Ms. Vera

Check this out:

The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards -- featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says.

Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.

What do you guys think?  The full article is found in the link below.

Now On The Hallmark Aisle: Gay Marriage Cards

This story is so crazy...and gross...

Read this & watch:

Restaurant workers are always asked to wash up before starting work. But one Ohio Burger King employee has gone too far. The worker who calls himself "mister unstable" posted a four-minute video on MySpace showing him bathing in the restaurant's sink as his fellow employees and the store manager looked on. The video eventually made it's way to the local heath commissioner who's now investigating. All the employees involved in the incident have been fired.

I recently took a trip to Chicago for a journalism conference and one thing I learned very quickly is the way to get around is by taxi...

While I did do a bit of walking (I like to walk) and even took a couple of buses to get to the Oprah Store (yeah, sure did)

most of my travels to and from the conference were done by taxi. Well, there's some things to know about taking a taxi in a big city:

1. If you find a good cab driver, HIRE him!!: Boy, if I knew that the first night, I would've kept the driver who took me to my hotel. So, I get off the bus (I rode the Mega Bus for $10!! can you believe that??) and flagged down a cab driver. He was very nice and talkative. He asked me where I was from, I told him St. Louis but said that I had been to Chicago many times (well, I've been a few times) just so he would think I knew where I was going.
Well, I didn't have to fake it with him. I noticed that he took me the route I knew as the quickest route to the hotel. Thank goodness! And I enjoyed his conversation! We got there in like 6 minutes, I paid him plus a tip. He asked, "do you need a driver while you're here." I said, "oh no thank you. I'll be fine! THanks alot!" My mistake. It leads to my next point:

2. ALL CAB DRIVERS ARE NOT CREATED EQUALLY: not that I thought they would be but I had no idea they would be so different!! I went from rude, to barely english, to mad if you told them there was a quicker way.
On my second day, one cab driver tried to get over on me...I told him where the conference was and he headed towards the hotel. Well, it was a huge conference and there was a sign outside for parking for taxis. This driver decided he was going to circle the building. When I said, "you can stop right here," he made up some excuse saying no, he had to go around to the back way, I said no," that's the sign right there, that's where I'm going."
So he acts like he's going to turn around! No! I told him "pull over right here." I got out, paid him without a tip! Geez. He thought I was dumb.

Another guy talked and talked to me and my friend as he got on the highway to go somewhere I KNEW wasn't that far away! It costs us $13.00 to get there but only $9.00 to get back with another driver, who went through the city...charged it to the game.

3. CAB DRIVERS HATE CREDIT CARDS: Oh my goodness...you should've seen the look on some of thier faces when me and my friend would pay for the taxi with a credit card. You see, going back and forth from the conference for my friend was "expensible." That means the company paid for the transportation because my friend was working the conference. Well, we got the dirties looks when ever the credit card came out. And I don't blame them....credit card company charges them like 5 %. I might be a little ticked off too! But don't take it out on the customers. And we heard it all. "You no have cash?" "My Card machine not plugged in" "I don't have any receipt paper." The list goes on and on...
And them most of them who were paid by credit card asked: "are you going to give a tip?" And they didn't ask in a nice way either. By the end of the trip, I wasn't tipping anyone who was bold enough to ask. Hey, call me wrong, but tipping is "TO INSURE PROMPTNESS", not compensate you for a form of payment you're required to take in the city of Chicago.
I don't make the rules.

Anyway, it was just interesting to see all the different dynamics, and here the stories, see how they think they can get away with charging more, and see ALLL the different people were just trying to make thier everyday living. Some were talkative. Others didn't speak a work other letting me know it was time to pay. It's an interesting experience....that I don't entirely look forward to again. Next time I'll keep the first nice guy I find.

Hello bloggers!
Just wanted to drop a line and say thanks for all the good blogs.
But we'd like to feature more of you but we don't have your avatar pictures!

All you have to do is click on your "my info" tab in your blog and "upload a new avatar."

Show us those beautiful faces to we can feature you in a spot just like me!

Thanks!

Ms. Vera

Partying and Parenting - Please Just Pick One Current mood: angry A Tennessee mother is charged with negligent homicide after leaving her children, ages 4 and 7 children alone in an apartment while she went to a New Years Eve party and the children died in a fire. Are you ready - because here I go... What the 'freak' is wrong with people.

There is something wrong with our world, generation and good common sense when a mother, a 29 year old mother at that, feels it's more important to go out and party on New Years Eve than it is find a capable sitter for her child, or yet, just stay home.

Rule of thumb here, if you can't find a baby sitter, guess what - you can't go! I'm going through a transition of my own right now and for the last three years I haven't done much.

Now, I'm not the party type anyway, but I do like going to hear live bands, sit a the coffeehouse and meet up with friends. I've been out a little more than normal the last few months, but that's going to calm here soon because it's just not my thing.

With that said, enter Christian - my sweet baby: most important man in my life. He's three years old and needs the love and attention of his mother. But if I want to go out, my mother & father, his grandmother, or two of my friends (there only two I'm comfortable leaving him with) will watch him.

I think everyone knows I don't go out much, so usually they'll watch him. Also, they know I'm here alone and I'm not trying to pull some "poor single mom" card, but I kick butt at taking good care of him, playing with him, disciplining him, and taking time out just to spend with him. So, I deserve a break and some adult activities every once in a while (you can only take so much Chuck E Cheese)

But when I do go out, I am responsible. I know where he is and decide before hand what time I'll most likely to return (unless he's spending the night). Is it me, or is this too hard for some people? If I want to go out and my mother doesn't want to watch him, guess what - I stay home. If there's somewhere I really want to go, I may ask one other person, but I'm not calling 20 people to watch my kid just so I can go shake my butt.

So, it gets better. The now 4 and 7 year old fire victims are dead. But get this - they don't even live with her! They live with their grandmother in Mississippi and were visiting their mother for the holidays! So, you mean to tell me that you don't even get to see your babies everyday, they come up to be with you for the holidays and you STILL have the audacity to leave them home alone while you go out and "get yo' party on?" If she were a man, I'd still be pissed, but I'd would expect it. Men do BOOGEDY like that. "Oh, I miss my kid."

But soon as they pick 'em up and spend like an hour with 'em, they drop them off at the momma's house so they can go "kick it with they boys." But this is a mother. You birthed these children, and now they're dead because you failed at your only job - the preservation of their live. Parenting, apparently, wasn't as important as partying. But it hasn't be a priority for her anyway considering they live in another state. Bottom line: you don't leave children to party.
That goes for people who do find babysitters too! Yeah, I said it! I'm talking about these folk who feel the need to go out "EVERY" flippin' night and not be there to read a book, or put your child to sleep. Like Chris Rock said, "if you said more to him than 'mommy be back'" maybe he'll turn out to be worth something.

All I'm saying is stop. Take a look at what's important. They need us. Men, you need to stop too. Just because your girl is home with your baby don't mean it's okay for you to go out all the time. Grow the hell up and help a sista out.

I'm done.

Fire at will....

Another Great Parent: Just read. I'm not going to say anything.

CYPRESS, Texas -- Authorities are investigating after a Harris County woman apparently left eight children -- six of her children and a neighbor's two -- home alone while she went to Nigeria to marry a man she met on the Internet, leaving the youngsters with little food and no money. "It's just terrible," said Lt. John Martin of the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

 Martin said that a deputy making a welfare check on Wednesday evening at the home in this town just outside Houston found six children between the ages of 1 and 9 alone. The woman, whose name was being withheld Thursday, reportedly flew to Africa on Monday. "At first the children would not answer the door, but the deputy managed to persuade them to let him in," he said. "What he found inside the house was just deplorable conditions. There was trash everywhere, roaches everywhere. He said every item of clothing in the house was dirty and there was very little food."

The children told the deputy that they didn't know how to reach their mother, Martin said. Later that evening, a 15-year-old girl arrived and told authorities her mother flew to Nigeria on New Year's Eve. The teen said her mother left her in charge of four siblings -- a 1-year-old boy, a 7-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, said Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services. The teen was also caring for a neighbor's 3-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, Olguin said.

Investigators spoke with the neighbor, who said he regularly left his two toddlers at the woman's house while he worked. The neighbor, who told investigators he drove the woman to the airport for the one- to two-month trip, said he didn't know the conditions were that bad in the home, Olguin said. The 15-year-old has a 16-year-old sister who spends most of her time with friends and her 14-year-old and 18-year-old brothers are serving time in juvenile detention and prison for robbery and aggravated assault, respectively, Olguin said. "There was no food in the home and mom didn't leave them any money," Olguin said. "The 15-year-old said she had to steal food and diapers."

The neighbor said the woman told him that her sister would arrive by bus from New Orleans to care for the children. But the sister had not arrived by the time deputies discovered the children. Olguin said that investigators are in the process of contacting the sister and other relatives to confirm the story and find out what happened. She said that CPS is also investigating the neighbor. She said that in the meantime, the children have been placed in foster homes.

Olguin said that the family apparently evacuated to LaPorte from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and then evacuated to Houston from LaPorte after Hurricane Rita.

 

Watch Sean Conroy's Story on myFOXstl.com

Southwest Airlines is eliminating it's "Families First" policy where families with small children could board first regardless of when they bought their ticket or printed their boarding pass, or arrived at the gate.

I've always thought families should board first, not because I have a child, but because I figure no one else wants to be bothered with my child.

Trust me, families getting on first, I think, is better for all passengers.

When you're carrying an infant, a carseat, and a diaper bag, getting on and getting seteled works better when you aren't reaching over people.

Same goes for people with toddlers. You've got a little kid whose probably going to try and run away and if he's picky like my child, he won't want to sit where you put him. He's going to want to pick his own seat, and for the sake of peace and the other passengers, you better believe that I'm going to let him choose. Trust me, you'll have a better flight that way.

So, I think some people just thought parents were getting preferential treatment but I don't see it that way. When I fly alone and I see a family with two or more kids, I think, good, let them get on and get settled. Because what if they get on the plane, and there are no seats together?

Hopefully, someone nice will get up and help arrange some sort of seating but then you're still bothering passengers.

I like flying Southwest - it's low fare and family friendly. Well, it's still low fare, but apparently, things change.

Wow. There are some things that I just can't picture eating. And this breakfast burrito is one of them.

It's just too much! I often say, this is what may be wrong with Americans - supersized everything.

We supersize food, toys, games, cars, electronics, EVERYTHING!

What do you think about the supersized nation?

 

We were in Toys R Us Playing today and Christian decided that he wants a Escalade!

What ever will I do with this kids?! (All donations accepted!;-))

I Want An Escalade

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The Vatican released 10 Commandments for drivers on Tuesday. Here's the list.

What do you think?

Vatican's 10 Commandments for drivers:

1 -- You shall not kill.

2 -- The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

3 -- Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

4 -- Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

5 -- Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

6 -- Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

7 -- Support the families of accident victims.

8 -- Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

9 -- On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

10 -- Feel responsible toward others.

So, I'm sitting here at work, working on the website. All of a sudden, an urgent bulletin crosses my screen - Report: Paris Hilton Out Of Jail.

 Of course I'm thinking, "they can't be serious. This must be a mistake." So, i clicked around to our sister-station's site, myFOXla.com and there was the story.

You've got to be kidding me! This just proves how screwed up the system is and if you're of a certain political or social level, you can get whatever you want!

Three days? Is that it? Just three days? What kind of lesson is she suppose to learn from three days? I couldn't get Christian to stop picking at a scar for three days!

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE BIGGEST JOKE I'VE HEARD THIS YEAR.

Please, someone call an attorney for me. I'd like to see if I get locked up and out in three days for numerous DUI and driving on a suspended license.

Three days. I know people who couldn't sleep off a good hangover in three days. 

Give me a break!

 

I feel for the family of the Festus soldier killed. It's so unfortunate and I'll be glad when this war is over and our troops can come home for good. My condolences to the family.

Okay, I've been sick before, but this had to be the worst thing ever! I think I would've rather had pushed out a baby than puke my guts out.. So, I had salmonella poisoning last week. Bad peanut butter. Can you believe it? Thought it might've been chicken, but it was the peanut butter. Stupid me didn't throw that old jar away when the FDA told me to. I'll listen from now on. Oh my God, I thought I was going to die.

It started at like 10 p.m. I thought I just had a little upset stomach. But as the night progressed, it got worse and so did I. This was all last Tuesday night ( i think). By daybreak Wednesday, I found myself worshipping the porcelain god located in my bathroom. Just kinda stayed there at his feet. Someone called into work for me seeing as I couldn't even make it back to my bed, let alone, St. Louis. So, I spent the entire day Wednesday sick. Couldn't even keep down Ginger Ale. I prayed to God (the real one, not the porcelain one;-))   "Lord, please, whatever I did, I'm so sorry!" Isn't that funny?

Whenever we get really sick or something bad happens to us, we just know we're being punished for something. Well, I won't lie, I sure thought I was! I was begging, "please, whatever I did, I didn't know or I did know and I'm sorry now. Just let me please stop puking." Well, don't know if my prayer had anything to do with it, but around 2 am Thursday, I woke up. A rebroadcast of the news was on. My dad, who had come over to sit with me, was gone. I don't know what time he left, but he knew he didn't have to stay there if all I was going to do was sleep. I noticed I wasn't freezing cold anymore. Hmm, maybe my fever had broke. It did. I felt hungry. Really hungry. I tried some chicken noodle soup earlier that day and it didn't stay down.

Well, I thought, now's a good a time as any to try it again. My dad had left a note in the kitchen, soup was in the fridge. He had warmed it and put the broth in one bowl, the chicken and noodles in another bowl. Just in case I wanted to start with just the broth. Aww, I nearly cried. 30 minutes later, soup's still down. Going back to sleep. I spent most of the day Thursday in bed too. Pretty weak and sore. I just laid there thanking God I didn't die, but telling him, if it's gotta be that bad, just take me! I ate soup until Saturday. Had my first solid meal then. Funny. I was scared to eat anything except soup and drink water, 7up and green tea.

Now I know why people say, salmonella poisoning is the worst thing to have. They are soooo right. Cook right! Eat healthy! Please, trust me!

>> Side note: Christian was with his dad. He came and got him and kept him when I told him I was sick. He took care of me for a few hours too. Then he an Christian left me to sleep. Just in case you were wondering.

I saw this story and thought it was hillarious!

I wonder how many people would do this and see how ticked off Ameren would get?

I might try it! 

Carterville man plans to send pennies to protest Ameren rate
increase
 
   CARTERVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- A southern Illinois man who's fed up
with higher Ameren electricity rates has come up with a way to pay
his bill and show his displeasure.
   Robert Hancock of Carterville says his monthly power bill jumped
nearly 200 percent -- to $526.62
   So he's going to send Ameren 52,662 pennies.
   Hancock says he's worked things out with a local bank to get the
coins and with the post office to mail the money.
   It will cost about $50 extra for postage. But Hancock
says that if he can cause Ameren a little inconvenience, it's worth
it to him.
 (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
 

Okay, I've just watched an episode of Trading Spouses and I am so ticked off!
This was the most uneducated, ignorant woman I've ever seen in my life!
She sat in the house of a lesbian couple and basically told this woman that she had a birth defect. "Being gay is the same as having six arms." WTH???
While her freaky husband is ignoring their kids, she's bashing on everything she can find, including Hispanics. "I'm afraid that the Mexicans are taking over the world?" WHAT KIND OF BOOGEDY IS THAT!!

The sad part is there are soooo many more people like her in the world and they don't even think there's anything wrong with the way they think.
While ignorance abounds, I hope that the love and respect that real human beings feel for one another, regardless of race, creed, or gender will one day drown out the vain babblings of these freakin' idots!