My new experience in regards to death.

On July 22, 2009, my father died. He had been taking care of my step-mother who had just had a quadruple bypass surgery. I had spoken to him just the day before. He was chipper and sounding well. He told me that he was given his "honey do" list and was about to head home for the night.

The next day, after a rest, he was ready to go do his errands. No one knows exactly what happened, but when he failed to show at the hospital that evening, my brother went to look for him. He was found beside the car on the ground. He had vomited in a plastic bag.

I am told that the medical examiner thinks he had a heart-attack. Just to be sure there was nothing unexpected, they are running a toxicology report.

My family is poor. When I talked to my brother and step-mother about my father's arrangements, I was saddened. My parents were not insured. There will be no funeral, no service, no burial. They cannot even afford to have him cremated. In order to handle the cost of the cremation, my step-mother decided to donate my father's body to science. They will cremate him for free when they are done with him.

So this is how my father's story ends. No get togethers, no ceremony, no fanfare, just done.

Of course this makes you reflect on your own life. How will you leave your mark on the world? Will it be through good deeds? Evil doings? Will you be famous? Rich? What about kind, or decent? How will others remember you? Will they have good memories or bad ones?

I know that my mark on the world is not a big one, but I want it to be a good, well-placed mark. Kind of like Cindy Crawford's beauty mark. Anywhere else on her face, it would be considered a blemish. But right where it is, it is small and okay.

That's me. Some people don't like me, but none the less, I am small, well-placed, and often a topic of conversation.

How about you?

Quizno's Torpedos are Misrepresented!

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I decided to go out to eat at Quizno's. Our previous experiences with them were generally good. They generally had good food, though we felt they were just a tad over-priced compared to similar places to eat.
When we got there, I remembered the commercial that I saw for the new Torpedo sandwich. They advertise it as a foot-long sub for only $4.00. The pictures show a sub that takes up an entire hand.
The sub they made for me was approximately 1 1/2 inches wide by 12 inches long. The sandwich was so thin, they had problems fitting even a small amount of meat and cheese onto such a thin piece of bread.
The flavor of the sandwich was good, however, it was gone before I knew it. This is more of a snack than a meal. I felt it was extremely over-priced for the amount of food that I received.
I would have taken a picture of this sandwich to show you the difference between wha they show on the commercial and what you really get, but it was so skinny that my camera could not find enough sandwich to focus on!

Overall, I give the Quizno's Torpedo sandwich a D-

Super Bowl Blues...

So, I've never been a football fan. Never a sports fan of any sort, really. I was sitting there watching the championship game when the Cardinals won over the Eagles. It was so wonderful to see the joy in my husband's eyes as he realized that HIS team, the Cardinals, were going to the Super Bowl!

At that moment, I decided that I wanted to watch the Super Bowl with him and cheer on the Cardinals at his side. It was a very interesting game. At the beginning, I was scared. The Cardinals gave the ball to the Steelers right away from the coin flip. I couldn't fathom why they would do that. I let it go, granted, I'm not well versed in football. There must have been some strategy behind it. Maybe?

The Steelers score their first touchdown and my heart sinks. There were tons of flags called in this game on both sides. At first it was mostly because number 69 of the Cardinals kept holding people. I don't really understand why it's not okay to hold them, but apparently it's been a rule for a while. So, understandably, I started getting mad at number 69. He got 3 flags! I was like, "Dude! Come On!"

Finally, the Cardinals started pulling it together and were actually ahead for a while. We thought they might win. I think the Steelers were worried that they might win too because all of a sudden there was a lot of unsportsman like conduct going down on the part of the Steelers.

I tell you what, I don't see how anyone could want to support a team that starts acting so childish and violent just because they aren't in the lead. It was really sickening to me. It's a shame that there are a bunch of little kids out there that hold these players up on a pedestal and look to them on how they should behave. Now there are a bunch of kids thinking to themselves that it is okay to get mad and throw a fit when you're losing.

The Steelers have lost a potential fan. The Steelers may have won the Super Bowl, but they did NOT win my respect!

I will always cheer for a team that plays with integrity and respect. The Cardinals are a great team. They played hard, and even though they lost, they just got a brand new fan.

I look forward to next year and hope to see them go back to the Super Bowl.

Rich People/Celebrities and Our Economy

OMG! What was the first thing that I saw when I went to Yahoo's front page today? The best and worst dressed at the SAG awards. I'm just sitting there thinking to myself. How freaking shallow can we get?

Right now we're in the middle of a war, our economy is failing fast, we have millions of people who have lost their jobs, millions more who know it's only a matter of time and then we have these ill-nourished celebrities showing of their multi-million dollar outfits and accessories.

I tell you that I have had enough! I can't even escape this crap with the president and his family! All I've been hearing about since inaguration day is more spew about Mrs. Obama's outfits and gown. About their daughter's clothes and about how they are getting to have private concerts with the Jonas Brothers and meet Miley Cyrus in person.

You would think that such a "caring" president who wanted to REALLY make changes for this country would be more mindful of the suffering of the United States Citizens and maybe even have his family lead by example and wear clothes that NORMAL people wear.

I would have a lot more respect for our celebs and our President and his family if they would shed their pricey attire and just wear normal clothes. Furthermore, if they really wanted to make a statement, they could pay a visit to their local Wal-mart or Goodwill and put together an ensamble from one of those venues.

Instead it feels like those of us who live week to week and work hard for their money are just having their noses rubbed in it by people who really couldn't care less.

So, I'm not watching any more Hollywood bullcrap, and I don't want to see anymore fashion exposes on the President's family either!!!!

I found a potato shaped like a penis!

Would you believe it? I was in shock when I reached into the bag and pulled out a potato most definitely shaped like a penis!

I decided that I should put it up on Ebay and see if I can sell it.





Interested? Check it out here!

Google Adsense is Stealing from the Little Guy

You know, I'm so sick of the business practices of Google Adsense. There is no reliable way to track your earnings. You basically have to accept that whatever they are paying you (if anything) is what you have earned and just take their word for it.

I am pretty sure that they are stealing from everyone, not just the little guy, but it's time to take action!

Quitter's Vlog Day 52

Well, I really wasn't feelling being on camera today to do a vlog for YouTube, so here's my blog in writing.

We have been without cigarettes for 9 days. We are doing really well.

Most of the time, we don't even think about smoking any more, that is awesome! I have found that my cravings have diminished quite a bit.

Only downside so far is some weight gain that I am sure I will be able to work off soon. I'm sure it can be expected that I would gain some weight because of making such a big life change.

We are not on the chantix any more but we are remaining confident that we will be able to continue on our path.

I know your parents always taught you to not be a quitter, but this is one time when it is worth it.