futuremrspowell's Blog

After seeing Margie Ellisor's spot about the Purple Cow consignment store, I decided to clean out my daughter's closet and dresser and go make a few extra dollars.  I drove all the way down to Sunset Hills, with hardly any gas to begin with, and they did not buy one single thing from me. The stupid lady working told me it was because everything I brought had "to much wear". But some of the clothes still had the tags on them. They just didn't buy anything because none of it was name brand. So if you are like me and can't afford to buy name brand clothes for your kids, don't go there to try to make extra cash. They won't buy it. In fact, don't even shop there. Your best bet would be to sell it at a garage sale.

So, I went down there hoping to make some extra cash to be able to get gas and to have some cash to last me until my next payday (which isn't until next Friday), and I ran out of gas on the way home. So I drove all the way down there for nothing, and almost punched the lady in the face.

That is the end of my story.

So here's the deal. There was an accident early Sunday morning in St. Charles that killed 2 boys and injured 3 more. I'm sure we've all heard about it. Yes, it is a tragic thing that they were being so irresponsible and 2 lost their lives because of it. But here's the deal. I can feel bad for the 2 families who lost a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, and a friend. And I can feel bad for the other 3 families who might never get that same person they knew back. I just can't feel sorry for the vicitms themselves.  I know about a website you can go to and look up court cases on people. I searched all 5 boys, just out of curiousity and just to see what kind of boys they really are. (It's public record, people.) I won't say which boys, but most of them had some pretty serious offenses against them, ranging from possession of marijuiana, possession of drug parafanalia (I know I spelled that wrong), attempting to purchase or possession of alcohol by a minor. One even had a DWI!!! So they way I look at it, they were all nothing but partiers. They went out and got high and/or drunk then drove, like idiots I might add. They are really lucky they didn't hurt or kill any innocent people. Those kind of people are the kind of people I worry about every single day. Those are the kind of people that I worry are going to be on the road at the same time I am with my daughter. Those are the kind of people who will hit and kill innocent people and walk away with only scratches. If you want to be young and stupid, please go do it somewhere else. I hate driving at night with my daughter and worrying that some drunk guy is going to run the next light and kill us. If you want to do it the smart way and have a designated driver, I don't care. Go out and have all the fun you want. More power to you. But I really don't understand why people are SO STUPID!!!! If you want to drink, get a designated driver. What is so hard about that? Nobody is invincible, we're all going to die at some point. But why would you want to do something so dumb to speed it along? Think about it, IF you could choose, would you rather die at the hands of your drunk friend at 20-22 years old? Or would you rather live into your 90's and be a great grandparent and be able to watch your kids grow up, and enjoy your grandkids, and celebrate your 65th wedding anniversary with your wife?

In case you haven't noticed, I take a VERY dim view on drinking. Because I don't do it. I never saw the point in going to bars and clubs every weekend, if not every night, and drinking myself into an abnoxious stuper. I never found the appeal in "getting hammered" and "doing body shots". I know everybody does different things to have fun, but I choose things that I know have a slim to none chance of hurting me or anybody else. Sure every huge once in awhile, when I'm at home, I might have the occasional drink, if we have something. But that's only a beer or a wine cooler or something similar. My point is, people make stupid decisions, but I can't feel bad for you if your death reflected your lifestyle.

My daughter just turned 3 last weekend. She's been playing outside during the summertime ever since she was born. Whenever we go out, I always make sure to put bug spray on her to help protect her from mosquito bites. Well, no matter how much repellent I put on her, she ALWAYS gets bit. The problem is after she gets bit, the site of the bite swells up and looks like a huge welt. I took her to the doctor at the beginning of last summer and he said that it only happens because she hasn't built up her immunity to the mosquitos yet, which made sense. Well here it is a year and several dozen bites later, and it still happens. I don't want to tell her she can't go play outside, she loves it. But I don't want her to keep getting bit and having her bites look like this. Is it possible she's allergic to mosquitos? If anybody out there knows or has any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks. 

When I was growing up, nobody ever taught me how to manage money. So, needless to say, when I turned 18 and got my own credit card and bank account, I messed up big time. I didn't understand the consequences of my actions, and just let everything go. Today, I'm paying for it.

In November of 2004, I found out I was pregnant. My fiancee and I decided that he would work and I would stay home with the baby. About 2 months after our daughter was born, we moved into the condo we're still living in today. He got a promotion at work and we bought a new truck. Everything was going fine. Now with the price of gas and everything else going up, we can't afford for me to stay home anymore, I have to go back to work.

Here's the problem:

I've been looking for employment for over 2 months now and have only been on 1 interview, which was this past Tuesday. Remember when I said before that I'm paying for my mistakes now? Here's why: every place that I have applied to has done a credit check on me and they are seeing how bad my credit is and don't want to hire me. I send them resumes and cover letters and in my cover letter I explain why my credit is so bad and what I'm doing to remedy the situation, but nobody seems to care. I just don't understand why employers do credit checks on potential employees. Can somebody explain that to me? So here's my letter to anybody who reads this blog who has any influence on hiring people at his/her work or knows anybody who will hire me.

 

To Whom It Concerns:

I made some mistakes concerning my finances when I was younger and I have learned from those mistakes. I fully understand what I did wrong and I am now being punished for not being responsible back then. Nobody has any idea how I feel about this. Nobody understands how depressing it is for me knowing that you have a child that you can't fully provide for because of your stupidity a few years ago. I love my daughter and I would do anything in the world for her. But how am I supposed to fix my past problems when I need money to fix them and nobody will hire me? With the exception of those past problems, I have never done anything wrong. I've never been arrested, I don't have a criminal record, and the worst I've ever had was a speeding ticket. I am an honest, hard working woman who only wants to pay off my debts and be able to buy groceries and pay my bills and take care of my daughter. I lay in bed every night and worry that she will think I'm a loser as she grows up because I couldn't buy her things. Or that she'll end up making the same mistakes I did. And I don't want that. Every night when I put her to bed, she tells me she loves me and it makes my eyes water. She tells me she loves me, I tell her I love her, and yet she has no idea how bad I feel for her. I feel bad for her that she has a mother who made mistakes and no one will look past those mistakes and give her a chance. I feel bad that because of her mom's mistakes, she doesn't see her daddy that often because he's always working to be able to keep providing for us.

As I'm finishing up this letter, I am brought to tears thinking about my life. I have a daughter that I love more then anything and a man who understands my past mistakes and works hard to be able to keep a roof over our heads. If anyone out there and help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't want money or donations, I want a job. I want to be able to earn the money myself. If anybody can help in anyway, please let me know.

 

Thanks.

I know I might make some people mad when I say this and I don't mean to, but I think there is more to this trooper's accident then what the Illionis State Police are saying. I personally think that he did have his dashcam rolling and they are saying that he didn't to cover up the fact that this whole thing is his fault. Police interviewed over 100 witnesses and only 1 person said this little white car cut him off. Everyone else said that car was already in that lane or they didn't even see a white car. In most cruisers, if police departments are smart, the dashcam is wired in with the lights and sirens so that when the lights and/or sirens are turned on, the dashcam automatically goes on. So here's what I think happened...the officer was traveling at a higher rate of speed then what he should have given the traffic, despite the fact that all those drivers should have been pulling over into the right lane. I think this little white car, or whatever color it might have been if there even was one, was already in that lane and couldn't get over to the right because there was another car on his right, so the trooper drove onto the grassy median to go around this car, but was driving so fast that he lost control on the grass, and slammed into those innocent girls. If there was no car, I believe that he was just driving way to fast, still making this accident his fault.  The state police made a big mistake telling the public that this officer had been involoved in 2 other accidents,both of which were his fault, one of which resulted in the victims being paid over a million dollars. So I think that they are saying his dashcam wasn't on to try to avoid putting the blame on him, exactly where it needs to go. I believe this whole thing was his fault and the Illionis State Police should pay the family of these 2 girls MAJOR dollars. Their officer was excessively speeding, not caring about anybody else driving on the road. I understand that he was responding to another accident, but what gives him the right to drive that fast and endanger other lives. I understand that when an officer's light and sirens are on they can drive faster then the posted speed limit, but to be driving as fast as he was is just an abuse of his power. The Illionis State Police are covering something up. Nothing is going to change my mind about that. They are trying to protect one of their own. They know is whole thing was his fault and they are protecting him from any prosecution the Uhl family might bring against him, which is exactly what I would do. I would take him and the Illionis State Police for hundreds of millions of dollars. Had this officer not been going so fast and driving the way he was, these girls would probably still be alive.

Florissant's Mayor, Bob Lowry, says these t-shirts from a store in the loop are offensive. He needs to take his opinions somewhere else and tell them to somebody who agrees with him. He is upset about the shirt that says "North County is Dangerous." I have lived in North County all my life, the majority of it, in Florissant. There are a couple cities in North County that I will not go to period...Jennings, for example. But I think some of Florissant, and some parts of North County are dangerous. Lowry wants to open his mouth and say that North County isn't dangerous. Has any city in North County ever had a murder? Yes. Has any city in North County ever had an armed robbery? Yes. Has any city in North County ever had a kidnapping? Yes. Every single on of those has happened in Florissant. And mayor Lowry is sticking to his opinion that North County ISN'T dangerous. It might not have been as dangerous when he was a kid, but it sure is now.  Everywhere you go nowadays is dangerous. I think he just wanted to get on the news.

I have always believed that if a child had a role model to look up while growing up, it would give them something to strive for in life. They would see this person doing what they love to do and know that if they tried hard, they could do the same or better. I hope that my daughter looks up to her father and I as role models and sees how hard we have to work to provide for her and know that it's all worth it. Kids usually look up to celebrities as their role models. Little boys usually see professional athletes as their role models. I mean no disrespect, and I don't mean to make anyone upset by saying this, but Josh Hancock was no role model. My heart goes out to the Hancock Family and Cardinal nation during this very trying time, but the decisions he made the night he died, absolutely cannot be followed. Kids want to do the same thing as their role models, whether it be act on the big screen or play professional baseball. But can you as a parent be proud that your child has a role model who drinks and drives and does drugs? I know I can't be. I always thought that my role models could never do any wrong. But as I got older and understood what they were getting into trouble for, I lost my respect for them. If my daughter wants to be an actress, by no means are we going to stand in her way. But I want her to want to be an actress by her own choice, not because of someone she sees on TV. I want her to look to her father and I as her role models and learn from us. I want her to learn how to make good decisions, and take care of herself, and always know that she can come to us for anything. I don't want her to look up to someone who over drinks and drives and smokes pot.

The Cardianls have always been good about helping out the St. Louis Community. Members of the team have participated in fund raisers and celebrity appearances and the entire Cardianl orginization has always given back to St. Louis. That's why I can't understand how someone who is known around St. Louis could make such stupid decisions. It seems to me that he had some problems that the Cardinals' didn't know about. Maybe drug and alcohol testing should be mandatory.

What would have happened if Josh Hancock had slammed into my car with myself and my young daughter inside? What if he had survived? I guarantee nothing would have happened to him. He might have had to sit out a couple of games, but because he's rich, he would have gotten in no trouble. And that is what's wrong with America. The rich people get away with everything because they have the money to buy their way out of anything. I am an honest, hard working, minimun wage earning mother, but I guarantee if I got caught drinking and driving, I would go to jail for about 6 months. So why is it ok for these bars and resturants to continue to serve their patrons drink after drink after drink after drink, even if they don't look intoxicated, and not be responsible for anything that might happen when that patron leaves that establishment? The bartender at Mike Shannon's served him for almost 4 hours straight. Why should they not be held at least partly responsible for the accident? What about the girl who called Josh 3 minutes before the accident? Why should she not be held partly responsible? She called him, but he also made the decision to answer the phone. If she hadn't called, maybe this might not have happened. If Mike Shannon's resturant took responsibility for how much they served their customers, maybe the accident wouldn't have happened.

There's alot of factors that need to be different in order to have prevented this tragic accident. But what it boils down to , is that bars and resturants should be held responsible for how much they serve and what happens when those that they serve, leave their business. Driving and talking on your cell phone should be outlawed. You should go straight to jail for that. I don't want to get into an accident because of someone who is talking on their cell phone and driving. Don't talk on the phone and you wouldn't have hit me.

Alot of things about this accident are making me mad. And not just the fact that Josh died, but because of the things he was doing before the accident, how Mike Shannon's was not responsible as far as how much they served him, and how just because Josh was a local celebrity, no one who served him all night is being held responsible for this tradegy. I am sorry that he died, but I cannot feel as sorry as I should that my favorite baseball team lost a good player. He made his own stupid decisions and now lives are shattered because of it.

i got enough advice on my daughter's sleeping and thank you for that. now i need information on destination weddings. we have our possible date set as june, 21, 2008. we want to go to either hawaii, jamaica, or the bahamas, if anybody knows of any good websites or a travel agent, please let me know.

thanks everybody!

I am looking for any advice to make bedtime easier. We have tried just laying her in her crib and letting her cry it out, but she cries so hard she gets sick. I don't let her sleep late in the mornings. She's usually up by 9:00 a.m. She takes about a 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap everyday around 1:00 p.m. When she wakes up she plays and eats and runs around, but come bedtime she fights us so hard. She likes to fall asleep on me but when she does and I put her in bed, she wakes right back up. And I can't just leave her in there to cry. Like I said before, she cries so hard she throws up. So whenever she wakes up, she's up until 1 and 2 in the morning. I just don't understand how a 19 month old can get 7-8 hours of sleep a night plus a 2 hour nap during the day and stay up so late. We are at our wits end. If anybody has any advice, please give it to me.