BethFromVA

Mom's got some 'splainin to do! :laugh: Especially since I'm older. Hm...

I'm beginning to think so too. By the way, what happened to your other moniker??

Hehehe, can't be you, unless... ARE YOU MY TWIN?? :tt2:

Am I too old t be a co-ed? :laugh:

What can I say. The only thing I liked about Houston was how great my skin was. Cuz of All. The. SWEATING. :laugh:

Well, this is how I feel after losing weight: However, this is how I feel after seeing myself in photographs, even after having lost weight: :laugh:

Yeah, we'll have to see. I begin a full load of classes (17 credit hours) at the end of August. I doubt I'll be watching much of anything for, oh, the rest of my life (it seems). :laugh:

Now THAT I could handle. Don't even get me stared on the cable thing... it's not MY choice. :laugh: You tell people these days that you don't have cable and you might as well tell them you don't have indoor plumbing. :tt2:

I DO believe the bulk of the media is very left leaning AND in collusion with anybody on the left, ESPECIALLY Obama. I have watched them give him a pass where NO right-leaning pol ever would get one. And it's not just Obama -- they did so with Clinton as well. However, because so many seem to see BoB as the second coming, I believe he is given more of a pass than usual. Jaded, I know. And again, I don't have cable, so I can't get those sources except online. However, your comment that "sometimes" CNN can be as bad as FOX... erm, I see them as one of the biggest left-leaning culprits along with MSNBC. Yes, there was a time that I DID have cable. :laugh:

When I told my best friend (who lives in another state) that I was getting the Lap Band, the first thing she said was, "Hmmm." Then she had the usual questions and concerns. I just got back from visiting and not only did she not really say much except that yeah, I seemed smaller than the last time she saw me, but SHE is now the biggest she has ever been. Since she never EVER asks how I'm doing or follow up on my successes, I am going out on a limb here to say that I don't believe she will be part of my support system.

Excellent question. Also, anybody who signs ANYthing that they haven't read has got to be the most stupid, ignorant moron that ever lived. To know that this now (or has) encompasses our elected "officials," many of whom are lawyers, is beyond stupidity. It's nothing but fearmongering in order to start taking control of people's lives.

First and foremost, I don't have cable, so I don't have the luxury of listening to them all. And I'm not WANTING to hear it -- it's just nice to know that not everybody out there is blind, deaf, and stupid. I get enough of the left on mainstream media, and frankly, I hate, despise, and disagree with them 99.999 percent of the time. What's to hear that would "inform" me?

Where fearmongering is, what is your thought on this "WE HAVE TO PASS SOCIALIZED MEDICINE-- ER, HEALTHCARE REFORM NOW"?

Thanks, and I know. I had already decided a while back that this job would be the catalyst. I'm not really upset -- at least it wasn't another "thanks-but-no-thanks" letter. Those are harder to take. What this DOES mean is some new work clothes are going back. :laugh:

I can when what they're saying I've been watching happen for a while.

Well at least you're smiling!

That's REALLY not a bad idea! lol

This problem is much larger than anything I referenced or you expounded on. I know this and am not ignorant enough to believe otherwise. These are simply my peeves, peeves that, if rectified, I believe would go a looooong way to getting this country redirected in a forward fashion. First and foremost, I don't give a rat's ass (not directed at you) how hard illegals work (and they're not immigrants, they're illegal. Even illegal immigrant works, but please don't disrespect those immigrants who followed the rules and came here the proper way.). Any work they are doing is likely taking work away from Americans. I know people in the building industry who lost jobs because they couldn't do it for what the shoddy illegal was willing to do it for, while living five families to a three-room house. I am supportive of immigration, just LEGAL immigration. There's a right and a wrong way to do it. I mean, would you let some asshole walk into your house on his own accord and stay there, eating your food and running up your bills so long as he was hard-working while mowing your lawn? I would guess not. Well, America is my house. They are interlopers, thieves, and no good. As for companies hiring them, darned tootin' I hold them responsible too. Though I am not for telling companies how to run their business or determining that CEO's should only make X amount of dollars, at the same time they are also ruining this country by sending jobs offshore and/or hiring illegals. Those doing it are dispicable. However, I'm sure SOME of them were forced to go the illegal route because their competition could offer passable (not superior, passable) work for less money. If there was a viable way to shore up that hole in the boat without it taking the form of fines, which would only be passed on to us, I'd be all over it. As for the price I pay for apples, I can't control that (unless I don't buy them). However, when I was at a stage in my life where I needed lawn care, I flat-out refused to pay for illegals to do it. There was a boy down the street who was saving to go to college, and I hired him for every little (or big) job I had. In that way, my money was going to something worthwhile. As for entitlements, not ONE SINGLE PERSON alive is entitled to an entitlement, unless it is our servicemen and -women, our police, our firefighters, or our vets. I may be able to think of one or two more, but I really REALLY hate the word "entitlement." By its very definition it claims that somebody deserves something that they, in fact, do not. I'll tell you why I think government handouts are a huge reason for apathy -- maybe not THE reason, but a huge one. Once people realize that they don't HAVE to work for something anymore, many choose not to. Some would rather live with less if they can get it for "free" than have a bit more and work for it. Even animals, which, on average, are much less intelligent than humans, UNlearn very quickly how to forage for food if it is readily available through human intervention. Laziness in our country has been rewarded with government handouts. Illigitimate births have been rewarded with government handouts. Illegal aliens have been rewarded with government handouts. Once people realize they can get other people's money for doing NOTHING, most of them (unless they have ANY pride or decency whatsoever) remain on it, only to show their kids how to screw the system as well. I absolutely believe that government handouts (not entitlements, handouts -- because that is what they are) have greatly contributed to this problem. The REAL problem is, once more than 51 percent of Americans are getting handouts, what will happen then? I think those on the fence and truly fed up will give up working. Why bother? Some will have the mentality that they should partake in what others have been getting for generations. Who will then fund all these "entitlements"??

VERY cool! Haven't even heard of them. I'll have to do some looking. They're a bit pricey.

So Diva, what is it about the shoes? I went to the Kohls link and it doesn't say WHY they make you feel like you worked out more. What do you know about them?

Okay, this gave me a giggle so I thought I'd share: Guts or Balls??? There is a medical distinction between the two. We've all heard about people having guts or balls, but do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the definitions are listed below. GUTS is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being met by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to ask, "Are you still cleaning, or are you flying somewhere?" BALLS is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife on the butt and having the balls to say, "You're next, chubby!" I hope this clears up any confusion on the definitions. Medically speaking, there is no difference in the outcome. Both result in a long stay in the hospital. *sorry, it wasn't cutting and pasting right so I had to type it out

Hahaha, you couldn't offend me. I know what you're saying. But omg, take that back!! Back to TEXAS?? I was SO happy when I left! Maybe if I was somewhere other than Houst-- scratch that, I don't miss Texas. I really LOVE it here, but yes, it's very expensive to live here. For now I think for my own sanity I have to just focus on school and nothing else. Otherwise I just feel depressed and overwhelmed.

I'll try to present my case better today (I'm just so damn frustrated these days that, yes, my knee-jerk reaction IS to ditch all programs) and try to sound reasonable while doing so. Should many programs be ditched? Yes. Should all? No. However, I am of the mindset that if you abuse it, you use drugs or alcohol while on it, you get caught cheating, stealing, or in any way manipulating the system, if you are a criminal or become a criminal while on services, it's a one strike and you're out. If you can't prove you live here LEGALLY, I don't care if you're bleeding in the friggin' street, you get NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. We are bleeding here and can't take care of our own, yet we have to take care of thieves who don't belong here? I don't think so. If you get services and are able-bodied, you WILL work. I heard somebody on the radio yesterday mention something I could live with: Start out working one day a week, then after a period of time that is reasonable, they begin working two days a week, and so on and so on until they are working full-time. If you choose to have babies while ON welfare, you get cut off (unless you give the child up for adoption). There is free birth control on virtually every corner (ALSO paid for by tax dollars). Use it or lose everything. Let your mama take care of you because I WON'T. I think the biggest problem we have in this country is the utter apathy of so many. And that apathy has been CREATED by the government hand-outs, in my opinion. There was a time when legal immigrants came here with nothing in their pockets, and by sheer willpower and determination, they made it work. They worked hard, they learned the language, and they became productive members of society. Very few sat around just waiting for handouts. If they chose to do so, they probably died. I feel if you're able-bodied and choose to sit around collecting your monthly check while watching cable and drinking beer all the time, you are worthless to society and I frankly don't give a crap what happens to you. You can starve, you can rot, you can fall off the earth for all I care. I care NOTHING for you. Every tax dollar of mine that is going to feed and clothe and house your fat ass is a dollar that is taken away from me and mine. The fact is, there has always been the poor. There always WILL be the poor. Redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor does not make the poor any less poor -- it just makes the rich, those who have worked for it (because let's be real, what's considered "rich" these days is not what I would consider rich) less rich. It is NOT my job to be my brother's keeper. It is NOT my job to be sure that some loser on the street has cable TV or food on their table. If they can't do that for themselves, then they are a useless waste of space, in my opinion. I know it's harsh, but I don't care. I am NOT a bleedin' heart, and I know this about myself. And I'm fine with it. If we were talking about a relatively minimal percentage of society that this referred to, it could more easily be ignored. But our states are DYING, and I see many of the reasons they are dying. And the answer is NOT to continue pouring good money after bad on the lowlifes and illegals while cutting services to the poor sap who is sitting here footing the frikken' farken' bill! Okay, I'm sure I don't sound as reasonable as I had hoped, but damnit, I've had enough of this already.

Job -- not gonna happen. I used this job as my cut-off... if it didn't happen, it was my clue that school full-time will be it. Home life is okay... just bummed. I haven't recovered from this past weekend. I don't do well when things are up in the air. I'm one that likes to know what's happening. And I won't lie, a full load of classes scares the bejesus out of me. I've never done it before, and I want to succeed.

Omg, you look HAWT!!!!!