Carlene

I am in favor of anything that saves the consumer money on drugs. The drug companies are making a killing. It's just obscene, what they charge for some of these - and I'm not talking Viagra, I mean things people really need. Protonix is hugely expensive, and it works better than some of the older ones, but who can afford it? My Boniva IV is $500 for a single dose. Then I have to pay the doctor to administer it. Anytime I get a script for an antibiotic, it seems like it is at least $100. If we didn't have insurance that pays a big part of our drug bills, I don't know what we would do.

Thank you, Kat!!! You are my new best friend. PS....I am never going to see 50 again...or 51, or 52, or....well, you get the picture. AND I have another BD coming - Christmas Eve. RATS!

I don't have sexier tops....LOL I'm OLD, for crying out loud.

Thank you, ladies. My DH had me a little worried. He thinks the gauchos are "short pants" and not very attractive.

I was amazed a few years ago to see people in Kentucky walking thru the grocery store, puffing away. Tobacco is to Kentucky what coal is to West Virginia, though. It pays the bills.

This is one of many reasons my granddaughter lives with me. Her father is verbally and emotionally abusive to his wife and children. He has been charged twice with domestic violence (assault with bodily harm). He would SCREAM at her, "You are so F*#&+%* stupid!" when she was just a toddler. She had to go into court-ordered counseling. It's too bad you couldn't get that woman's license plate number. Child Protective Services considers verbal/emotion abuse to be an office that justifies removing the child from the home. When Cheyenne (the granddaughter) was about 3 or 4, we were at one of those indoor playgrounds they used to have all over the place - like Playland at McDonald's but on a much bigger scale. A little boy was climbing thru the plastic pipes and just having a great time. His dad was ready to leave, though, and he wouldn't come. Every time his dad tried to grab him, he scampered up the rope thing like a little monkey and back into that plastic tube. Finally, his dad screamed, "Zach, get your ass down here RIGHT NOW!" Cheyenne looked at the guy and said, very sternly, "YOU have a potty mouth!" I loved it. The jerk glared at her. I just dared him to say something ugly to Cheyenne. I would have told him off in a heartbeat.

Yeah....if they won't take it, eat some yourself. Every once in a blue moon (especially holidays) my daughter (Cheyenne's mom) makes some comment about "getting my daughter back". It's just talk, and I know that - probably her guilty conscience talking. But it still pisses me off. This past week the gesture was, "If she weren't so spoiled at your house, I might stand a chance of getting my daughter back." I should send her to her mom's house for Christmas break, don't 'ya think? Might do both of them a world of good.

They have a name for women like that. They call them "mothers".

Anyone use Dr. Sanchez in Monterrey? He was gunned down in cold blood just a few days ago, at the gate leading into his ranch. If anyone is interested, I will try and find an English translation of the story.

Boy, ain't it the truth. My fifth grade teacher pointed this out to me very effectively. In some hotly contested olympic event between the US and Russia, the US finished first. The Russian headlines read "Russia takes 2nd place, USA finishes next-to-last" - a technically accurate, though misleading, statement.

Except when she gets THAT attitude (you know the one I mean). Then I look at her and see her mother all over again. LOL

I think the day will come when you cannot smoke ANYWHERE except the privacy of your own home. Newborns in Texas are routinely tested for the presence of drugs and/or alcohol and can be taken into custody by CPS if they test positive. I think at some point in the future, a similar test will be done for nicotine.

The Duggers currently live in a 2400 square ft home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The Duggers have 16 children, including 2 sets of twins. The last was born about 18 months ago, but there has been no announcement of another pregnancy. Their web site is www.jimbo.info, if anyone is interested. The Duggers are debt-free, an amazing accomplishment for any family. They are building a 7,000 square foot home without a mortgage. If they get paid for TV reality appearances, more power to them. So did Flavor Fav and those other weirdos. Personally, I'd rather watch the Duggers. All their children are home-schooled and play the violin and piano. They take them on field trips and study a very wide varity of subjects, including basic law and medicine. Jim Bob Dugger is able to provide financially for his family, and does. He owns a successful business and has serverd several terms as a State Representative and/or Senator. Although this family may consume more than its fair share of non-renewable resources, I think they give back a huge, positive example to the country at large. Their kids are respectful, well-mannered, and focused. I would bet money that none of them grow up to be on welfare or behind bars. The Duggers have chosen a less-traveled (and less popular) road. That doesn't mean they are "nuts". How well do your young children/grandchildren stack up to the Duggers? Mine tend toward materialism, laziness, and tantrums.

I just hope no one has pictures of me as a nursing (smoking) mother.

She's 14! The absolute worst age! Sometimes I wish she was "little" again. She was my baby diva. When we traveled, we carried a bag full of nothing but hair bows and ribbons. This was a trip to Graceland. She was almost 3.

Congrats, Kathy! I will be 11 years smoke-free next month! You are so going to love being free from cigarettes. One word of advice.....don't even consider having "just one". I did that a year after I quit the first time (it was in the hospital parking lot, the day my grandson died). One is all it takes to suck you back into a nicotine addiction (no pun intended).

YES....and isn't everyone glad?

Here's my tree - one of those "skinny" ones because I don't have much room, and my table.

I absolutely agree. You lose your right to cry "foul" as soon as you step over the line yourself.

I have to say, Wheetsin, I'm glad you don't know me. I think I'm pretty "intensely religious" - I'm just not as loudly religious as some people are.

I have a friend who makes bookmarks out of bead, stones, etc. They are very pretty and quite useful.

Don't rub it in. I am raising a granddaughter. I will be 60 when she graduates from high school.

The people at the end of my street put a sign just like this one in their yard, for obvious reasons. It was stolen. Go figure.

Bullwinkle said in the very first post of this thread that she/he is not a smoker.