gas prices every day. It is our community service to let everyone know who reads this blog in this area that at the AM PM on the corner of Mill and Keitzke gas is $3.11!!!!!! That's the cheapest he's seen today.

Janika, I know you have seriously cheaper gas that those of us out west...what are you at?

I am so glad the prices are falling, and I hope they continue to do so...I'd love to get back way below $3 per gallon so I can actually FILL my big old tank up for the same amount of money.

Thought of the day

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized. ~ Sun Tzu

October Roses

I STILL have roses blooming. I don't have rose bushes. I have rose weeds. I planted these things 7 1/2 years ago as a tiny bare root plant, and I can't control them now. I trim them back, but I think that just makes them grow more. The main branches are many inches thick, and J has to use a chain saw on them. But, hey, they seem to bloom from June until the first frost non-stop, so I can't complain. Roses are my favorite flower, and the white-ish ones are peace roses, which were the flowers I used in my wedding.

End of the Season

Well, football is done for Mr. Butler. He had his last game on Saturday up in Susanville, CA. They won 19 - 12. It was such a fun game, probably one of the best all season. I have to say, although the SYFL program was a very expensive one, I'm glad Mr. Butler did it, and that we got to share it with him. And, I'm actually looking forward to next year. We're going to start saving money for it after Christmas! MANY, MANY pictures to follow.

And I keep forgetting to mention this conversation with Mr. Butler...

Mr. Butler: I'm not going to football practice any more. I'm just going pro.

Big A: Uh, yeah, I think you need to practice to go pro.

Me: Um, yeah, you have to practice and play now all through high school so the College scouts can come see you play so you can go to college, where the pro scouts come and watch you, then you go pro. And practice is the key.

Mr. Butler: Naw, that's too much work. I'll just go pro.


Ahhh, little does he know it'll be more work the farther he goes, and even more so in the pros.

Who knows, maybe someday my boy will be on Monday Night Football...?

I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today...

I'm having a bad hair day AND a bad clothing day. It can't get much worse than that.

I am so ready to cut my hair SUPER short again. I hardly ever had bad hair days when it was really really short.

As for the clothes, I have a closet full of crap I just don't want to wear. Can't do anything about that except go shopping, but when there isn't any money in which to do that, I guess I'm in trouble.

Ah, who needs to pay the power and phone bill, let's go shopping!

Scheduled

Ok, as excited as I have been to have my surgery done, I scheduled it officially with my doctor today, and now I'm scared. In talking to the girl at the office that is my same age, and totally has the same problems as me, or at least did, and has gone through all the same stuff I've had or am having done, WOW. I'll have to stay in the hospital a day or 2, and she says I will be pretty down and out the first 2 weeks for sure. Yuck. I thought it would be an in and out the same day surgery, but I expect to feel pretty crummy for a few weeks. I'm having major surgery after all, and parts of my guts are coming out. So, 7 weeks from today, I will report to the hospital at 6:00 am, and go in to surgery at 8:00 am.

Poor Mr. Butler

Yesterday, his neck stiffened up, like he slept on it wrong. He called me from school to tell me, but didn't need to be picked up. He came home and put the hot pad on it and then went to bed. We woke him up to get ready for football practice, even though he was in no shape to practice...his coach sent him home...so he came home and stood in the hot shower for like 20 minutes just letting the nice hot water beat down on the stiff muscle, then when he got out, J put Icy Hot on his neck and sent him to bed. He woke up a little better this morning.

I feel for the poor boy; stiff necks are just plain awful!

5 Things About Me...

Janika tagged me...

1. When I count cash, it has to all be facing up, and going the same direction or I just can not count it. The heads have to be facing my right, and it has to be in stacks with $100 bills on the left going down to the right to end with the $1 bills. If I'm counting it and come across one out of order, upside down or backwards, I have to fix it and start counting it all over again. This comes from my first job as a car hop at A & W, where I had to count change and use a money pouch, so the money had to be in proper order to insure correct change and to help speed up the process. And yes, I can REALLY count back change without a stupid cash register to tell me how to do it.

2. I am addicted to lotion and soft skin. After a shower, I cover my wet body with baby oil, and then dry off and lather my skin again with lotion. After washing my hands, I have to immediately put lotion on, and I am putting lotion on all day long. And it has to a certain kind of lotion, too. St. Ives. I just can't use any thing else. It's not that my hands are dry, I just hate the way they feel without fresh lotion on them.

3. I have to rock. When my mom was pregnant with me, she had to sit in a rocking chair as that was pretty much the only chair she could a. be comfortable in and b. the only comfortable chair she could get out of by rocking herself out of it. Then, when I was born, she would rock and nurse me in the same chair and rock me to sleep and read to me while rocking. As I grew older, I still had the need to rock and my parents always had to have a rocking chair in the house, and I would literally break the springs on the rockers because I rocked so much. When we'd go out of town, I'd go stir crazy because I wouldn't have a rocker. One summer I spent with my sister in Utah, and they bought a cheap rocker so I could have one and not go crazy. I still rock. In our house, we have a cozy rocker and a glider I will sit in if I can't get the nice one. I would rather nap in my rocker than in my bed, just so I can rock.

4. I have to wear earrings when I go out. Even if they are little ones. When I do go out without them, and then realize I've done so, it makes me grouchy, and I'll keep tugging on my ear lobes because I feel naked and I can't function really well. I've had my ears pierced since I was 5 and it was the last birthday present from my grandma, as she died the end of that summer, so I feel like I have to wear earrings to honor her memory and to be fully dressed.

5. Yeah, I cut my hair again...I just can't stand all the natural curl and big poofy frizz, so I cut it into a more manageable bob.

October sNOw

It's Snowing...

First snow fall of the season...And boy, is it COLD!!!! The high is only supposed to be 43* today. Yeah, Monday, we were 84*. That is going to be a huge shock to my warm weathered body!

Gas is $3.41 today

Still seriously too much, but better than the $4.41 we were paying not too long ago.

Think we'll get down to $3.25?

Think it will ever be below $3.00 ever again?

That's A Lot of Rain!!!

We have a division for the company I work with in Miami that services all the cruise lines...they are getting rain today in that area...so much so that since early this morning from the time everyone arrived to work until now that one of my fellow co-workers now has a floating car in 3 feet of water! And it's still raining!!! Poor guy is a delivery driver so he wasn't there to move his car.

I guess they'll be able to stop deliveries to the docks; the ships can just float right up to our warehouse and get what they need on the way out to sea...

Chili Fest

Of course I forgot the camera..but, Mr. Butler's class won the People's Choice Award. Louie Blue's class didn't win anything...:(

Mr. Butler's class was so cute...they picked a theme of Pigskin Gridiron Chili. His teacher is the advisor for video club, so they did a video with all the kids wearing mostly Mr. Butler's Lancer jersey in a tune/theme of Green Eggs and Ham, like, you can eat it in a hole (and the kid was in a hole) or you can eat it in a bowl (the kid was holding a bowl) etc. It was really cute. And, this teacher is also the MC, and has music from his i-pod and he comments and he's really fun. I can see why Mr. Butler likes school and his teacher so much this year...

Louie Blue's theme was All Night Chili. The had art work outside their door, but I wasn't really seeing a theme, but she said they had a secret ingredient of coffee in their chili. Huh? I wasn't very impressed.

Big A's kindergarten teacher now teaches at the school the little kids are in now, so we talked to her for a bit. Mr. Butler could only stick around for a while before heading off to football practice, Big A saw a friend from work and some of the kids he used to go to school with, and we visited with a few friends from church.

It was a nice evening. I just love our school! We have good teachers and administrators, they do a lot of good fun things and I love that we live so close!

Two Extremes

Today...Sunny and 80*




Friday...Snowy and 50*








Crazy Nevada Weather!

We have had the nicest end to summer and early fall that I can ever remember. It has been fairly warm up until now, and my flowers on the front porch are still growing and blooming amazingly enough. I'm almost tempted to bring them inside for the winter...

Very Cute Web Site

Visit www.northpole.com

It's a very cute site that children from 2 to 102 will like. There are games, activities, recipes.

Sorry I can't get the direct link to work on this post, but I put the link on my "Fun Links" section down toward the bottom of the page on the right... ---->

Thoughts

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning


Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK

Then Dr Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on

your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they

will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.


My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

It's One of THOSE weeks...

I am running, running, running...I think I'm even running in my sleep.

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment leading up to my surgery, Louie Blue had a dentist appointment (no cavities YAY), Mr. Butler had football practice, which J took him to and I stayed home and got caught up on all the DVR episodes of CSI so I can watch the season premier on Thursday, and came home with a Peanut Buster Parfait. THANK YOU HONEY!!!

Today, I woke up with a wonderful migraine and a bloody nose. Then I forgot I had to chop 4 jalapenos for Mr. Butlers class for the chili fest so yeah, I was cutting up chilies at 6:30 this morning.

Big A has a doctor appointment this afternoon, followed by the affore mentioned chili fest at the school, and football practice. And you know this migraine is going to be an issue all day...grrrrr...

Tomorrow is my standing manicure (my time, I need this time...) and Scouts for the boys.

Thursday is a fairly quiet day, except I have to watch CSI!!!!

Friday is the McQ Homecoming game, so I'll be out late for that, but wouldn't miss it.

And Saturday we get to drive to Fallon for a 10:00 football game, that we have to be at 1 1/2 hours early, so yeah, I gotta be up early to leave on time.

I think I'm going to have a migraine all week...I love Excedrin!!!!

My Father-in-law sent me this...

During this election year let's be reminded of these words:

* You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich.

* You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong.

* You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift.

* You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down.

* You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred.

* You cannot build character and courage, by taking away people's initiative and independence.

* You cannot help people permanently, by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.

Do you recognize the author?

It was Abraham Lincoln

Very, very wise words, written years ago and we still don't get it.....

I Just Have to Recommend This!

I saw a couple commercials for this and when I went shopping the other day, I saw that the price was reasonable and thought, "What do I have to loose?" So, I bought a starter pack, used it in the bathroom yesterday, and I JUST LOVE IT!!!!!! My tub, tile, and grout sparkle like they haven't in a long time, and I didn't kill my self to get it. It even got rid of the nasty mildew that is so tough to get rid of in the grout. ( Note to self...when we remodel the bathroom, NO GROUT and TILE!) It's easy to use, works VERY well, and I am sold!

Too Seriously Crazy

Wow, a few things going on that are crazy...

First, my sister and I couldn't get in touch with my dad. His cell phone went right to voice mail and his answering picked up at the house. So, I got a call from him yesterday. From Boston. As in Massachusetts. He and Sally decided to take a little vacation. So they went back east, as both have never been there. They went to Atlantic City, NY City and all the sights there, Philly, and now they are in Boston and working there way up to see the fall colors. Crazy. So unlike him. He sounded happy and said he's having a great time. Good for him. The past three years were hard on him.

Second, summer has finally come to an end around these parts. It's been in the 80's for weeks now; very unseasonably warm and dry. But, today, we're only supposed to hit 73, tomorrow, 64, and Saturday, 61, with a chance of rain and snow in the mountains. All good things must come to an end.

Third, gas is steadily coming down. It's at $3.45. Still seriously high, but better than the $4.45 we were paying during the summer. At least I'm almost filling up my tank finally.

Fourth, they FINALLY found Steve Fossets plane. Near Mammoth Lakes, CA. A hiker found some things belonging to him, and found his plane about 1/4 of a mile from there. I can't even begin to tell you how SICK I am of hearing about this mysterious disappearance 13 months ago, and all the money that has been spent in trying to find him. People only care and only spent money no one has to spend (ie tax dollars) because he was rich and famous. Average people go missing every day, and there is never the media frenzy or hoopla like this one. I do feel bad for his family, but come on already. Move on. They said the damage to the plane would indicate no one could have possibly survived, but they didn't find any remains. This is sick, but Big A said, "There are bears and coyotes up in those mountains, he was dinner." Anyways, in a week or so, the media frenzy will be over, and we can all move on with our lives and hear about other things in the news besides Steve Fosset...like, maybe the failing economy?

And, my sister has been downgraded to 8 broken ribs and a shattered pelvis. My cell phone died yesterday (could be because I forgot to charge it) so I couldn't call, but I will today. My dad called her, and then called me, but I missed the call due to making dinner, so his voice mail didn't say much, but he's going to call me again this afternoon.

It's time to start getting the Fall/Halloween decorations out, and I can't believe it. It was just May, wasn't it? But with the cooler, cloudier weather, I think I'm ready.

So, anyways, that's what's going on in these neck of the woods. Just in case you cared to know.

Must Be Stupid People Day

And they are behind the wheels of their cars.

Watch out!!!!

They'll cause an acident if you aren't watching closely.