Blogging Melodrama

If it isn't one thing it's 20!

I’m asking for prayer for myself.

I just received a call from the department of health and social services. The representative informed me that I’m not permitted to un enroll in the medical program they have me in where I am to pay $99.00 a month for insurance from them. I have no option but to pay it. I didn't ask to be signed up to it either. I am being billed just under $300.00 come October 31st, 2005.

In August I called this same representative and asked if it would be all right if I skipped paying the $99.00 because I had started paying the $99.00 one month too soon. At that time he said, “No problem!”
In September I wrote him and requested to be dropped from the program since I could no longer afford to pay $99.00 a month for medicine and be able to eat too.

I explained all this to him in August and again in September and again just now over the telephone.

He said, “ Don’t worry about it.” Then turned around and told me I’d receive a bill for just under $300.00 on October 31, 05. That I could just pay whatever I could. I said to him, “don’t you hear what I’m saying? I was one month ahead. I missed one month that you Okayed. That should have made me even”.

“I missed September…. After notifying you to drop me from the program. At best I should only owe you for one month; two by the end of October. Now your telling me I owe $300.00? And…. I have no option to drop out of the program. I have to pay it. Any clues where I get the money? I don’t have it! I live on disability and I’m only permitted to earn $3-400.00 a month. They will take that out of my check if I earn that amount steady. If I earn over that my rent will go up. I can only earn what hours I can get in rotation at the school. If they deduct the $400.00 from my disability then I will be forced to try to survive on $400.00 a month. I can’t make it on what I’m getting now!
Doesn’t anyone have a heart any more? What’s happened to our country? Forced slavery? The Government won’t help anyone anymore, so why don’t they just legalize euthanasia so they can just get us to hell out of the way? No one cares anyway”.

After about a half hour on the phone and me finally breaking down and crying (I hate it when I cry because it never solves anything) I finally just said, “I give up. Do whatever your going to do. The worst that can happen is I wind up in the street, get pneumonia and die; because it’s for damn sure I can’t afford medicine”.

His parting words were, “Don’t give up!” Like that’s going to change what they do. Honestly! If I didn’t have my Lord, I would have given up years ago when I was raped at 19. Forced to give up my dreams to support my sick family. Used and abused by men throughout the years until finally being abandoned with a nine-year-old-child to fend for ourselves. Then another sick-o-bastard husband molested my daughter and put us both in a tail spin emotionally.

It goes on with after devoting years of my life to keeping my grandkids from winding up in the street; wiping out all of my retirement savings trying to pay off all the industrial accident bills I got stuck with resulting in my being disabled; I get thrown out of the house I paid all the bills on to move us into by my daughter and son-in-law. Not once but twice. They never offered to pay me back any of the money I forked over to them to help them out over the years, so I’m living in subsidized housing on a fixed income and left with nothing and no way to help myself.

I can’t get anyone to help me consolidate my bills and make it easier on me to live.
When I went to one of those lawyer places to help me go bankrupt, I wound up paying $175.00 to find out I don’t owe enough, then they kept my $175.00 because I used one of my credit cards.

Now this….Isn’t life wonderful?

So…. if anyone has any clues how I can get out from under all this I’d sure appreciate knowing. In the mean time, please pray for me.

Thanks
Jan

Labels: Editorial Comment

posted by Jan myrz @ 5:42 PM 0 comments

Greetings My Friend

I received this from my older cousin and boy does it ever hit the nail on the head, for what happens to us when we get older.  Very insightful for those not quite there yet.
Enjoy!
Jan

Te other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, he was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let him know.  Old age, I decided, is a gift.  I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not my body!  I sometime despair over my body: the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.  And often I’m taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.  I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.  I've become my own friend.  I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need,but looks so avant-garde on my patio.  I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant.  I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.  Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 a. m.,and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's.  I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.  They, too, will get old – if they are so blessed.  I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten ... and I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a car hits a beloved pet?  But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.  I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.  I can say "no," and mean it. I can say "yes," and mean it.  As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think.  I don't question myself anymore.  I've even earned the right to be wrong.  So, to answer your question, I like being old.  It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.  And I shall eat dessert every single day.  ~Author Unknown~ Today, I wish you a day of ordinary miracles.

posted by Jan myrz @ 12:10 PM 0 comments

Superstitions Part 5

MIRROR
To break a mirror means 7 years bad luck.
It is unlucky to see your face in a mirror by candlelight.
A mirror should be covered during a thunderstorm because it attracts lightning.
If a mirror in the house falls and breaks by itself, someone in the house will die soon.

posted by Jan myrz @ 9:35 AM 0 comments

God is Able!

God is Able:

To save completely all who come to God through Him" (Heb. 7:25 Living Translation)
 
To help those who are tempted" (Heb. 2:18, rsv).
 
 To guard until that day what has been entrusted to me" (2 Tim. 1:12, rsv).
 
To keep you from falling and slipping away" (Jude 2, Living Translation)
 
To do far more abundantly than we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20, rsv).
 
The author of the book of Hebrews, my favorite book of the Bible, begins in Hebrews 11:1 saying; "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen."   So like Paul, we must hang on by faith; faith in the assurance that God is able to do, to keep, to guard, to help, and to save us from anything.

As my Mother used to say, “Hang on till it changes; white knuckle it if you have to, but hang on.”

May you be blessed, with assuring faith, in our Lord Jesus Christ! 
Jan

posted by Jan myrz @ 9:17 AM 0 comments

Superstitions Part 4

HAND
If the palm of your right hand itches it means you will soon be getting money.
If the palm of your left hand itches it means you will soon be paying out money.
HORSESHOE
A horseshoe, hung above the doorway, will bring good luck to a home. In most of Europe protective horseshoes are placed in a downward facing position, but in some parts of Ireland and Britain people believe that the shoes must be turned upward or "the luck will run out."
A horseshoe hung in the bedroom will keep nightmares away.
ITCH
If your nose itches you will soon be kissed by a fool.
If your nose itches
Your mouth is in danger.
You'll kiss a fool,
And meet a stranger.
Rub an itch to wood
It will come to good.
IVY
Ivy growing on a house protects the inhabitants from witchcraft and evil.
KNIFE
A knife as a gift from a lover means that the love will soon end.
A knife placed under the bed during childbirth will ease the pain of labor.
If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him a coin, or your friendship will soon be broken.
It will cause a quarrel if knives are crossed at the table.
It is bad luck to close a pocket knife unless you were the one who opened it.
Knife falls, gentleman calls;
Fork falls, lady calls;
Spoon falls, baby calls.
KNITTING
It's bad luck to leave a project unfinished. The intended recepient will get bad luck from the unfinished item.
Stabbing your needles though your yarn balls brings bad luck to anyone who wears something made from that yarn.
Don't knit a pair of socks for your boyfriend or he'll walk away from you.
If you knit one of your own hairs into a garment, it will bind the recipient to you.
Knitting for children you may have in the future, but before you are pregnant, is bad luck (it may prevent one from getting pregnant, or bring ill health to the baby).
LADDER
It is bad luck to walk under a ladder.
LADYBUG
If a young girl catches a ladybug and then releases it, the direction in which it flies away will be the direction from which her future husband will come.
It is bad luck to kill a ladybug.
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home.
Your house is on fire,
Your children all roam.
LEAF
If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn you will not catch a cold all winter.
LETTUCE
Lettuce is believed to have magical and healing properties, including the power to arouse love and counteract the effects of wine.
Lettuce promotes child bearing if eaten by young women, and certain types of salad can bring on labor in pregnant women.
LIE
Cross my heart and hope to die,
Cut my throat if I tell a lie.
LIZARD
To dream of a lizard is a sign that you have a secret enemy.

posted by Jan myrz @ 9:45 AM 0 comments

Home Made Gift Recipes

Here's those recipes I promised to help out with making gifts in a jar and other home made gifts for Christmas and other occasions.  

These recipes have been handed down in my family and proven to be excellent
 by several generations.  I know they will be fun for you to make either as a family project or individually.  The only limits are your own imaginations.
 
Play Clay
Mix in heavy saucepan:
1-cup cornstarch
2 c baking soda
1 ¼-c cold water and food color if desired.
Cook to boiling over medium heat, stir constantly to the consistency of mashed potatoes.
Transfer to a plate, cover with a damp cloth and let cool about 2 1/2 hours.
Knead as dough, roll very thin, cut with cookie cutters and let dry completely bone dry.  Paint with watercolors or tempera, dip in clear shellac or spray with a clear plastic spray.  Makes pretty Christmas tree ornaments, mobiles, jewelry, wind chimes etc.
 
Play Dough
1-cup flour
1/2-cup salt
1 tsp alum  (can get at market or a drug store)
1/2-cup water
Food color
Blend, cover tightly, refrigerate.
 
Finger Paint
Put 6 tablespoons of cornstarch in small amount of cold water to make a paste.
Pour this mixture into1-quart of boiling water, and stir until thickened. 
Add 1-drop oil of cloves (get at drug store.... candy flavoring) in this case using it as a preservative.
Put in small jars, tint as desired.
 
Salt Dough
4 cups flour and 1 cup salt into a bowl; slowly add 1 1/2 cups water and mix well with your hands.  Knead for 5 minutes.
 
1. Can roll out and cut with cookie cutters or a wet knife. Bake at 350° for approx 45 minutes.
If using this method to make ornaments, make sure you make the holes for the hangers before baking using a drinking straw (small) to make the holes.
When cool, paint and shellac (for shine)
Aerosol spray works great, just make sure you spray in a well-ventilated area so not to breath the fumes from the paint.
After spraying, sprinkle heavily with glitter while it's still sticky.
Variations can be made by using this same basic recipe but instead of using cookie cutters, get creative and mold the dough into figurines, pieces of art, I even made a candlestick phone out of this with the long section being empty toilet paper rolls slid down over a chopstick and stuffed full of newspaper.  After gluing everything together I painted it all with model car paints (black and gold) attached a piece of black cord and it looked like the real thing. 
The only thing that will hold you back is your own imagination.
Just let yourself go nuts.
Cover boxes, jar lids, jars, (just make sure whatever you cover isn't flammable if your going to stick it in the oven to dry.
I prefer air-drying to using the oven; it may take longer but the dough sets better and you don't have to worry about it turning brown (getting baked) 
When you use model car paints, I found if you paint every surface you could see (top, sides and bottom) it seals the object and will last for years without drawing moisture.
I have some ornaments we made when the kids were little.  My youngest is 36 now.
I store them in one of those popcorn tins so wrapped in foil so the mice don't decide to eat them.
 
 
Beef Jerky from the oven
 
Trim off all visible fat from a lean flank steak (brisket, chuck or other lean beef also suitable).  Cut lengthwise with the grain into long thin strips. (No more than 1/4 inch thick)
 
Combine:
1/2-cup soy sauce
1/4-teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
 
Pour over beef strips and toss until well coated.  Place a wire rack on a baking sheet; arrange strips on rack to touch, but not over-lap.  Bake in a very slow oven...150° - 175° overnight, 10 -12 hours.  Store at room temperature in an airtight container.  If all fat has been removed, jerky will keep indefinitely.  It should not be crisp... if it is, oven is too hot.  Keep rack at least 4 inches from oven top.
 
Solid Perfume
Melt an 8-ounce jar of Vaseline and a 3-ounce block of paraffin.  Stir to blend then pour into a clean, odor-free grease container.  Cover and cool.  Chill 1 hour.  Score the surface     deeply     in a grid pattern; spray or drop scent on the strainer section of the grease can.  Cover and seal with tape.  Repeat every day for 10 days.  Pack in pocket-sized pillboxes with light lids. (Use a Popsicle stick for packing) 
Here's a great place for that salt dough creation top for the container. 
Old Blistex jars and Carmex cleaned thoroughly and scalded work great for these.  Have your friends and church members save them for you over the year.
These metal lids can stand being covered and put in the oven.  Then glue old beads, craft eyeballs (wobbly) or Paint etc.  Looks pretty and they make a great surprise stocking stuffer.
 
Here's an old fashioned wallpaper cleaner that works great for cleaning any walls without water dripping up your elbows and into your armpits.  No spilling accidents and you know right where you left off cleaning.
 
Wallpaper Cleaner
In a saucepan (old saucepan that will be used for non-food purposes only)
Mix 10 tablespoons flour and 6 tablespoons salt, both heaping.
Put 4 tablespoons vinegar in a cup and fill with water.
Add to flour mixture along with 2 tablespoons kerosene and mix as a cake batter. 
Cook over low heat until a ball is formed, stirring constantly.  Let cool completely before using.

This stuff is great for cleaning rough wood in attics and garages and sheds and places like that; just don’t rub hard and you won’t get splinters in your hands when you knead it to make a clean surface to continue cleaning.  That’s the great thing about this stuff.
You can use it until it starts looking like chimney soot before you have to throw it away.  When your finished with the lump, use it as a frog for arranging dried flowers and throw it away when your tired of the flower arrangement.  LOL
 
 
Carrot Cake  (Aunt Irene Wise's recipe)
Sift into a large bowl:
3 (c) cups flour
2 (tsp) teaspoons cinnamon
2 (tsp) baking soda
1 (tsp) salt
2 (tsp) baking powder
Make a well in center and add:
1 1/4 c oil
1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 c grated carrots
1/2 c chopped walnuts or raisins, or both
Blend thoroughly.
Bake in prepared 9" x 13" sheet cake pan, or 2 - 9" square (or round) layer pans. 
Bake at 350° 
Sheet cake pan      40 minutes
Layers                  35 minutes
Test for doneness.  Bake additional if needed.
 
When cool, dust with powdered sugar or use the broiled topping below.
 
Broiled topping  (Mom - Helen Frohman's recipe)
This one is her preference for the Carrot cake and also good on German Chocolate cake.
 
Mix all together:
6 (tbsp) tablespoons soft butter or margarine
4 (tbsp) canned milk
1/2 (c) cup walnuts
3/4 c packed brown sugar
 

 
 
 

posted by Jan myrz @ 2:24 PM 0 comments

Wedding Day Superstitions and Traditions

Superstitions about Weddings

BRIDAL SHOWER
The first gift the bride opens should be the first gift she uses.
Everything the bride says as she opens her gifts will be repeated on her wedding night. Somone should be assigned to write down these comments during the shower.
The person who gives the third gift to be opened will soon have a baby.
Save the ribbons from the shower gifts to make a mock bouquet to be used at the wedding rehearsal.

posted by Jan myrz @ 8:35 PM 0 comments

Superstitions Part 3 triskaidekaphobes

EYELASH
If an eyelash falls out, put it on the back of the hand, make a wish and throw it over your shoulder. If it flies off the hand the wish will be granted. ( I sure hope this doesn't count if your using false eyelashes. LOL)
FINGERNAILS
It is bad luck to cut your fingernails on Friday or Sunday.
Fingernail cuttings should be saved, burned, or buried. (Does sucking them up in a sweeper count?)
FISH
A fish should always be eaten from the head toward the tail. (We don't even want to go there....LOL)
Dream of fish: someone you know is pregnant.
FISHING
Throw back the first fish you catch then you'll be lucky the whole day fishing. (If you get another bite; especially if your fishing for wild trout.)
If you count the number of fish you caught, you will catch no more that day.
It's bad luck to say the word "pig" while fishing at sea.
FLAG
It brings bad luck for a flag to touch the ground.
FLOWER
First Flower of Spring:
The day you find the first flower of the season can be used as an omen:
Monday means good fortune,
Tuesday means greatest attempts will be successful,
Wednesday means marriage,
Thursday means warning of small profits,
Friday means wealth,
Saturday means misfortune,
Sunday means excellent luck for weeks.
FOOT
If the bottom of your right foot itches, you are going to take a trip. (My granny always said it ment you'd walk on strange ground.)
FORK
To drop a fork means a man is coming to visit. (Here we go again: Men was a knife, Women were forks, and children were spoons.)
FRIDAY
A bed changed on Friday will bring bad dreams.
Any ship that sails on Friday will have bad luck.
You should never start a trip on Friday or you will meet misfortune.
Never start to make a garment on Friday unless you can finish it the same day.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
How did Friday the thirteenth become such an unlucky day?
fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to make one super unlucky day.
There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned.
There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
A particularly bad Friday the 13th occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.
It is traditionally believed that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Tradition also has it that the Flood in the Bible, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
Numerologists consider 12 a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
How is fear of the number thirteen demonstrated?
More than 80 percent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
Many airports skip the 13th gate.
Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.
On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue
In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.
Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.
If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.
FROG
A frog brings good luck to the house it enters. ( I always thought it was because I needed to keep the doors shut.)
The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averts epilepsy and other fits.
GOOD FRIDAY
(The Friday before Easter)A child born on Good Friday and baptized on Easter Sunday has a gift of healing. If a boy, he should go into the ministry.
Cut your hair on Good Friday to prevent headaches in the year to come
A person who dies on Good Friday will go right to heaven.
Shed no blood on Good Friday, work no wood, hammer no nail.
HAIR
Pulling out a gray or white hair will cause ten more to grow in its place. (That's OK Lady Clairol will fix the problem.)

posted by Jan myrz @ 11:37 AM 0 comments

Superstitions Part 2

Here are some more words to the wise from centuries past. Remember, these things used to govern peoples lives, and still exist in many places around the world. To those believers (in the powers of superstitions) these are serious and should be headed. But to believers (of the power of Jesus) like myself, these are funny.
BELL
The sound of bells drives away demons because they're afraid of the loud noise.
When a bell rings, a new angel has received his wings.
BIRD
A bird in the house is a sign of a death. ( It's a good thing we didn't believe this when I was a kid in Ohio. Birds were always flying down our chimny and into the house - they built their nests in it for heat during the winter.)
If a robin flies into a room through a window, death will shortly follow.
BIRTH
Monday's child is fair of face;
Tuesday's child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is full of woe;
Thursday's child has far to go;
Friday's child is loving and giving;
Saturday's child works hard for a living.
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
is fair and wise, good and gay.
BIRTHDAY CAKE
If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake with the first puff you will get your wish.
BLARNEY STONE
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney.) (Now I know why my family is so full of the gift of the blarney...LOL In our house this is called BS)
BLUE
To protect yourself from witches, wear a blue bead.
Touch blue
And your wish
Will come true.
BREAD
Before slicing a new loaf of bread, make the sign of the cross on it.
A loaf of bread should never be turned upside down after a slice has been cut from it.
COUGH
To cure a cough: take a hair from the coughing person's head, put it between two slices of buttered bread, feed it to a dog, and say, "Eat well you hound, may you be sick and I be sound."
COW
Cows lifting their tails is a sure sign that rain is coming. (Better get away from the back end too. LOL)
CRACK
Don't step on a crack on a sidewalk or walkway.
Step on a crack
Break your mother's back.
CRICKETA
Cricket in the house brings good luck.
COUNTING CROWS
One's bad,
Two's luck,
Three's health,
Four's wealth,
Five's sickness,
Six is death.
DANDELION
Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.
DEATH
Superstitions about death
DOG
A dog howling at night when someone in the house is sick is a bad omen.
DOOR
It's bad luck to leave a house through a different door than the one used to come into it.
DREAMS
The meaning of dreams
and dream superstitions
EARS
If your right ear itches, someone is speaking well of you.
If your left ear itches, someone is speaking ill of you.
Left for love and right for spite:
Left or right, good at night.
EASTER
For good luck throughout the year, wear new clothes on Easter.
ELEPHANT
Pictures of an elephant bring luck, but only if they face a door. (My best friend in Idaho better get rid of her collection...they are all over her house; she's nuts about elephants.)
EYE
If your right eye twitches there will soon be a birth in the family. If the left eye twitches there will soon be a death in the family.
To cure a sty, stand at a crossroads and recite
Sty, sty, leave my eye
Take the next one coming by.

posted by Jan myrz @ 12:15 PM 0 comments

Superstitions Part 1

There are many superstitions that have been around for years. I thought in honor of All Hallows Eve, the eve of All Saints Day or better known as Halloween, I'd begin a series on some superstitions. Now don't go getting weird on me. These are only superstitions; that doesn't mean they will actually happen if you do or don't do what they predict. Especially if you carve a pumpkin and set it outside to shine and keep away all the evil spirits.

Here they are in alphabetical order:

ACORN
An acorn should be carried to bring luck and ensure a long life.
An acorn at the window will keep lightning out.

AMBER
Amber beads, worn as a necklace, can protect against illness or cure colds.

AMBULANCE
Seeing an ambulance is very unlucky unless you pinch your nose or hold your breath until you see a black or a brown dog.
Touch your toes
Touch your nose
Never go in one of those
Until you see a dog.

APPLE
Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
An apple a day
Keeps the doctor away.
If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

BABY
To predict the sex of a baby: Suspend a wedding band held by a piece of thread over the palm of the pregnant girl. If the ring swings in an oval or circular motion the baby will be a girl. If the ring swings in a straight line the baby will be a boy.

BASEBALL BAT
Spit on a new bat before using it for the first time to make it lucky.

BED
It's bad luck to put a hat on a bed.
If you make a bedspread, or a quilt, be sure to finish it or marriage will never come to you.
Placing a bed facing north and south brings misfortune.
You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck.
When making the bed, don't interrupt your work, or you will spend a restless night in it.

BEE
If a bee enters your home, it's a sign that you will soon have a visitor. If you kill the bee, you will have bad luck, or the visitor will be unpleasant.
A swarm of bees settling on a roof is an omen that the house will burn down.

posted by Jan myrz @ 12:25 PM 0 comments

New Drugs for Women

 

D A M N I T O L: Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 full hours.
 
ST. M O M M A'S W O R T :Plant extract that treats mom's depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to two days.
 
E M P T Y N E S T -R O G E N: Suppository that eliminates melancholy and loneliness by reminding you of how awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.
 
P E P T O B I M B O: Liquid silicone drink for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases intelligence, and prevents conception.
 
D U M B E R O L: When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country music and pickup trucks.
 
F L I P I T O R: Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.
 
M E N I C I L L I N: Potent anti-boy-otic for older women. Increases resistance to such lethal lines as, "You make me want to be a better person .Can we get naked now?"
 
BUYAGRA: Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases potency, duration, and credit limit of spending spree.
 
J A C K A S S P I R I N: Relieves headache caused by a man who can't remember your birthday, anniversary, phone number, or to lift the toilet seat.
 
A N T I-T A L K S I D E N T: A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories with total strangers in elevators.
N A G A M E N T: When administered to a boyfriend or husband, provides the same irritation level as nagging him.

Labels: Editorial Comment

posted by Jan myrz @ 4:19 PM 0 comments

Emails for Weight Loss promote good habits!

E-mails for Weight Loss? Wow! Here's an article in the last daily newsletter I received from South Beach Diet.....

Before you delete that e-mail, consider this: A recent study published in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion found that weekly e-mail reminders can help you eat better and lose weight.
Scientists at the University of Alberta sent weekly exercise and nutrition e-mails to 1,600 employees at five Canadian workplaces. After 12 weeks, participants reported changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior in relation to physical activity and nutrition. The results? Those who received weekly e-mails exercised more and lost weight. They also had more positive associations with the idea of physical activity. Members of the control group, who did not receive e-mails, wound up gaining a small amount of weight over the 12-week period and experienced a decline in exercise.
Consider this study the next time you open The South Beach DietÂ? Daily Dish. Just reading healthy advice on a weekly basis may be all the encouragement you need to improve your lifestyle!

You don't suppose they are just saying that to get us to go along with the program do you?
I know one thing though, their eating plan is killer in more ways than one. If your one of those people, like me, that likes just about everything on the planet considered eatable, it's nice to have some healthy guidelines to try to live by. I learned years ago that I loved the vegetarian lifestyle; however, then as now, those killer menus kill the budgets too. If your John Paul Getty or one of the Trumps, Gotti's, Bush's, Heinz,Rockefellers or such then eating like that all the time is no strain on the budget. Butt to every day Gomer's like us, it's expensive, so all the reminding in the world isn't going to make it cheaper.

It all boils down to one thing...We are all to damn lazy for our own good.
A perfect example:
Yesterday evening a bunch of South Bend football supporters got together to hold a rally for the rival game between Valley and South Bend which is being played tonight...(outcome still unknown at this time I couldn't watch the slaughter any longer, and left at half time.)

When I was in high school we held snake dances. We held hands making a big chain of people snaking through town and around the square and back to the football field; on foot. My little jerk-water town where I was raised (Carrollton, Ohio was small back then; no longer) was about five miles from the center of town out in all directions, and our chain hit through town around the square and up another main street and back to the school, which would be about 15 to 20 miles if it was walking in a straight line, but we were weaving in and out and up and down the streets the whole time, so God only knows how far we walk-danced-tugged-hollered-yelled-laughed and yanked each other. I know we were pretty well pooped out when we hit back at the school, but we had a blast! The town loved it too.
We got exercise and loved it. Each of us probably burned a couple hundred calories or more doing it.

In comparison; yesterday there was a string of vehicles forming a parade with the football teams in gaily decorated trucks; sandwiched in between balloon and sign-toting cars, trucks, and vans. We honked and flashed our lights. We all sat on our asses and burned 0 calories doing it.

Then we all went home to sit down and eat dinner and flop in front of the TV. God we have hard lives don't we?

Pass the popcorn, there's a good movie coming on about dieting.

posted by Jan myrz @ 10:50 PM 0 comments

Help! I have Birds..... Help!

Boy, there’s a sucker born every minute.  P. T. Barnum was right!   I am now in that group of suckers.  How?  LOL  I volunteered to baby-sit a couple parakeets until the mom (bad mother) came back for them.  These poor little orphans have me wanting to be like Fagan.  “Get out and earn your keep!”

Right now they are chirping their brains out, like Oliver, “Please sir can I have some more?”  Only this goes on 24/7 with the one (female).  God!  I want to pinch her head off.
OMG… It got quiet.  
This female named, Sweetie, loves to rattle the food cups, cuddle bone, bug repellent tin, water (spills it all over every time it’s filled) throws the cups on the bottom of the cage along with any other toys she can get there.  
Her counter part (they are a mated pair) Ernie, sits there and sings.  She beats him up.  He sings!  She’s destroying the cage.  He sings!  She throws him off the perch.  He complains and then he sings.  Yep.  Ernie just sings.  Right through his naps he’s singing.  

Now there is a background story here.  I originally purchased Ernie as a friend and companion for my cockatiel friend, Rosey.  Ernie got given to my grandson along with a cage and lived there for a couple years.  James got Sweetie for Ernie.  

One day this lady said she wished she could have some birds after meeting my Rosey and her mate at the time, Popeye.  So I asked James if he still wanted Ernie and Sweetie because I had heard they were up for grabs since he got involved in sports.  
Long story short, she took them.  Supposedly fell in love with them and them with her.
Good ending ……right?   One would think so wouldn’t one?
NOT!
She gets a job 50 miles away and asks me to take care of them until she can get situated.
I’m thinking a month maybe, so I say ok.  It’s been over 2 months now and she doesn’t contribute anything to their upkeep.  Never comes to see them.  So I’m opening my eyes to the fact she’s dumped them on me.  
Now I’m stuck with 4 birds and I only wanted my 2.

Know any good recipes for parakeet?

posted by Jan myrz @ 10:03 AM 0 comments

Quitting Smoking

Here are a few hints I used to help me quit.I've been a non-smoker now for 12 years. I have in those 12 years taken a drag off my daughter or son-in-law's cigarette 3 times and was sorry EVERY time since I quit. They were times it just smelled so good to me and I hadn't smoked in so long, I wanted to see what it tasted like again. EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww! Gag! Cough DIZZY sick at my stomach and had to brush my teeth and gargle immediately after 1 drag. NOT WORTH IT...I LEARNED MY LESSON LOL! No more, I don't care how good they smell...I'm not stupid: I just walk funny.... LOL
Back to the things I did:
1. I began by writing down all the things I hated about smoking. Cost, yellow teeth, stained fingers, stinky messes in the house, yuck on the walls to have to was off (the place stays so much cleaner now) prone to chest colds, etc. Make yourself a list. Read them over regularly.
2. Cut one cigarette a day out until you’re down to only 3 cigarettes a day. When you hit that spot, stay there for however long it takes for you to get the courage to cut out the most important one a day, after cutting out smoking anywhere but home; outside.
Once you get to that stage, you get enough resolve to crumble your last half pack into the trash. Field-strip every cigarette and resolve never to buy or smoke another.
3. Every time you get the urge to have a cigarette, drink lots of water; practically drown yourself in just plain water. Replace the cigarette habit with drinking water. Also, when you get the normal urge to have a cigarette, make yourself wait. Waite at least 5 urges and if you can make it longer, great! Try this especially on that first one in the morning and that first one after each meal. Whatever ones seem to be the ones you want the most.  These were all the things I did.

I keep trying to get my daughter and son-in-law to give them up but they don't want to.  I'm rooting for you.  Remember, You CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO!
You can do it!  

Just have faith in your own abilities and leave it up to God to give you the help you need.

These things worked for me; they'll work for you too.
Jan

posted by Jan myrz @ 9:42 AM 2 comments

What a Great Idea!

                  THE LAW IS THE LAW
So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words "under God" to be on our money, then, so be it.And if that same government decides that the "Ten Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interests at heart.BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?
Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings, I don't believe the Government and its employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.I'd like my mail delivered on Easter, Christmas, Good Friday, and Thanksgiving. After all, it's just another day. I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays. After all, it's just another day.I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break." After all it's just another day.I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter. It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct."
In fact....
I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day....
What do you all think????
If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions and begin, once again, to represent the 'majority' of ALL of the American people.SO BE IT...........

Please Dear Lord,Give us the help needed to keep you in our country!'Amen' and 'Amen'
Touché!
These are definitely things I never thought about but from now on, I will be sure to questions those in government who support these changes.At the top, it says, "I hope this makes its way around the USA several times over!!!!!"

Let’s see that it does.  Keep a copy in your mailbox and resend it whenever someone new comes along.

posted by Jan myrz @ 8:42 PM 0 comments