Hello Again!!

Hello Again!!

Yesterday, I called Manpower to find out about my status for employment and they said they wanted me to take drug test then will be starting a job assignment in Oak Ridge in September! I am SO EXCITED!! I can't wait! I know I will pass the drug test because I don't take drugs except for junk food, soda pops which better never consider as drugs :) So I can't wait to get started with my job assignment! WHEW!!

Today I went for my test with City of Knoxville.. I passed my typing test exceed their requirement of 25 WPM and I passed written test but I wish my score was bit higher than it is but let's see how it goes among other applicants and see if I am one of the top 5 applicants to be called back for interview..

I have not heard back from other places I applied.. Mmm I'm hanging in there being so patient waiting to hear from them..

Bucky has tried applied at some places and have not heard back either.. So hopefully he will be able to get something that he will be able to use his degree to its fullest so both of us will be employed and be able to afford upcoming Christmas stuff!!

MMM speaking of Christmas, are you all ready for Christmas?? I want to say I am all ready for Christmas but I can't until after Thanksgiving then I will say I am ready for Christmas! Because I do my decorations the day after Thanksgiving but I plan on layawaying stuff for the kids so we won't max out our credit cards doing things last minutes!

Gotta go and eat my supper! Till then, M-

Stuff to Share..

Knoxville's Sunsphere I really LOOK forward it to be open again, I went up there 11 years ago and would like to go up in sunsphere again and take another bird's eye view of Knoxville.. They are wanting to do this.. Let's see how it pans out.

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Thanks to Sandy for this email.. We need to remember we are Children of God.. I know there are non-believers out there but there will be a point in their lives, they would kneel and believe..

A Seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning, they were eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here."

But, sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.

"Oklahoma," they answered.

"Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What
do you do for a living?"

"I teach at a seminary," he replied.

"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really good story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great, just what I need-another preacher story!" The man started, "See that mountain over there?" (pointing out a restaurant window) "Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question. "Hey boy, who's your daddy?"

Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question "Who's your daddy?" He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so much. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, "Who's your Daddy ?"

But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, "Son, who's your daddy?"

The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, "Who's your daddy?" The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy. "Wait a minute!" he said. "I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God."

With that, He patted the boy on his shoulder and said. "Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it! " With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, "Who's your Daddy?" he'd just tell them, "I'm a child of God."

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said,"Isn't that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, "Do you know that man who just left that was sitting at our table? " The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"

Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they are one of God's children. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

YOU'RE ONE OF GOD'S CHILDREN. I SEE THE RESEMBLANCE. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

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Bucky didn't get the job position he had interview on Thursday due to the fact the job requires inbound calls but it was not in the job description, so that is a bummer! But the interview went well from Bucky's point of view.. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts!

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Thanks to Charles in SC for sending this to me.. I would like to watch this movie.. It looks like a good movie IN OUR LAUNGUAGE!! ASL FILMS will have this movie coming out in Fall of 2006! Can't wait as it's ALMOST fall!

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This weekend marks 50 years anniversary for Clinton as 50 years ago, August 27, 1956 12 black students went to school at Clinton and went through so many things as this explains.. Such a milestone to go through and being honored for their brave actions..

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CNN has a clip of

Advice to be passed on to your daughter..

Thanks Sandy for forwarding this to me! LOL!

Advice to be passed on to your daughter.

Don't imagine you can change a man - unless he's in diapers.

What do you do if your boyfriend walks-out? You shut the door.

If they put a man on the moon - they should be able to put them all up there

Never let your man's mind wander - it's too little to be out alone.

Go for younger men. You might as well - they never mature anyway.

Men are all the same - they just have different faces, so that you can tell them apart.

Definition of a bachelor; a man who has missed the opportunity to make some woman miserable.

Women don't make fools of men - most of them are the do-it-yourself types.

Best way to get a man to do something, is to suggest he is too old for it.

Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

If you want a committed man, look in a mental hospital.

The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40 years. Even in biblical times, men wouldn't ask for directions.

If he asks what sort of books you're interested in, tell him cheque books.

Remember a sense of humor does not mean that you tell him jokes, it means that you laugh at his.

My Personality..

Hello Everyone!

I went to Knoxcareers.com and they had an personality test for employment so I took that and my results are as following:

Personality Test for Mary W. Carver

Outgoing
By nature, you are likely to feel comfortable in situations in which you interact with others as well as those in which you operate on your own. In addition, you may be capable of expressing your ideas forcefully, particularly when you are familiar with your topic or have the support of others. Depending upon the specific project you are working on, some people may perceive you as being authoritative and forceful, while others might consider you to be quiet and reserved.

Open-Minded
You tend to be accepting of new and different approaches to tasks, procedures and routines. At the same time, you may be more comfortable in situations in which expectations, rules and procedures are familiar and defined. In adapting to change, you are likely to feel in control when specific, relevant information is readily available and there is sufficient time to integrate new methods.

Resilient
Overall, you are likely to deal with most routine problems and situations with comfort, inner strength and resilience. While you may experience some heightened stress at times and would benefit from a management approach which is supportive, you will generally exhibit the resilience required to deal with these conditions and to move forward.

Helpful
In dealing with others, you will usually come across to others as good natured, supportive and generous. At the same time, you can set limits with people if need be. You can also assume a tough-minded stance when independence and objectivity are required. In general, you will be friendly, cordial and get along well with customers, co-workers and others with whom you come in contact.

Conscientious
You are likely to be diligent and dependable, particularly when tasks are interesting and priorities and expectations are well-defined. At the same time, you may become bored or distracted with tasks that are overly routine or repetitive. As a result, you may want to seek out work environments in which there are opportunities to engage in a variety of activities and tasks. In addition, you may find it valuable to periodically review expectations with supervisors or others to make sure that your understanding of priorities are consistent with the needs of the organization.

AMEN!! :) That is how I am.. So now I hope those employers out there can see who I am and willing to hire me..

BlackBerry pagers..

Hello everyone!

I am going to talk about BlackBerry pager tonight.. I have a BlackBerry 7290 pager that I got last June.. I am so IN LOVE with this.. It has its advantages as well as disadvantages.. I had Sidekick and I still do like sidekick as it has some features BB don't and vice versa..

I have learned how to use Ramble IM, downloaded Google map on BB, enjoy playing spider solitare on my BB and actually get my emails from Gmail on my pager so I don't have to go online to check my emails!! I am still looking for more hints, tips to make use of the pager.. So far, I'm pleased with it..

I saw link to a video on yahoo.com but I was not able to get the video link so this is what I got that was posted back in Feburary..

:) Till Then, M

Volleyball schedule and prayer requests..

Hello Everyone!

For those who are local to TSD, you are welcome to come and watch our Varisty Lady Vikings play volleyball games.. The schedules below are only for home games held on those dates, if you want to know the away schedule leave your email address and I will get it to you.

• August 31st at 5 pm
• September 26 at 5:30 pm
• September 28 at 5:30 pm
• September 30 at 10 am before football Homecoming game at 2 pm
• October 5 at 5 pm

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I have few prayer requests of my viewers.. Will you please keep them in your prayers and thoughts and spread it to other prayer groups out there?

1. Mrs. Caroline Ball, Mother of my cousin, Ginny Duncan will be undergoing surgery on Monday the 28th to remove mass from ovary. She's 86 years old so of course this must be so uneasy situation for her to be in..
2. Bucky's interview which is schedule for Thursday at 2 pm at a company Bucky has been wanting to work at for a long time.
3. Minnie Moyer, Mother to one of Tori's friends at TSD who has had cancer spreaded to her lungs, undergoing chemotherapy..
4. Traci Cooke, she has been diagnosed with leukemia and she recently went through Bone Marrow Transplant. She's now recovering in a apartment nearby UNC hospital in NC.
5. My search for jobs, I have applied to nearly 15 different places and have gotten few letters of rejections :( but I am still going strong with my job search..

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Till then, M-

Our Precious Children..

After school, Justin arrived home with a big sketch book so I asked to look through it and I was impressed with some of his sketches.. I showed the book to Bucky and we went through the rest of it.. Justin said it was the book he drew on last year in his art class.. Some of his sketches are good but it is like he's Picasso and some sketches are really good like a portrait drawing.. I told Justin that he could use that talent of drawing if he enjoy it so much and to attend some art classes outside of school.. We will see how it pans out..

When Ryan arrived home, we left to go to T.S.D. for volleyball game Tori plays in.. We stopped by at Wendy's to eat our supper then arrived T.S.D. and the other team (Lenior City Panthers) has not arrived due to some accident on highway so they had to use other way to arrive T.S.D. Shortly after, the team finally arrived, Mom and Dad arrived so we sat down to watch and enjoy the game.. OH MAN! Tori really did very well. She was nervous about being in the game but she is a natural! She has the spirit of athlete.. The team did good even though they lost the overall game but they did won one game.. The games were all hot! Scores was close! Bucky and I am really proud of Tori and all players.. At end of the games, I told two girls that they all played well and Justine, one of the girls I was talking to, said she didn't play much and Tori played very good. I told her that it takes TEAMWORK to play together no matter if she didn't play much, she did her part and played, contributing to the team.. It is important that players all know that they all contribute to the game played because if they didn't play, the game wouldn't get played.. Of course, some were scared to "play hard" but with more encouragement, they may play with fire and do well. Even though, She's youngest one on the team but she can play hard as well as any of them. BUT the gym was VERY VERY HOT! I was sweating like a pig! Dang! Mom and Dad left as it was too hot for them and they took Ryan with them as Ryan was so restless.. :) So Justin, Bucky and I stayed until the end of game.. We will be planning on going to VSDB for Volleyball Mason Dixon Tournament.. So I'm gathering any information we can get regarding combo tickets, motels and activities planned so we can go and enjoy ourselves as well! :)

We left to go pick up Ryan from Mom and Dad's and was surprised to see Vicki and Doug at Sandy and Robert's house.. So we chatted with them for a while but by 9:30 pm, we really had to leave so the boys could get rest for school.. So we left and came home and went to bed! :)

We will wait and see what talents Ryan has and will encourage him to enrich his talents with whatever out there for him. We want our children to know how much we love them and how proud we are of them with their talents and hope they can do well with what they set out to do..

~Go Justin Go!~ ~Go Tori Go!~ ~Go Ryan Go!~

PS, Please keep Bucky in your prayers and thoughts today! He has a interview at 1 pm today.. It is for a company that Bucky really wants to work for long time and now they are giving him an chance for interview! So keep your fingers, toes and whatever you can cross for Bucky.. :)

Till then, M-

Emails from Vicki!

Thanks to Vicki for sending me this link.. I was able to see how beautiful our Earth is.. We need to value our planet!

http://home.att.net/~hideaway_fun/442/planet.htm

~~~


Billy Graham is now 86 years old with Parkinson's disease. In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honor. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, "We don't expect a major address. Just come and let us honor you." So he agreed.

After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, "I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it. The conductor said, "Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it." Einstein nodded appreciatively.

The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one."

Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.'"

Having said that Billy Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? It's a brand new suit. My wife, my children, and my grandchildren are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am .. I also know where I'm going."

~~~~

GOOD NEWS!!

Hello!

Yesterday I had an appt at 11 am to see Manpower about data entry jobs they were posting on Knoxville News Sentinel that they were going to have job fair for.. So I got there at 10:45 am and waited for the interpreter to show up and unfortunately the interpreter was late due to traffic on I-40.. I usually plan ahead when I know I am going on I-40 because it seems whenever anyone goes on I-40, you will defintely be late! Anyway, the interpreter finally arrived by 11:15 am so we went in and I got started on application on computer then was going to do paperwork signing all the information for Manpower when I was told that it tends to take about 2 hours to go through the process and the interpreter was only scheduled for one hour.. And it was now 11:50 am, UGH! So we decided to set an appointment for today at 9:30 am and schedule another interpreter to show up for 2 hours..

I went back today and arrived there at 9:05 am and my appt was 9:30 am.. Mmm, gotta make time go fast so I went to bathroom, washed hands and got out and it was only 9:15 am! SHEESH!! So I decided to go ahead and get in and get started on my paperwork while waiting on interpreter, I was nearly finished with my paperwork when I looked at time and realized it was now 9:40 am and NO INTERPRETER AGAIN!!! SHEESH!!! So I emailed Goodwill who had made request for interpreter to show up at the appointment and inform them that the interpreter didn't show up yet. So by 9:45, the interpreter finally showed up and said "Sorry, stuck in traffic I-40, I left home at 8:45 am but got here late".. So I emailed Goodwill office and inform them that the intepreter showed up..

I went to post office to pick up our mail and got a letter from City of Knoxville saying I need to come on 29th for typing and written test for a job position I applied!! I am excited and HOPE that I do well on those tests to get an interview!! I hope to be able to work for City of Knoxville or something close to this type of position!!!

When I got home, I decided to call Knoxville Center for the Deaf who sent those interpreters to the appointment and told Janet Cheney that both interpreters were late.. I was told by Janet that the interpreter today had hard time finding the place and the phone number they were given to get in touch with Goodwill was in fact a fax number and they were not able to get information for interpreter to find the place.. Mmmmmmmmmmm........

:) Well, I am waiting to hear from Manpower to let me know what job assignments they will line up for me..

Till Then M-

Poor Buddy!

Hey everyone!

I am feeling so sorry for Buddy, our dog! He is such a sweet dog, always very quiet and laid back.. Well, remember one of my post I posted last week how the day was so bad for us that Buddy and Baby got in fight.. Well, one of the fight Baby and Buddy had, Baby actually broke Buddy's tail 6 inches from the base..

Tuesday, Buddy was starting to smell so bad that I actually almost gagged so I decided to call the vet clinic in town to have him checked out.. They had to keep him overnight so they could shave his tail and clean his tail up and do better check up on that.. So the next day (Wednesday) I called to find out what time we could pick up Buddy as I was hoping to be able to pick him up and go to my interview with Manpower agency at 11 am but the vet wanted to talk to me and she was busy with another patient so it was not until about 2 pm when I finally got to talk to her and she said good news, Buddy's good and doing alright but bad news is he has a broken tail and actually in a lot of pain. OUCHIE! Poor him! She wanted to know if I would let her put a splint on his tail so I said yes that's fine..

I nearly fainted!! 30 bucks for a plastic splint!!!! So the total cost for him to get treated was nearly $160 bucks! YIKES!! So we picked him up yesterday and brought him home.. He has a "collar" to prevent him from trying to tear the bandages off his tail so he keep bumping into things. LOL! It is kinda of funny to see him doing things but in other way, it's pitiful!

Today Bucky and I had to change his bandage as it has bunch of drainage on it so we started to cut the tape off at 2:15 pm and by 4:40 pm we were not even close to remove the bandages off the tail! Buddy wouldn't let us do much as he would be crying and trying to push us off his tail.. So Bucky decided to call the Vet and asked if she would change the bandages for us and she said ok she would do it.. We brought Buddy back in to see her.. Buddy had two nurses holding him down and the vet trying to put the bandages on his tail but he kept moving so much that she kept losing the grip on the bandages so another nurse came in and helped so it was 3 nurses holding Buddy down!! FINALLY the vet decided to just wrap the bandage and put three tapes to hold it in place and cover the tail with sock and tape the sock to the skin so now Buddy is sporting a sock on his tail! So cute! I wish I have the camera handy so could take picture of Buddy looking like this..

I dread changing his bandages tomorrow! I hope he's not going to give us hard time again..

Till then, M-

Happy Birthday Justin!!

Hello Justin!

Happy Birthday to you! I can't believe you are now offically 15 years old!!! Where did time go!?!? SMILE!! Enjoy your day as much as you can!

I love you very much and always!
Mom

Mom's Birthday Dinner at Golden Girls..

On August 6th, We had Birthday dinner for Mom at Golden Girls resturant and had 6 guests join us for the dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday.. I wish we could have invited everyone but wasn't able to invite everyone! :)

Granny saying I love you! Love you too !

Gramps saying I love you! Love you too!

Sandy, she's batting eye at you! :)

Daddy

Mom posing with her cake! Happy 60th Birthday to you!

Justin (he fooled around with some program and got this looking, Mmm.. )

Tori or as she wants to be called Eliza now.. Isn't she pretty! :)

Mom posing in front of quilt at Golden Girls resturant in Clinton..

Gramps and Effie, Ruby's Mom

David Booker and Ruby Milstead

Didn't have a individual picture of Fern Talley as she was one of the guests.. Sorry :(

All of us posed for group picture except for Robert, he's the photographer!

Ryan's Birthday Pictures!

Here's the birthday boy, Ryan!

His lifelong dream to be a ROCK N ROLL guitar player! LOL!

ROCK N ROLL!!

Ryan wanted cupcakes for his birthday so here's his cupcakes!

Ryan and Nana, Nana is saying 7 :)

BIG MOUTH MONSTER!!

Ricky Matsen

Ricky Matsen is a former teacher at ENCSD when I was young girl.. I never had him as my teacher but had seen him around the building and talked to him many occasions.. He went to NCSD with Mom, graduating one year before Mom did..

He got married to one of the teacher aide and had a daughter. He was and I'm sure he's still very proud of his daughter to this day. Unfortunately, he got divorced some time later.. I am not sure if he had retired or had to resign his teaching job due to his medical condition but he had stopped teaching at ENCSD.. I had not heard his name in a long long time until a friend of mine, Tangie mentioned that she visited him some time ago and I remembered him.. Then on MSN NC Chat, there was a email post about him giving us the address to mail letters or cards.. So if you know who he is and would like to send him letters or cards, I'm sure he would appericate hearing from us.. Email or leave a message here and I will give you his address.. Thanks!

***
Speaking of ENCSD, They will have homecoming on Sept 9, 2006 playing against TSD.. The alumnus will have Homecoming Party afterward and here's the flyer if you are attending or interested to go.. I don't know if we are going or not.. Mmmm..

Stuff to share..

Good Morning to Y'All!

WOW, Mom sent me this Talent show email and I was amazed HOW they did this! They are REALLY talented.. :) Thanks Mom for sending this to me..

***

This is a true account as recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida...

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her voice, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"

The four men didn't wait for a second invitation. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then it dawned on her why... For the same reason she did not understand why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12 packs of beer in the front seat!

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake.

***

I got this from D-Mail I get from a lady in Oak Ridge. It is a Devotional Mail and yesterday she did a D-mail and had a clip linked.. All I can say is WOW!

~~
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a new week! Your devotion today is going to be by far different from any I’ve ever sent out. So just hang on. I’ll likely be back to our regular format tomorrow. But for today, stop and consider this…

Do you ever have times that your circumstances build to such a place that you think you can’t go on? That the task ahead of you is just too great? That you’ve not been given what you need to accomplish the goal? That you’re just not equipped? Do you just ever get so discouraged that all those “Press on out!”’s at the bottom of your d-mails carry to weight of encouragement whatsoever, but just sit there as empty words and serve only as a means of Kay’s signing off?

Well in those times when you think you can’t, take a look at this, and be reminded that you have a Father who loves you so deeply and who makes all things possible!


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid\u003d2306376850295808016

This impacted me so strongly yesterday morning, that I immediately sent it out to all our pastors/staff at NLF. If you know of someone who is struggling with doubt or who may be discouraged, prayerfully consider passing this on to them.

Thank you, Clancey, for sharing it with me. I truly worshipped unexpectedly yesterday morning, right here in this small corner of our humble little home.

Just Imagine…
Sistuh Kay
~~

If you want to subscribe to this D-mail, just let me know and I will pass along your email address to Sistuh Kay.

***
Thanks to Vicki for sending this to me..

A Good Read
(The following story was written by Lori Kimble, a 31 year old teacher and proud military wife. Mrs. Kimble, a California native, currently lives inAlabama.)

I was sitting alone in one of those loud, casual steak houses that you findall over the country. You know the type--a bucket of peanuts on every table, shells littering the floor, and a bunch of perky college kids racing around with longneck beers and sizzling platters.

Taking a sip of my iced tea, I studied the crowd over the rim of my glass. My gaze lingered on a group enjoying their meal. They wore no uniform to identify their branch of service, but they were definitely "military:" -clean shaven, cropped haircut, and that "squared away" look that comes with pride. Smiling sadly, I glanced across my table to the empty seat where my husband usually sat. It had only been a few months since we sat in this very booth, talking about his upcoming deployment to the Middle East. That was when he made me promise to get a sitter for the kids, come back to this restaurant once a month and treat myself to a nice steak. In turn he would treasure the thought of me being here, thinking about him until he returned home.

I fingered the little flag pin I constantly wear and wondered where he was at this very moment. Was he safe and warm? Was his cold any better? Were my letters getting through to him? As I pondered these thoughts, high pitched female voices from the next booth broke into my thoughts."I don't know what Bush is thinking about. Invading Iraq. You'd think that man would learn from his old man's mistakes. Good lord. What an idiot! I can't believe he is even in office. You do know, he stole the election."

I cut into my steak and tried to ignore them, as they began an endless tirade running down our president. I thought about the last night I spent with my husband, as he prepared to deploy. He had just returned from getting his smallpox and anthrax shots. The image of him standing in our kitchen packing his gas mask still gives me chills.

Once again the women's voices invaded my thoughts. "It is all about oil, you know. Our soldiers will go in and rape and steal all the oil they can in the name of 'freedom'. Hmph! I wonder how many innocent people they'll kill without giving it a thought? It's pure greed, you know." My chest tightened as I stared at my wedding ring. I could still see how handsome my husband looked in his "mess dress" the day he slipped it on my finger. I wondered what he was wearing now. Probably his desert uniform, affectionately dubbed "coffee stains" with a heavy bulletproof vest over it.

"You know, we should just leave Iraq alone. I don't think they are hiding any weapons. In fact, I bet it's all a big act just to increase the president's popularity. That's all it is, padding the military budget at the expense of our social security and education. And, you know what else? We're just asking for another 9-ll. I can't say when it happens again that we didn't deserve it."

Their words brought to mind the war protesters I had watched gathering outside our base. Did no one appreciate the sacrifice of brave men and women, who leave their homes and family to ensure our freedom? Do they even know what "freedom" is? I glanced at the table where the young men were sitting, and saw their courageous faces change. They had stopped eating and looked at each other dejectedly, listening to the women talking.

"Well, I, for one, think it's just deplorable to invade Iraq, and I am certainly sick of our tax dollars going to train professional baby-killers we call a military." Professional baby-killers? I thought about what a wonderful father my husband is, and of how long it would be before he would see our children again.

That's it! Indignation rose up inside me. Normally reserved, pride in my husband gave me a brassy boldness I never realized I had. Tonight one voice will answer on behalf of our military, and let her pride in our troops be known. Sliding out of my booth, I walked around to the adjoining booth and placed my hands flat on their table. Lowering myself to eye level with them, smilingly said, "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. You see, I'm sitting here trying to enjoy my dinner alone. And, do you know why? Because my husband, whom I love with all my heart, is halfway aound the world defending your right to say rotten things about him."

"Yes, you have the right to your opinion, and what you think is none of my business. However, what you say in public is something else, and I will not sit by and listen to you ridicule MY country, MY president, MY husband, and all the other fine American men and women who put their lives on the line, just so you can have the "freedom" to complain. Freedom is an expensive commodity, ladies. Don't let your actions cheapen it."

I must have been louder that I meant to be, because the manager came over to inquire if everything was all right. "Yes, thank you," I replied. Then, turning back to the women, I said, "Enjoy the rest of your meal." As I returned to my booth applause broke out. I was embarrassed for making a scene, and went back to my half eaten steak. The women picked up their check and scurried away.

After finishing my meal, and while waiting for my check, the manager returned with a huge apple cobbler ala mode. "Compliments of those soldiers," he said. He also smiled and said the ladies tried to pay for my dinner, but that another couple had beaten them to it. When I asked who, the manager said they had already left, but that the gentleman was a veteran, and wanted to take care of the wife of "one of our boys."

With a lump in my throat, I gratefully turned to the soldiers and thanked them for the cobbler. Grinning from ear to ear, they came over and surrounded the booth. "We just wanted to thank you, ma'am. You know we can'tget into confrontations with civilians, so we appreciate what you did."

As I drove home, for the first time since my husband's deployment, I didn't feel quite so alone. My heart was filled with the warmth of the other diners who stopped by my table, to relate how they, too, were proud of my husband, and would keep him in their prayers. I knew their flags would fly a little higher the next day. Perhaps they would look for more tangible ways to show their pride in our country, and the military who protect her. And maybe, just maybe, the two women who were railing against our country, would pause for a minute to appreciate all the freedom America offers, and the price it pays to maintain its freedom.

As for me, I have learned that one voice CAN make a difference. Maybe the next time protesters gather outside the gates of the base where I live, I will proudly stand on the opposite side with a sign of my own. It will simply say, "Thank You!"

To those who fought for our Nation: Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know. GOD BLESS AMERICA! Please pray for God's protection of our troops and HIS wisdom for their commanders. Pass this on to as many as you think will respond. "Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

"When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground, air and navy personnel in every area of the middle east. There is nothing attached.... This can be very powerful.... Just send this to all the people in your address book. Do not stop this prayer chain, please.... Of all the gifts you could give to anyone in the US Military, be it Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines or National Guard, Prayer is the very best one.....Amen!~God Bless America~

***
Got this via America In Uniform-

BECAUSE OF A MINOR INFRACTION, a shipmate of mine aboard the USS Reeves, bound for Japan, was busted one rank, fined and given extra duty for three weeks. Looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday on July 2, he consoled himself every night during his extra duty by reciting, "They can bust me, they can fine me - but they can't take away my birthday."

As July 2 approached, his excitement increased. When he went to bed on July 1, he happily repeated, "They can bust me, they can fine me - but they can't take away my birthday."

The next morning, he found out that the ship had crossed the international date line - and it was July 3. --Contributed to "Humor In Uniform" by Lyning M. Peterson

***
Thanks to Sandy for sending this to me..

Jesus

Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
Had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us. If you believe in God and in Jesus Christ His Son.. send this to all on your buddy list.. if not just ignore...

In the Bible, Jesus says..."If you deny me before man, I will deny you before my Father in Heaven.

"May your troubles be less, your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come through your door!

***

I will close for now..
Till then- M.

For the locals in TN

Hey everyone who lives in Anderson County or local to Anderson County or even those who are willing to drive a distance to Oak Ridge TN,

If you are looking for a good meat market, I can recommend you to check out J & M Butcher shop on N. Jefferson Circle.. I saw an commerical for the shop on TV other day and wanted to go and check them out so Bucky and I did went on Friday to check them out.. We were impressed with their quality of meat and how much we got in meat.. The prices are average as you go to Wal-mart or any other meat dept in food stores.. I like their bundle pack plan so we (Mom/Dad, Sandy/Robert, Bucky and I) plan on buying two quarters (front and hind) and divide it up among us..

You can go to this website and check them out.. The people there are so NICE and friendly! We bought a bundle pack last Friday and will be buying more as I think we get good deal in that..

Till then, M-

Ryan's Birthday and etc..

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, we celebrated Ryan's 7th birthday! He's so proud to be 7 years old but I am missing my little baby as he's growing up too fast for me! :) He is wanting to go to Vicki's house to swim this afternoon so I hope the weather cooperates so he can enjoy his time in the pool..

We had gone to Mom and Dad's while Bucky went to a friend's house in Clinton to fix the laptop for that friend.. 2 hours stay turned into all day stay :) Ryan decided he wanted to have his birthday dinner at Nana and PawPaw's house. He finally decided he wanted spaghetti for supper so Mom, Dad, kids, Bucky and I went to Oak Ridge to J & M Butcher shop that had opened up recently to buy fresh hamburger among other meats.. Went to Wal-Mart to buy cupcakes for Ryan to blow out the candle from.. So we returned to Clinton and celebrated Ryan's birthday with yummy spaghetti and cupcakes! Ryan blew the candle and told us his birthday wish "I wish everyone will be happy" WOW! a 7 years old boy who is so considerate of others, but that's Ryan.. He always is a happy child but of course he has moments where he will be mischievous but that's normal for any children, really..

We came home after the dinner and just relaxed at home.. Watched last portion of Drumline then watched Remembering the Titans.. While I was watching the movie, I was working on the list where I want to check out employments and I have about 40 places that I want to check out to see if they are hiring and have anything open for me! I HOPE SO!! :) I have gotten my first rejection letter from carmax.com... :( I applied for Business office associate at Carmax in Knoxville and they sent me a very nice letter saying that although my qualifications are impressive, they have decided to continue their search.. I thank them for mailing me the letter and let me know that they have made their decision regarding my application so I won't continue to look forward a call or something from them.. There are places that has not acknowledge Bucky's applications or send Bucky a letter of rejection.. So I really appericated that even though I wish it had offered me a job :) Well, I will continue my job hunt and see if I have gotten a job somewhere.. I have already applied at 10 places so far so 40 more places to look into.. Again, if you are local to me please let me know what places are hiring and I will check them out.. I want to network with others to help me with my job hunt and be able to obtain a job soon enough.. Thanks!

Tomorrow, Justin will return to school and leaving our house with no kids during the day! PEACE, QUIET, EMPTY, CLEAN WOW!! WOW!! Well, not clean all the time LOL! Because Bucky and I will still be at home at times when we are done with job hunting for the day.. :) I have no idea what he will be doing for after school activities but he needs to be doing something productive and doing better with his assignments..

Tori made Varisty volleyball team so she will be staying at TSD during the week for practices and games.. She's so excited she passed the try-outs so she is in Varisty team! She looks forward playing and going for Varisty basketball team. She's going to be busy young lady from now on.. :)

I will see what Ryan can do to keep himself busy during the week.. He has homework from school, writing word list 5 times each, putting them into ABC's order and know the words for spelling test on Fridays as well as reading the book assigned that day but I want him to be involved with after school activites as well so he can social with other kids his age.. Mmmm.. I really need to get in touch with the martial arts place nearby here and sign Justin and Ryan up for a year membership so they can do martial arts.. Mmmmm..

Well, I'm going to close for now and get our day started.. :)

Till then, M-

Car names explained..

I got this as a forward from Bill Duncan and Mom.. LOL! My car is Pontiac!! LOL!! :) Enjoy..

"Car Names Explained"
(My car is in here so don't be offended if yours is too!)

AUDI -
Always Unsafe Designs Implemented

BMW -
Big Money Works
Bought My Wife
Brutal Money Waster
Break My Window

BUICK -
Big Ugly Indestructible Car Killer

CHEVROLET -
Can Hear Every Valve Rap On Long Extended Trips
Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time
Cheap Heap, Every Valve Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Time
Condition Hopeless, Entire Vehicle Relies On Leftover Engine Technology

DODGE -
Drips Oil, Drops Grease Everywhere
Dem Old Dudes Go Everywhere
Dead or Dying Gas Eater
Dear Old Dad's Geriatric Express

FIAT -
Failure in Italian Automotive Technology
Fix It All the Time
Fix it again, Tony!

FORD -
First On Recall Day
First On Race Day
First On Rust and Deterioration
Fix Or Repair Daily
Found On Road, Dead
Fault Of R&D
Fast Only Rolling Downhill
Found On Russian Dump

GM -
General Maintenance
Great Mistake

GMC -
Garage Man's Companion
Got A Mechanic Coming?

HONDA -
Had One Never Did Again

HYUNDAI -
Hope You Understand Nothing's Driveable And Inexpensive...

MAZDA -
Most Always Zipping Dangerously Along

OLDSMOBILE -
Old Ladies Driving Slowly Make Others Behind Infuriatingly Late Everywhere,
Overpriced, Leisurely Driven Sedan Made Of Buick's Irregular Leftover Equipment

PINTO -
Put in new transmission often

PONTIAC -
poor old Neanderthal thinks it's a Cadillac

SAAB -
Send Another Automobile Back
Swedish Automobiles Always Breakdown.

TOYOTA -
Too Often Yankees Overprice This Auto

VOLVO -
Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object
Vehicles Of Low Velocity Owners

VW -
Virtually Worthless

Another Thursday..

Hello Everyone!

Things are improving but not 100% BETTER but at least we are not having one after another incidents! :)

Yesterday, I went to Goodwill Industries to my LAST training session and I have filled 7 job applications so we will see if I hear anything from those places.. So now I'm officially on job hunting path.. So any help would be appreciated if you know any places that is needing office clerk, data entry, document scanning, file clerk.. I am looking for jobs in those area..

Unfortunately Bucky lost his job.. The bosses decided to shut down their technician dept and send the workloads to their other locations in New York, Wiscosin and Georgia.. So Bucky is now back on job hunting with me.. OH well! I hope that we both will be able to find something in short time so we can make money!

We had bought 1986 Astro Chevrolet van in 2001 so we could be able to have comfort zone between kids sitting among themselves etc.. We drove nearly 100 thousand miles on it bringing it over 200,000 miles and when it started to have little problems popping up and being repaired, with the mileage and the age of van so that's to be expected so we decided to go ahead and get a truck for Bucky.. I did a post on his truck while back.. We debated if we should sell the van or donated it to some organization and we finally decided to donate it to Kidney Foundation.. The van was taken away yesterday. I feel so weird that we don't have a van anymore! It has served us so well for 5 years and tolerated all the trips we took the van on to North Carolina etc.. At least the van is going to serve a good purpose for the people at Kidney Foundation to raise money to help people who needs help..

Bucky's Mom has left this morning heading back home.. We really enjoyed her stay with us. She has helped us a lot.. I am not too crazy about cooking, I hate washing dishes and she helped with that :) Bucky and I usually help each other cook and wash dishes but when she came, she helped loading the dishes in dishwasher.. She has spoiled me a bit :( The kids enjoyed her visit.. I know the last three days of her stay was not that easy on her nerves.. Bless her heart for staying this long though.. Hope to have her come out here and stay with us again soon.. Thank you, Mom for coming and stay with us last 15 days and babysitting the kids while Bucky and I go to our job/training and run some errands, helping us getting dishes cleaned, some of our laundry done.. We do love you very much!

OH BOY! Today's Thursday, only one more 24 hours for Ryan to turn 7 years old! He's so anxiously looking forward to be 7 years old! :) It also meant 4 more days for Justin to go back to school! He's repeating 8th grade due to his rebellion! I'm disappointed but he will reap what he sowed..


That reminds me, I went to Goodwill store to make some purchases for Justin as he wanted old pants to "Justify" it (his name is Justin and he wants to have pants styled HIS way so Justify is his term of own style.) and I saw a t-shirt that I really liked! I bought it and Justin didn't want to wear it, Tori did.. WHEW! So I am going to post this..

It's a red t-shirt with big words,
On the front of shirt it says:

HERE'S THE REAL DEAL
Captain of my own Destiny

This was on the back of the t-shirt

"Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny."

Till Then M-

Gas prices..

I was reading the post my friend Vicki posted on her blog and I decided that I wanted to link to this.. We need to be better aware of those gas companies who we buy our gas for car, lawnmowers and so on.. We shouldn't be supporting those companies who doesn't care about their workers as well as the enviromental..

Please go and check her blog and read about the BP gas company..

August 8th is the WORST DAY!

Hello everyone!

I am hoping today, August 9th will be better day than we had yesterday! Yesterday was the worst day ever for us to encounter! It just had one bad thing happening right after another from 6 am yesterday morning till 10 pm last night! When I woke up 5:30 am this morning, I was thinking "God, please make this day better and don't anything bad happen to us" .

As you recalled, I posted that we got two kittens a few weeks ago.. I guess we are NOT destined to have kittens/cats! One of them died and we decided to give away the other one so nothing bad can happen to her.

Tori woke up to get ready for her second day of school and found Blank (gray kitten) dead on her bed so she ran upstairs to tell me as I was on computer checking emails waiting for kids to get dressed for school. So I went downstairs and got Bucky to check on the kitten and she was dead so Bucky disposed of it.. Tori was very upset and crying.. We don't know what had happened to the kitten but she was dead.. We thought maybe Angel (our dog) had killed her. Tori wanted Angel to go so I was to take her to animal shelter.. Bucky went to work but by mid-morning, he was too distracted to work so he came home..

Bucky woke Justin up so he could go with Bucky to animal shelter to drop off Angel, Justin was upset about the kitten but didn't think Angel would have done it.. No proof, no evidence to say Angel did this.. So he was upset that we were doing this.. Bucky and Justin dropped Angel off then left but turned around and came back to shelter to pick up Angel and brought her home.

Baby decided that she wanted to pick a fight with Buddy and attacked Buddy so I had to pry her off Buddy and put her outside and seperate from Buddy..

Justin came home and got on computer to talk with his friends and was told by his now ex-girlfriend that they are more of friends than boyfriend/girlfriend so Justin was upset but trying to be brave.. When I went and gave him a hug, he cried.. I felt my heart breaking because that day was one BAD DAY! What other thing could happen to us, what could I do to protect my children from those hurting feelings!?

Bucky was on his way to Wal-Mart to buy some salad stuff as we decided to order pizza for supper, we didn't feel like cooking. So Justin went out with Bucky to Wal-Mart but he decided that he wanted to take off to be with his friends when they got to Wal-Mart so Bucky was looking for Justin all over the store and couldn't find him. He went to different places outside Wal-Mart but couldn't find Justin.. He was so mad and came home.. Sandy and I decided to call those numbers we had on caller id to see if anyone (Justin's friends) knew where Justin has gone off to and finally got a hold of Kathie and with her and Elizabeth's help, we were able to find Justin.. WHEW!!

Sandy took Reese home with her and changed her name from Reese to Snickers.. I'm hoping that things are going better for Snickers.. Thank you for taking her in..

Bucky had let Baby in the house around 8:30 pm and Baby decided that she was not satisfied with her fight she had with Buddy earlier, they fought again but this time, Baby was not letting go of Buddy.. We had to work so hard to seperate them! DANG!! Make me so shaky badly and finally got them seperated and we took Baby outside again and we are getting rid of her DEFINTELY!! We don't need all those problems anymore! After taking Baby out, Bucky's Mom said, I got bitten on my toes when I tried to seperate them with my foot. OH NO!! As I looked for peroxide, Ryan was in the bathroom so I waited. Found that Ryan had cut his foot so I found the peroxide and applied that to the bites and the cut. Sent Ryan to bed with Bucky, Tori went to bed and I went to bed.. I had prayed before I went to sleep asking that we have better day today.. So I really HOPE it will be a better day for us..

Only thing that was good happened was that Ryan had one of his baby tooth pulled so Tooth Fairy gave him 2 dollars last night..

Till then, M-

I'm SO BROKE!!

Hello everyone!

The election day has came and gone, new officals will be taking their places in their new elected positions while some other are just renewing their new terms and continues to work for Anderson County.. I look forward to have Anderson County to continue to do well and improves in the areas that really needs improving..

OH BOY! Tax Free Weekend in Tennessee may be wonderful but it has already gotten me so BROKE!! :)

We bought bunch of clothes, school supplies and misc. for the kids and of course, a new computer for Bucky :) So we bought a lot this weekend but I think it did cost us less than it would have if we had to pay tax on those items.. Old Navy, JcPenney's and Wal-Mart made bunch money out of us.. I am just grateful that it's OVER for us but unfortunately, Christmas shopping days comes along the corner..

I'm tired so I'm going to close for now.. Till then, M-

August rolling around again..

August have come around once again!

First of all, I want to wish all August folks Happy Birthday!

Barbara Dunkin - Tennessee - 1st
Sher Smith - Tennessee - 3rd
(Mom) Lillian Wynn- Tennessee - 5th
Sherry Cromwell - Tennessee - 5th
Ryan Carver - Tennessee - 12th
Justin Carver - Tennessee - 17th
(MomMom) Mildred Mitchell - North Carolina - 22nd
Tori Carver - Tennessee - 26th
Marcus Rivers - Tennessee - 26th
Jeane Harmon - Tennessee - 31st

Again, if I didn't mention you, please do let me know so I can post it on my list and my calendar :)

AND HAPPY BACK TO SCHOOL!!! :)

Tori is returning to school on Monday the 7th and Justin will be going on 14th! I can't wait for them both to be in school!

***

Congratulation to Travis and Suzanne Spiva of Tennessee.. They welcomed their first child July 29th.. Their son name is Evan Spiva.. I hope to see them real soon..

***

I voted today!! Oh boy! I finished one section of my Job Readiness training today early so I decided to stop by and vote before it get bit later so I thought I would be in and out within minutes.. Oh boy! I was wrong! I got in and sign my name that I'm present to vote. I waited ONE hour before I was able to vote and got out! I think I like the new machine but I just didn't like to sit so long waiting for my turn.. They only had two booths and the machines are new so people are not sure how to operate the machine.. Well, nonetheless I VOTED!! :) So will be looking at the news tonight to see those who won the election.. I'm hoping those I have picked wins and do the best they can do for our county..

Bucky is going by and vote after work tonight.. I hope it don't run so late for him as he will be hot and tired after work..


***

I'm active looking for data entry jobs around Oak Ridge and some areas in Knoxville.. I am hoping that I am able to get a job soon, the better! :) If you know of places that are hiring, please let me know! Thanks!

***

I will post again later as I have to go and fix dinner for the family! :)

Till then, M-