Awesome

that's my boy billy

i wonder what's on his mind

i bet i can guess

9-11-11

St. Paul's on the Green.

We remember.

We honor.

We pray for love, forgiveness and tolerance.

Confession

Been up since 3 this morning....

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge:

The descendant of a coal miner.

I love it.

There may be hope for that family yet.

Earth Day Cometh

If heaven had given me choice of my position & calling, it should've been as a gardener-

Thomas Jefferson 8.20.1811

*Photo of Monticello stolen borrowed from Mr. Jefferson's Twitter.

Monday

I'll take it....

You Are Peaceful

You are a supportive and caring person. You pride yourself on being there for people. You are a good listener. Friends and family know that they can pour their hearts out to you. You are consistent and stable. You never change just for the sake of changing. You believe in being both compassionate and forgiving. Second chances are important.

The Amusement Park Test

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

And I am taking some time to remember Dr. Martin Luther King's non violent activism today. Now more than ever.

This-n-That Thursday

Wanna get your dander up today? Check out these earmarks your elected officials are trying to get through...and remember, many of these people don't want to extend unemployment benefits...

● $40 million for a National Bio and Agro-defense facility in Kansas, requested by Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kansas).

● $8 million for expanding Anchorage’s port, requested by Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R) (who campaigned on her ability to bring Alaska earmarks) and Mark Begich (D).

● $165,000 for maple research in Vermont, to further delve into the quality and food safety of syrup and to consider how current production methods affect tree health, requested by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vermont).

● $1 million for arthropod damage control, requested by Sen. Harry Reid (D., Nev.).

● $21 million for Hawaii Federal Health Care system, requested by Appropriations committee chair Sen. Daniel Inouye (D., Hawaii.)

● $2.5 million to improve pedestrian and bicycling paths in Illinois, requested by Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.)

● $307,000 for research on small fruits, requested by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D., Oregon), Norm Dicks (D., Wash.), Rick Larsen (D., Wash.), Kurt Schrader (D., Oregon), and David Wu (D., Oregon) and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), Jeff Merkley (D., Oregon), Patty Murray (D., Wash.), James Risch (R., Idaho), and Ron Wyden (D., Oregon).

● $350,000 for Cool Season Legume Research, which would fund studies on what diseases harm and what improvements could help crops such as lentils and beans, requested by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) Kent Conrad (D., N.D.), Bryon Dorgan (D., N.D.) and Patty Murray (D., Wash.) and Reps. Norm Dicks (D., Wash.) and Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.).

● $15 million to reduce emission-caused pollution in California, requested by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D., Calif) and Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza, Jim Costa, and Jay McNerney of California.

● $1 million for AFL-CIO training programs, requested by Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa).

These are but 10 of the 6,600 earmarks in the new spending bill. They total $8 billion.

Merry Christmas.

Source

Eleven Eleven Eleven

General Douglas MacArthur:

"It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who gives us freedom of the press. It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the Soldier, not the campus organizers, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, who serves the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag. Amen" (Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. A federal holiday, it is observed on November 11. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.))

I'm Back...

...and not a moment too soon. I think I may have one thing left in my office that my beloved dog did not find and give away last week. Rome and Tuscany are everything I thought they would be, plus more than can be photographed or described. It is something that settles in your heart. I feel so very blessed to have been able to take this trip. More to come on this later. Now, we have a winner for 1000 Days in Tuscany: My friend Kate, #8. I cannot think of a person who will love this book any more than George's Mom....

Have a wonderful Saturday, my friends...

"Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others."

-John F. Kennedy

Thanking the Brave

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.

~Benjamin Franklin

Remembering

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to take a break from their festivities on Memorial Day at 3 pm, and for sixty seconds observe a moment of silence, honoring all service men and women who have died for our freedom.

Before dusting off the grill or the inaugural belly flop into the public pool, remember. This Memorial Day, pause to honor our fallen heroes, thanking God for their sacrifice and for allowing us to live in the greatest nation on earth.

Duty, Honor, Country

And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me. -Lee Greenwood

Day 36

Are you kidding me?

You can get a live feed of this disaster and you cannot stop it?

36 Days.

Ruining my favorite body of water on the planet.

Murdering the wildlife.

Destroying the lives of countless families who make a living on that water.

Are you kidding me?

Somebody?

Public Service Announcement!

I am hearing lots of chatter out there about Spring Cleaning.

And have I got a solution for you!

The Vietnam Veterans of America will come take it away!

They really need clothing of every kind.

And some other stuff they will take:

Shoes

All bedding items

Draperies and curtains

Housewares and glassware

Jewelry and cosmetics

Toys-games-bikes

All kinds of tools

Small furniture

Small appliances (no TVs or computer monitors)

They sell these donated items to private companies, and these funds provide almost half of their annual needs to support local, state and national service programs (homeless vets, Agent Orange related health programs and improved hospital care for veterans with disabilities).

Here is the link to see if your state has the pickup service.

Or call 1-800-775-VETS (8387).

You just leave it outside, and they will take it and leave you a tax deductible receipt.

Think about it...

My Man...

Is probably spinning in there.

Am I the only one sick and tired of every single elected person in this country?

This-n-That Thursday...

Ways of giving:

To Haiti -

To find organizations sending directly to Haiti Earthquake relief, go to http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti

• Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund www.yele.org
• American Red Cross www.redcross.org
• Americares www.americares.org
• Mercy Corps donate.mercycorps.org
• Save the Children www.savethechildren.org
• World Vision www.worldvision.org
• Doctors Without Borders donate.doctorswithoutborders.org

Many employers will match donations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giving that is FREE!

All you need to do is click:

• TheHungerSite.com
• TheRainforestSite.com
• TheBreastCancerSite.com
• PinkRibbonStore.com
• TheAnimalRescueSite.com
• TheChildHealthSite.com
• TheLiteracySite.com

Pearls

Remembering December 7, 1941.

And yesterday, Annie and I went to a fundraiser

for Honor Flight.

A foundation that brings WWII Veterans to see their memorial

in Washington DC. 1600 WWII Veterans die each day.

So time is of the essence.

We thanked our heroes.

We were proud to be in their company.

And we made Christmas cards.

To send our troops.

It was a magical evening.

Remembering

Connecticut's 9/11 Memorial

Sherwood Island

Westport, Connecticut

Breaking News...

In a feeble attempt to turn away from cable news, Mental P plays an inane game on the Internet:

Your Nail Polish Color is Red

How you're unique: You have an incredible eye for style and art Why your style rocks: You are classic and classy - and that's hot! What this color says about you: "I'm smart, sassy, and sexy. And I know it."

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

Seriously, I'll do anything online today in a bid to keep me distracted from MSNBC's coverage of Ted Kennedy's life. But something tells me it won't work. What a life that man lived....

Cash For Mama's Junk?

Dear President Obama,

I don't have a clunker to cash in on, but I do have a few things sitting around here that I was wondering if you'd consider taking off my hands. Okay?

• About 30 pair of jeans in varying sizes.
• Some kimonos purchased during my All-Things-Asian phase.
• All the orange and brown lipsticks that come in those Clinique Gift With Purchase Bags.
• All my tight white t-shirts.
• All of my children's SAT and AP Prep books.
• All my sparkly hair scrunchies.
• All my springform cake pans.
• An exercise bike.
• An ab roller.
• 6 yoga mats and 5 yoga videos.
• My American Express and Visa bills.
• My mortgage.

I know you're busy and all, but I figured that now I could get some help. Then I could go out and do my part for the economy. I look forward to hearing from you soon

Kind regards,

Mental P Mama

PS--Give Michelle and the girls my best.

Flourish

"None of us suddenly becomes something overnight.

The preparations have been in the making for a lifetime."

--Gail Godwin

Sending safe and fun-filled holiday wishes to everyone.