My 30-minute sign holding was productive; I got out at 7:13 and held the sign to 7:43.

The intersection is always busy and I was able to make good eye contact.
I found a few Obama supporters, but I smiled and wave. I respect the right to choose! I hope I can continue to make it our there 5 days a week.

Small steps..

progress

I did it.
I showered early and got out of the house by 5 til 7. I grabbed my McCain & Palin sign and walked to the corner of a major intersection on my side of town and held up the sign for 30 minutes during morning rush hour. :) Admittedly, I was hesitant at first. BUT it was fine. The cool fall breeze felt great and the sun was beautiful. I did not get cussed at or arrested. I got a few nods, thumbs up and waves. More tomorrow...

After work I jumped on the phone bank until 7 and then drove home. I am more a hands on type of person so reaching the people by phone is almost comical for me. Not my niche. I am looking forward to folding more flyers and putting together the yard signs.

I am focused for now.

Kudo's for the fresh pears from the Mexican market. I picked up a bag of Bartlett pairs over the weekend and they are perfect. I love Bartlett pairs especially when they are yellow speckled and are ripening...mmmm... The key thought they are only at the perfection stage for a few days, prior they are hard not tasty, later they are mush.

looking for a few good .... helpers

Today I volunteered from 9:30 - 6:30.
Most of my efforts were on the phone bank and preparing handouts for the precinct walkers. I met some very nice like minded people. It was fun.
If you have time, they have volunteer slots from 9-9 everyday.
You can help even by dropping off a dessert or snack to keep the volunteers moving! You know me, food is always my way to help!

Let's do this - we have way too much at stake.

looks like the girls are going

Travel to the ends of the earth.... global expeditions
Ministry Tools: Drama, one-on-one

ITALY
Get ready to discover the heart of Renaissance and Baroque as you venture through Rome and see Italy’s most historic churches and basilicas as you live life as an Italian. Its striking buildings, formidable galleries and treasure-crammed churches attest to the Italian love of display. Each of Italy's major cities has its own enticing character with Renaissance art, medieval towns, and centuries of turbulent history right under your feet. You’ll get the opportunity to partner with the local churches to reach a young generation who are especially searching for purpose and truth. Spend your days doing outreaches on historic streets in the morning, then spend the afternoon with an opening dance, testimonies, drama, and sharing the gospel with a diverse group of people.
Personal evangelism and testimonies are a huge part of ministry, as the locals are open to discussing God and Jesus Christ. Travel to the famous downtown squares and piazzas like Bologna, Rome, Pescara, and possibly Naples, Venice, and Florence.

fundraising to come...

Random thoughts

I found a pretty cool blog post about HP. read it here

I am reading The Shack and ...additional review. Earlier this year this book caused a lot of controversy and I was just not interested in reading it. I had a stack of non fiction memoirs to read. But when I was home last someone strongly recommended I read the book and even emailed me the following week to see if I had picked up yet. I have borrowed it from my neighbor and now I am mid point. It is good.

Yesterday, Obama's ad ticked me off so bad it put me in motion. I sent two emails, picked up yard signs, talked to my neighbors and signed up to volunteer over the weekend.
The debates were flat for me. It was a tie, neither was on the side of excellence. Next week when the VP candidate's debate it will very interesting.

great tips

fun article...
50 Easy Ways to Cut 100 Calories ...
Spread your whole grain waffles with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup instead of 1 tablespoon of margarine or butter. Save 110 calories.

it is on

The new attack ad on McCain has me upset. WOW. details...
The liberal attack groups continue to soildify my direction to McCain. Please do not judge a man or condemn a man if he has battled cancer. In fact anyone that battles cancer is probably stronger and has a deeper perspective on what is important and what is worth the fight.

Two liberal political action committees, Brave New PAC and Democracy for America are the funders of the ad and I have left them both messages today.
contact info info@bravenewpac.org and DFA at 802-651-3200.

If you feel the same way and the disgust - stand up. This is for the leadership of our country for the next four years.

updated.. my daughter said... oooh that is just bad karma Obama better becareful... he should not judge like that.

Monday night I link up with with the Zonta monthly meeting, It is an international organization making a difference for women around the world.
It was a group of dynamic women. I will probably give them a second look. They are making a difference with local organizations and have a part of their focus on Human
trafficking.

one more reason to smile

one odd thing from yesterday.

I went to my not so favorite store Walmart yesterday, I had a $25 gift card.
I also had a few coupons for Cascadian Farm granola bars that Safeway had ridiculous prices on.
I picked up my items and got in line. My total after the applied coupons and taxes was 24.98... Maybe I should play the lottery, I was about as close as one can get. Now I have a gift card with literally two cents left!

must read

A friend, a friend I dearly miss sent me this book for my birthday The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
I am not finished, but I am loving it.

additional blog review

If you need buttons or icons

for the John McCain campaign

Zonta
Has anyone ever heard of it?
The organization was a large participant in the Human Trafficking Awareness symposium yesterday.
I might attend a meeting just to check it out.
The symposium went very well and educated the area about human trafficking and the severity.
I guess my biggest take away is that we need to pay attention to everything around us. The food we eat, the clothes we wear all could trace back to modern day slavery.
One thing that shocked me... You know for awhile I have been trying to seek out things made in the USA. Well, many of the clothes that say made in the USA are actually made in the American Samoa. There have been some cases of civil rights violations there too. I will have to keep my eye for additional details. Thought is was interesting though!

I cannot believe it is almost fall.
The mornign air is sharp this morning. I have the windows open enjoying it. We have turned into a house of allergies.
All of our noses are stuffed and we have weepy eyes. Selfishly I hope for the first freeze. Maybe some of the allergens in the air would die down.
I have not posted too much on the Ike aftermath or the continued political pantering.
As far as Ike... many of my co workers in Houston have been sending pictures and stories. Most everyone is safe with limited damage. They are still with out power and they are coming to work for electricity, internet access and air conditioning. They mentioned all of their neighbors are pitching in and helping out. The National Hurricane center does not have any more hurricanes on the radar, so we might have peace for a week or so.
Blackfive has a very cool picture of a National Guard soldier and Texas resident. blackfive link

Where do I begin?
I had a very good trip home. It was nice to visit with family and friends.
My niece is so darn cute. If she lived nearby we would most definitely be buddies. She is very funny. She loves to sing and repeats every word.
She loves watching her shows on tv and adores Calliou. I was able to go to Redeemer two weekends in a row and hung out with the young adults group on Friday night. I am clearly not a young adult anymore, but I stayed out unti midnight with them! Too funny.

The 20 year class reunion was good. It was nice to see everyone and visit. We had a pretty decent turn out and I would say that most people interacted with everyone. The faces were familiar looking but I did not remember a few names. It was hard to catch up in a few hours for 20 years, but it was nice. It was nice to see good friends and pretty nice to be able to pick up where you left off years ago.
I bought a pretty fall wreath for my mom's headstone and spent some time at the cemetery. There was a fresh grave a few plots over. The dirt and flowers were from the day before. I just sat for awhile and thought about the transformation that has taken place in ten years. I pulled out and went to the family church. I will always call it the family church even though noone in my immediate family attends. It is the place of marriages, baptisms, and funerals for three generations. I bumped into a family friend that used to live across the street from my grandparents farm on Post Road. She mentioned that she attended the mass I had in honor of their anniversary on August 19th, That was divine appointment surely.

Yesterday, slightly made me miss living here. Of course not enough for me to want to move back. But just that ping. Visiting with old friends and with Abby. :)
She is a cutie pie. We went on a long walk last night. Downtown was having a tribute to September 11th. It was moving. They had two firetrucks fully extended and a large American flag hanging and a fire hat hanging lower than that. I did not have my camera handy.

Never Forget

This day changed my life.
Literally changed my life with a powerful impact.
Seven years ago.
Seems hard to believe.
take a few moments to reflect, pray, support, cry and cheer.

excitement

Meeting friends this morning for breakfast in Gross Pointe.
It will be very nice to hear the stories.
I drove through Detroit rush hour this morning, suprisingly it was painless!
I forgot the camera, so I will just have to capture with words and no pictures.

Well, the surprise was a surprise.
We did it . We planned a 60th birthday party for Grandpa Ray and he had no idea.
We arrived in Monroe on Thursday night and 'hid" until the party on Sunday afternoon.
When he walked around the corner by the pool he looked at my daughter and said hi to her, but the look on his face was priceless. We got him!.
We had a nice showing of folks and the food, weather and cake turned out great.
Pictures to post later.
I am enjoying the time home. Things really do not change here. The subtle differences are noted. We invited a few of our older neighbors to the surprise party and I will have to say they are getting older! It was nice chatting with them. The condition of the roads here are horrible. Potholes take on a new meaning here, my daughter even mentioned she was glad she did not learn to drive here!
We visited several thrift stores and antiques stores. a hint... kids are buying records again. My daughter picked up a few to add to her collection. So, if you have tucked away wondering how you might get rid of them...
I am anxious to visit with old friends.

rnc 08

Inspired.
Definitely.
The speeches tonight were fantastic.

TROPICAL STORM GUSTAV ADVISORY NUMBER 34NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL0720081000 PM CDT MON SEP 01 2008...GUSTAV WEAKENS TO A TROPICAL STORM...AT 10 PM CDT...0300 UTC...ALL COASTAL WARNINGS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED.FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLEINLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.AT 1000 PM CDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM GUSTAV WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 31.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 92.7 WEST OR ABOUT 20 MILES...30 KM...SOUTHWEST OF ALEXANDRIA LOUISIANA.GUSTAV IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH...20 KM/HR...ANDTHIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WITH A DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. THIS MOTION SHOULD BRING THE CENTER OF GUSTAV ACROSS WESTERN LOUISIANA TONIGHT...AND INTO NORTHEASTERN TEXAS ON TUESDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 60 MPH...95 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. CONTINUED WEAKENING IS FORECAST AND GUSTAV IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON TUESDAY. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES...185 KM FROM THE CENTER.ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 978 MB...28.88 INCHES. STORM SURGE FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO SUBSIDE TONIGHT. GUSTAV IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF LOUISIANA...SOUTHERN AND WESTERNMISSISSIPPI...ARKANSAS...SOUTHERN MISSOURI...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...AND NORTHEASTERN TEXAS...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF UP TO 20INCHES POSSIBLE THROUGH THURSDAY. A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND THE CENTRAL GULF COAST TONIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY. REPEATING THE 1000 PM CDT POSITION...31.1 N...92.7 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...60 MPH.MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...978 MB.AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 100 AM CDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 400AM CDT.$$

Just in case...

you needed to find something to pray for... New Orleans, Gulf, Florida, Coastal locations.... There are many soldiers working for National Guard in these locations.

Well, Ten days of prep for an uneventful convention.
Denver made it out from under the convention unscathed. The National Guard in Minnesota has already had to address issues.
I drove home Friday afternoon in time to make it Sam's rehearsal dinner.
The food was great with plenty of Hawaiian and Asian flavor.
Saturday was a perfect day for a wedding.
Everything went smoothly. The family took care of all the decorations and food, so we all worked together.
No drama and a happy couple.

I watched most of the convention last week and it left unimpressed.
In fact it made me want to volunteer for the other side.
I understand that we have dream big and set high goals, I am a believer in that.

This week will be a hectic but short week. We leave for Michigan on Thursday.