Weekends ROCK!

Had a great day with the family and cousins today.  Had a delicious lunch at a popular burger joint and then hauled all the kids to an inflatable playground.  They ran around and wore themselves smooth out. Nice.  Maybe Momma will be able to get to sleep in late tomorrow . . .

Who's the Hero

I was just reading the "manifesto" of Andrew Joseph Stack, the man that flew his small plane into the Eschelon building in Austin, Texas last week.

Before reading it, I had heard that Stack's adult daughter, who now lives in Norway, made the comment that his actions were inappropriate but that he was a hero.

Your dad was no hero, chick.

What he was and what he represents is a horrifying truth in America: with the way the IRS does business this type of event should not come as a shock.

If you don't know someone who has had difficulties with the IRS, then you are in the minority.  If you have had problems with the IRS yourself, don't consider yourself special.  It's pretty common in our country with the current IRS policies and procedures.

In fact, I have personally experienced the IRS meat grinder. Several years ago, due to false information filed by a former spouse, my husband and I filed our tax return only to be notified that our refund was being withheld to pay $2,400 in past due taxes and penalties.  After doing the necessary research and submitting all the proving documentation, it was apparent that the past due taxes were not our responsibility.  That, in fact, our refund should not have been withheld.

You'd think.

It took almost EIGHTEEN (18) MONTHS of telephone calls with dozens of different IRS offices and departments and people and letter after letter after letter repeating THE SAME INFORMATION before the IRS finally acknowledged that, Yes . . . we are entitled to our refund and the back taxes were the sole responsibility of the former spouse.

But . . . we did not get our refund. The IRS advised us that since we did not prove BEFORE the tax refund garnishment that the debt was not ours, then we had no refund coming to us. According to the IRS, we should have proven the debt was not ours before we even knew about it. When the taxpayer owes money to the IRS, he could lose everything if it is not paid. If the IRS owes the taxpayer money, there is no hurry to pay if it gets paid at all.

In the end, we both felt like we had been run over by a truck but at least we did not owe the IRS any money.  We got screwed out of our refund and felt relief that that was all they were going to do. That was a big wake up call . . . the voluntary taxes from decades ago are now mandatory and are being used against us. And in the case of Mr. Stack, caused a senseless and avoidable tragedy.

I empathize with Mr. Stack's frustration and feelings of hopelessness at the hands of the IRS and its inane policies. But he was no hero.

The gentleman killed in the building after the plane crashed was Vernon Hunter.  His son took issue with Stack's daughter's "hero" comment.  As should we all.

"My Dad served two tours in Vietnam. My Dad was the hero."

Yes, sir. He was.

The Elephant in the Room

Okay, I'll step off into it.

The MacKenzie Phillips/John Phillips 10-year incestous relationship announcement.

I'm of the feeling that it is true simply because a person does not share that type of information when it is not true. We all know that to make that type of announcement does not immediately make you a target for only sympathy. It also invites all manner of vicious attack allegations from those who don't believe it to be true. I think MacKenzie loved her Dad. I think she had a very messed up upbringing and a severe lack of parental guidance and acceptance. I think she has endured an extremely painful journey to get to this point. I think she is trying to heal. My best wishes go out to her.

And now for a few words from her brother (from CNN.com):

Mackenzie's half-brother, Tamerlane, the follower of an Indian guru, is having none of it.

"My family is and always will be a decrepit bowl of dog urine compared to Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. That is how great Nityananda is," he told the New York Post's Page Six. "Worship Nityananda, not the Phillips family."

Oh. My. Yord.

The path of least resistance . . .

is the path to least reward.

There are some people in my life who for whatever reason do not address their beliefs in the same way I do. When I feel strongly about something, I don't hide my opinions. If anything I share my opinions with just about anybody that will listen. So when someone tells me they feel one way about something and then sits down and shuts up because someone else will disagree, I'm confused and not just a little aggravated.

Now I'm not saying make your opinion on something your life's mission to force on everyone else. That's a whole different thing.

Certain events have transpired in my life that have created some uncomfortable situations with family members. One person has taken a completely unreasonable stance on a particular subject that has the rest of us crossing our eyes because at the most she is being incredibly selfish and destructive and at the very least she is being completely STUPID.

Maybe I am the one who is unreasonable here. But I say she needs to be confronted with all the facts, whether she likes them or not because hey! there are lots of facts about life that I don't like but that doesn't change them. Grow up! And once she is forced to see the facts and acknowledge that we all know the facts to be true, then the cards can fall where they may. Her happiness or unhappiness with the rest of her life is completely up to her. She is the only one that can control that and regardless of what anyone else tries to do, she cannot be protected from herself.

I don't like living with lies and I don't like being covert about someone I love or something wonderful in my life that she has chosen to be a complete asshole about.

A Call to Prayer Warriors!

Please add my friend Tim's dad to your prayer lists this morning. He suffered a major stroke last night and, although the danger of dying is past, he is in an induced coma. They will be weaning him off medications tomorrow to see the extent of the damage so prayers for his strength and recovery are needed.

Blessings~

kRaZy deMocRAT aunT

As an addendum to my "Minor Matters" post, here is the text of an email that my aunt (in a northern state) sent to one of my close friends here in Texas (someone that said aunt has NEVER met):

"Too bad you think that President Obama is a disgrace to our country. Well then move to Russia and spare us your right-wing craziness. YOU are a disgrace to our country. We need to pull together and make this country work after the mess that George W Bush has made of it. If you love this country, then get in line or get out."

This from a woman who typed a SIX PARAGRAPH email to me bemoaning the lack of bipartisanship and tolerance from both sides of the aisle. She preached and preached and preached to me about how "we all need to work together to get this country back on track, blah blah blah"

Yeah. Sounds like that bipartisan attitude is really working out for her.

Life Updated

I didn't think I would be writing a post like this again after we moved to my husband's hometown to begin our lives anew and raise a family.

What's that saying about the best laid plans?

Some of you know that my husband was the Sheriff of our county and that in last year's election he was defeated by 12 votes. We lost about 165 votes to the Democratic primary - Democrats that supported my husband but felt very strongly the need to vote in their own primary. In a county of 1,800 registered voters, every single vote counts.

So, after the loss of his job (last day December 31, 2008), we found ourselves in the position of figuring out what we were going to do to support our family yet stay out here in a small town that has a very weak economy. After struggling for almost a year, we have made a very big decision. One that we fought with and really did not want to admit was what needed to happen.

We will be relocating closer to Austin, Texas in the next couple of weeks. My husband has accepted a position with a police department in small resort town. The pay is very well and we will be moving into a very nice new home. Our son will be going to a small well-rated school that is nearby.

Although we are going to have good changes, there are some Mason things that we will miss. We are renting our house to a friend who will take care of my horses so that I will not have to sell them. We have made some very dear friendships here and hopefully the connections will remain.

I'm going to try to keep this blog updated better. So many times I feel the pull to blog about something that catches my attention or something personal that I want to share but then I get distracted and the blogging opportunity passes by.

I'm hoping to start doing better.

Minor Matter

I titled this post "Minor Matter" because it is not high on my priority list but I feel a small need to address it succinctly and quickly.

Politics. In my life there are family members who do not share the same political views that I do. Unfortunately, after being subjected to more than one diatribe about my ignorant opinions and the lousy-ness of my Republican president, I chose not to send any more emails to these people. Keep in mind that one family member gave no thought to reaming me out and pulling out her Democratic soapbox and sending it to MY friends. I absolutely do not disagree that everyone is entitled to their opinions. I do disagree VERY STRONGLY with bad manners. This person showed a complete lack of grace and tolerance when she went on the offensive and brought my email recipients into it. I felt that an appropriate response was an email from her to me only saying, "Listen, I don't appreciate these right-sided emails. You know my politics. Please do not send any like this to me anymore. Thank you. I love you. Auntie."

IT IS NOT HER OPINIONS THAT OFFEND ME.

It was her complete and utter disregard of gracious manners. I cannot even begin to count the number of anti-Bush and pro-Democrat emails I received last year. Not once did I reply to the sender (and/or their email recipients) with an angry, offensive PRO REPUBLICAN tongue lashing. I hit the delete button and moved on to my next email. Que sera sera.

Unfortunately, again, I shared an article written by Peter Heck regarding Obama's "arrogant Americans" speech in Europe. I am assuming that one of the few people I shared it with sent it on to this particular Democratic aunt because I woke up this morning to another diatribe about my continued smearing of the president and another lecture about lack of respect for family. She also apparently found an address for the friend that forwarded it to me and sent a scathing reply to said friend.

I'm not changing my politics or my opinions. I believe in what I believe in. I know what I see and what I hear. If Obama and his supporters don't want negative press, then maybe he should keep the American bashing to a minimum. I'm just saying.

This post has gone on for entirely too long and I'm going to wrap it up. But one last word.

I will continue to expend my positive energy on positive causes that I believe in. I will not expend another minute on people like my Aunt Marcie or my Aunt Liz and their intolerancy.

Closed Doors

Wow! It's been almost a month since I last posted. I was really going to try to stick to the "once a week" format, too. Maybe I can now.

My husband lost in the primary by 12 votes. So a door has closed in our lives. We lost several supporters to the Democratic primary due to the Hillary/Obama competition and I am not angry with those folks. I understand the importance of voting in your party's primary, especially one so contested as this one has been. But at the end of the day, my opinion is that important local elections take precedence over national. There are so many other variables to this local election: 1,200 voters; personal relationships of candidates with almost every single voter; family fueds from 100 years ago; which local station you buy gas from; etc. My husband did the very best he could by this community, he ran a clean and gracious campaign, and I am incredibly proud of him. This county will not see another Sheriff that will hold a candle to the man and the Sheriff that my husband is. This county will never see another drug round-up with 22 indictments against dealers like it saw this past September. This county will never see more safety programs for its citizens or schools. And the ones introduced by my husband will more than likely be discontinued simply because he was the one to bring them but not because they are not good resources for our community. The worse part? This county knows it - numerous numerous people (everyone at the courthouse) have expressed concern about the two remaining candidates and their lack of ability or qualifications to do the job well, if at all.

BUT, God closed the door on us. He's done it before. And in hindsight He made such incredible opportunities for us that we can only praise Him and say, "Thank you, Lord, for knowing what was best for us all along." I have complete faith that we will be saying those same words when He finally reveals what it is He has in store for us. Defeat is never easy to take, especially when you have given it your best and your all and in your heart you thought you were going the direction the Lord wanted you to go. But with defeat comes wisdom and, for us, stronger faith in the Lord and His plan for us.

I'll keep posting about developments. Our very last option is to move and the Husband has been offered several positions with surrounding agencies. I have a good job and we could make it in a crunch if we needed to.

So, for now we are just going to wait to see which door opens for us to step through.

Just enjoying good service . . .

Here's a joke my Dad sent to me the other day. Having lived with a toddler in the recent past, it struck me as hilarious. My husband? Not so much.

Okay, here is one of the stories my mother used to tell about me when I was just a toddler. (I am the youngest of a large family.) One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me and my brother who is four years older than I am. I was maybe a year and a half old and had just recovered from an accident in which my arm had been broken among other injuries. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news and my brother was playing nearby in the living room when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea' - which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was "just the cutest thing!!" My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I came down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy.

She watched him drink it up and then said, "Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet??"

Gonna Be a BEAR!

In keeping with the new year, new beginnings theme - here's my plan:

Gonna Be a Bear

In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for SIX months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown cute cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a momma bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.

When you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.

Yup, gonna be a bear!

preparing for New Beginnings

What a wonderful Christmas it has been! After attending candlelight Christmas Eve services last evening, we awoke at 6:30 this a.m. to see what the Good Sir Claus left' neath our tree. Too many little boy delights to list but I know a certain young man who will literally collapse tonight at bedtime. And a Daddy, too!

Having gotten better prepared for the holidays than last year. this long Christmas weekend has found me mentally listing all the things I want to implement with the New Year. Better blogging being one of them. I'm also going to be out here lurking around catching up on all of you!

I am going to start carving out more time for myself to do something that has always been so very vital to my happiness: reading. I did not get much time nor opportunity to read anything this past year but I am already working on rectifying that. I have been picking up every book that looks like it might be even remotely interesting. I have even come across some intriguing new (to me) authors; Tess Gerritsen being one of them. "The Bone Garden" was my Thanksgiving read and I HIGHLY recommend it.

I am also going to better structure my business time. This first 8 months on the new job has been insanity to say the least and overwhelmingly satisfying to say the most. The company has passed through the painful growth and transitional phase and we are all armed and ready to really go gangbusters this year.

Although my husband's campaign is truly and officially begun, I am going to work hard at not making the extraneous issues of running for office derail our jobs, our son's schedule, or our life as a family. I picked up a few lessons from the first time around and my skin is definitely thicker for it. Bring it on, morons! Intelligent, responsible voters will do what needs to be done while the rest of them talk out of their . . . Anyways, we're ready to get this deal done so he can keep doing the job they elected him to do. (Quite frankly, as a taxpayer, it bothers me that an elected official has to spend almost an entire year of his term dealing with the retention of his job rather than being left to focus 100% on what we elected him to do in the first place. Maybe that's just me.)

Merry Christmas!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I'm here! I'm here! I cannot believe it has been since August since I last posted. That's simply too long. I will make a resolution right now that I will post and visit at least once a week. That's do-able. Even with my hectic got-too-many-things-on-my-plate life.

I won't go into the gorey details of what has been happening out here in this post but I will catch up soon.

This post is dedicated to wishing everyone the most blessed Christmas season. I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy and not wanting for anything. As we were praying in church yesterday, I found myself not praying FOR anything as much as thanking the Lord for everything. My family has been so tremendously blessed and I am grateful for being tired at night, feeling like I've eaten too much, paying the mortgage and electric bill, and all those things that remind me that I have need of nothing.

May you also find yourself saying "Thanks" to our Heavenly Father for the incredible gift He has already given us and for the redemption that comes with that gift.

Merry Christmas from Mason, Texas!

Priority Completed!

Okay - so my deadline (Friday) came and went and the slideshow didn't get updated.

Well, I just spent my lunch hour getting that task accomplished.

Enjoy!

Coming up for air . . .

I am so bummed that I cannot maintain my blog like I used to. I can barely maintain communications with my favorite fellow bloggers.

And I don't know if, or when, that will ever change.

But I'm not giving up.

Between the job, summer activities, family deaths, family reunions, vacations, etc. - my blogging time is even less than before. And before it was pretty much nil.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Since you asked . . .

okay, so you didn't ask but I'm telling.

The new job has been going really well. I'm enjoying my work and, for the most, my co-workers. We had a little shake up earlier this week and to be blunt, the troublemakers are no longer with us.

I am very excited about the improved work environment and the overall adjustment of the attitude in the office. The company has tremendous potential and I'm hanging on for the ride. Given the employment situation in this county, I am very appreciative of the opportunity - both professional and financial - that I have been given.

When my husband and I first moved here, we knew the incredible financial deduction we were taking. But we truly believed (and still do) that the life we make together with our son is far more important than the money we can make in the city with little or no time for family stuff. I know there are gazillions who will disagree with me but having lived in the city and now in the country, I would not even want to attempt to raise children in the city. I very clearly remember family-unfriendly employers and co-worker parents who agonized over missing their son or daughter's recital/game/presentation. They were made to feel that whatever project they were working on simply could NOT be put off for a few hours or until the next morning. Throw into the mix that most of us lived in suburbs at LEAST 20 miles from the office, it made things even more difficult. One of the reasons we waited until we were in the country to start our family was because I really dreaded the thought of dropping my baby off at daycare at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and then not seeing him until 6:30 or 7 p.m. That was something I just could not fathom doing.

But back to the job. It doesn't pay but maybe half what I was making in the city 5 years ago but I live 2 miles from the office, I can leave at any time to go to his special little functions, and if he gets sick then it is no big deal if Daddy or I stay home with him. My boss is not going to make me feel like the office is going to screech to a halt if I'm not there.

But half the $$ out here is a 100 times better than all the $$$ there!