Friday, December 30, 2011

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday


http://mymemories.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2db59f577e9668b002ca5c0af&id=9a2b073f70&e=aaa5ac808b

Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created! Remember you dont have to have the My Memories Suite to use these templates.


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount STMMMS94069

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Been gone a long long time...

but I'm back at least for this post LOL.  I'm covering for people on vacation at work so blogging will be sporatic but I will be back with more photos soon!  Hope everyone had a lovely holiday and didnt gain too much weight snacking on all that wonderful homemade food.  Nothing much going on here just working and wondering how cold it can get without any ice or snow...hmmm.

Here's  an old photo from the 40's.  It has kind of crappy shadows but the people you can see from left to right are:  My aunt Dee, Great Aunt Jess, My Grandma.  The little girl in the front is my Aunt Teena.  We havent figured out who the goofy boy is in front but mom figures he's a cousin but she wasnt sure and neither was Aunt Teena.   Oh my how the mind goes after you hit 70 LOL.  Give them a few years and they will remember who it is and how he's related.  Arent the dresses they have on lovely?

Until next time, when my fingers will be nubs from all the typing I'm doing, this is Denise signing out!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday


http://mymemories.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=2db59f577e9668b002ca5c0af&id=ed46d493ac&e=aaa5ac808b

Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created!  Remember you dont have to have the My Memories Suite to use these templates.


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount STMMMS94069

Friday, December 16, 2011

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday



http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3


Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created!


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount STMMMS94069

Sunday, December 11, 2011

ALERT -- Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Used at U.S. Airports

The European Commission has banned X-ray body scanners that use “backscatter” radiation technology from airports, “in order to not risk jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety” – but they are still in use in the United States

  • Backscatter X-ray scanners expose your body to ionizing radiation, which causes cumulative DNA damage that can lead to cancer


  • Because the scanners’ X-ray beams are concentrated on your skin, not distributed throughout the volume of your entire body, there is concern that the dose to your skin could be dangerously high


  • The former Homeland Security chief and co-author of the PATRIOT Act, Michael Chertoff, is one of the primary promoters of full-body scanners, and is a paid consultant for the companies that sell them


  • You always have the right to opt-out of X-ray body scanners while traveling and can choose to have a pat-down instead; if enough people choose to opt-out, it may prompt the scanners to be removed from U.S. airports


  • Read entire article here:  http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2011/12/01/europe-bans-x-ray-body-scanners.aspx?e_cid=20111211_SNL_MS_1

    Saturday, December 10, 2011

    Scrapbooking Freebie Friday - Late sorry!



    http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1


    Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created!


    All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

    Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount STMMMS94069

    Thursday, December 8, 2011

    More family photos

    This is a pic of my granddad.  He is the handsome fellow in the middle.  Notice they are all smoking.  This must have been a special occasion since they seem to be wearing pretty nice clothes and they are standing in front of a mine.  My granddad worked in the coal mines probably when this photo was taken about the 1910-1920's. 

    I would have...

    posted a pic of the wonderful beef barley stew I made yesterday for supper last night but it seems like it's all gone...I only had two small bowls so some mice must have come along and ate the rest of it cause I know my hubby would not have eaten the rest of the crockpot full....

    Here is the recipe so you can experience it for yourself:

    2 carrots diced
    2 celery spears diced (are they called spears? I dont remember I'm having a menopause moment)
    1 small onion diced
    Stew meat (add as much or as little as you would like, I used 1/2 lb)
    Stock beef or chicken (I used chicken) enough to cover
    1/2 cup pearled barley

    Put all in crockpot and cook for 8 hours on low.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

    Now I must admit I screwed up my chicken noodle soup when I canned it.  I didnt know you werent supposed to put the noodles in too so needless to say the noodles turned to mush (another menopause moment ;)  So I just drained off the broth and used it in the beef barley stew and threw the noodles away.  It worked great!  See I didnt waste too much...Ok you can stop laughing now.  Now if you put the barley in first thing it will be big and soft so if you like your barley a little bit more al dente (oooh big Italian word) add it during the last hour of cooking and it should be fine. 

    By the way the stewing meat we got from Trinity Farms not far from where we are.  It was pasture raised and the meat tastes great so to give them a plug...check out their website http://www.trinityfarmsofalabama.com/  They also raise pigs for slaughter as well.  I got some pig fat to make some lard from them.  Half a side of beef filled our freezer so we are set for meat for the winter, and spring, and fall and winter...two people just dont eat that much in a setting well unless it's beef barley stew LOL.

    Talk to ya later!

    Denise

    Food Democracy Now - Stop Traceability for Livestock Program

    Dear Friend,

    Once again the Obama administration is proposing burdensome regulations that will disproportionally harm family farmers while factory farmers get an intentional break. If you thought NAIS (the National Animal Identification System) was dead, think again! Right now the Obama administration is attempting to sneak a scaled-down version of a new "Traceability for Livestock" program onto farms across the U.S. through a new backdoor proposed USDA regulation.

    Just like last time, the group ID is alive for factory farms, saving them lots of money, while family farmers and those who raise a few animals, like backyard chickens, will face the expense and burden of individually tagging their animals if they cross state lines.

    The USDA's proposed new "traceability" rule will act like a driver's license for your backyard chicken or an ID card for a cow in Western Iowa crossing the border into Eastern Nebraska. If Obama gets away with it, this new Animal Identification rule will act like a tax on every livestock animal that crosses state lines - something that happens THOUSANDS a times a day in the United States!

    Click on the link below to protect our farms and our right to own animals by submitting your comments today! DEADLINE for comments is COB Friday, December 9.

    We need them to hear your voice today. Please spread the word.

    http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/stop_new_animal_ID/?referring_akid=.316027.i2JQ5M&source=taf

    Wednesday, December 7, 2011

    More family photos

    I dug out an oldy but goody here.  This is my grandmother's family, the Andersons from the early 1900's.  My grandmother is the little girl in white in the front.  She was born in 1899.

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011

    More family holiday photos

    I found some more!

    This is my crazy brother and our dog Princess.  This was taken in the late 70's.

    This is a pic of my mom's sisters.  Left to right:  Aunt Dee, Aunt Teena, Aunt Jean and my mom.  Yes they are all from the same parents...my mom takes after my grandfather's side of the family and she is the youngest.  This was taken around Easter but I'm just guessing since Aunt Teena is wearing a rabbit on her sweatshirt.

    Monday, December 5, 2011

    Christmas pictures

    I thought I would post some family photos from holidays past so here we go.  Try not to make too much fun of our hair and outfits OK? LOL

    This is the adult's table.  Left to right:  My Aunt Teena, my mom, Uncle Bob, Uncle Don, my dad, Aunt Dee, Aunt Jean and Uncle Gene is behind the camera.  Aunt Dee and Uncle Don are no longer with us.

    This is the kid's table.  Didnt matter how old we got we had to sit at the kid's table LOL.  Left to right:  Scott (Jen's husband), Arielle (Jen's little girl), Jennifer (my cousin), my hubby, me and in front is Josh (Jen's oldest).  My brother, Jen's sister, and Linda and Pam (my other cousins).  Josh and Arielle are all grown up.  These pics were taken in the late 80's. 

    I'll try to find some more.

    Sound Living

    Almost daily we read in the press expressions from every part of the country indicating that what people are seeking most strenuously today is some sort of firm foundation upon which to build for the future.  Probably each one of us feels hopeful that the days to come are destined to be better days than any we have previously known.  However, we are undoubtedly each wondering how a sane basis of economy in government and business is to be finally reached, and once attained, how it is to be preserved. 

    There is no doubt that for many years we have been following false ideals to an alarming extent:  The man or woman doomed to a quiet, wholesome, steady and dutiful mode of living was to be pitied; one who took thought for the morrow, or questioned where all the hectic living was leading, was regarded as oldfashioned and a kill-joy into the bargain.  But fortunately for all of us many of these ideas and valuations appear to be changing.  People generally seem to be reaching out for a sense of soundness for themselves and for the country, to insure the long pull ahead.  This is encouraging, for there is after all nothing which can quite compare with the firm satisfaction of knowing that one is doing his duty as best he sees it, and is keeping his conscience clear by wholesome living.

    It appears evident that we as a people, without in the least decrying the value of sane recreation, are nevertheless becoming oldfashioned enough to wish to trade much of the get-rich-quick splendor, and night club glamour, for the ways of life which lead to a wholesome self-respect, a quiet mind, and the happy enjoyment of the simpler things of life.  And if the depression which has been such a burden to most of us results in the reversal of the conditions which provoked it, how can we regret it too deeply if the final result is to bring us to a realization of the truly worth-while things in life. 

    Editorial from Needlecraft The Home Arts Magazine February 1935.

    Amazing that they were thinking then what most of us are thinking now...

    Friday, December 2, 2011

    Vitamin D

    A meta-analysis of 50 trials looking at mortality rates for “doctor recommended” synthetic vitamin D2 supplements versus natural vitamin D3 shows a six percent risk reduction among those who used D3, compared to a two percent increased risk among those who used D2
  • Research shows vitamin D3 is approximately 87 percent more potent in raising and maintaining vitamin D concentrations and produces 2- to 3-fold greater storage of vitamin D than does D2. D3 is also converted into its active form 500 percent faster

  • Optimizing your vitamin D levels may be one of the most important steps you can take in support of your long-term health. The ideal way to do this is by exposing large amounts of skin to sunlight or a safe tanning bed, but if you need to use an oral supplement, make sure you’re taking vitamin D3

  • The most important factor is your vitamin D serum level, which should ideally be between 50-70 ng/ml. When taking an oral vitamin D supplement, you should take enough to reach and maintain this therapeutic level. As a generic guideline, adults need to take about 8,000 IU’s a day to reach this level


  • Read entire article here:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/30/taking-the-right-type-of-vitamin-d.aspx?e_cid=20111130_DNL_art_1

    Scrapbooking Freebie Friday



    http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3





    Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created!  Remember, you dont have to have the My Memories software to use this freebie!


    All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

    Thursday, December 1, 2011

    Hardrock, Coco and Joe

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PvZZO_0qHM

    Another oldy but goody!  Used to see this every year on KDKA in Pittsburgh...

    NIA blog post - 11/9/11

    ECB Preparing Italy Bailout, Massive Inflation Coming

    Italy’s 10 year bond yields rose above 7% on Wednesday and economists from around the world are now proclaiming that these interest rates are unsustainable with Italy’s national debt now 120% of its GDP. NIA believes the ECB is currently working on their largest bailout in history where they will commit to purchasing over €1 trillion of Italian bonds and bonds of other eurozone countries that are at risk of becoming insolvent. Despite the signals currently being given by the ECB, they will not allow Italy to fail because it will cause a Great Depression throughout the European Union, which will lead to the destruction of the eurozone.
    Economists today fail to realize that 10 year bond yields of 7% are normal for not just Italy, but the rest of the eurozone and the United States. If it wasn’t for the ECB holding their benchmark interest rate at artificially low levels for over a decade, Italy and other eurozone countries wouldn’t have the high levels of debt they do today and they would be able to withstand yields of 7% or higher. The ECB is entirely at fault for the European Debt Crisis and they are about to follow in the footsteps of the Federal Reserve by abandoning their objective of maintaining price stability and keeping inflation low.
    German 10 year bond yields declined again today to 1.72% and the spread between Germany and Italy is at a new record of 553 basis points. Germany is benefiting from safe haven buying from investors selling Italian bonds and buying German bonds, but investors will soon realize that German bonds are no better than Italian bonds and the world will dump all Euro denominated bonds.
    Bond investors currently expect very little inflation in the eurozone, as seen by Germany’s low bond yields. The sole reason for the large spread between German and Italian bonds is Italy’s greater risk of default. However, a default by Italy would lead to the failure of Germany’s largest banks. Germany knows this but they don’t want to raise inflation expectations by making the world think that the ECB will be monetizing Italy’s debt. Therefore, Germany is now telling Italy to request aid from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) if needed.
    Unfortunately, the EFSF doesn’t have the financial resources to rescue a country the size of Italy. Last week, the EFSF had to cancel a €3 billion auction of 10 year bonds due to a lack of investor interest. On Monday, the EFSF finally had the bond sale, but was met with subdued interest that barely covered the €3 billion in bonds being offered. So far the EFSF has only raised a total of €13 billion through bond sales, but has received €440 billion in guarantees from eurozone countries. If Italy becomes a recipient of EFSF funding, the EFSF will lose one of their largest contributors.
    The EFSF is looking to leverage up its €440 billion in funding to over €1 trillion. The European Debt Crisis was caused by too much leverage and debt. It is complete insanity to believe that the EFSF is going to solve the debt crisis when it too is getting deeply into debt and planning to use huge leverage to increase their funds available for bailouts.
    There was recently a report that a proposal was made at the G20 summit last week in Cannes for Germany and other leading countries in the eurozone to pool together their foreign currency reserves including their gold reserves to back the EFSF, which would allow it to easily leverage up their funds and raise more money through bond sales. As soon as this report surfaced, Germany immediately announced to the world that they will not be using their gold reserves to boost the EFSF and that their gold reserves are “untouchable”.
    Germany’s unwillingness to use their gold reserves clearly shows that gold is the real safe haven where individuals should store their savings if they want to keep their purchasing power. Investors buying German 10 year bonds with a yield of only 1.72% should ask themselves why Germany is willing to fund the EFSF with Euros but not their gold. Maybe investors will come to their senses and change their mind about buying any Euro denominated bonds.
    For the past decade there has been a bond bubble in both Europe and the U.S. where we have seen bond yields at artificially low levels for an unprecedented amount of time. This has caused modern economists to believe that low bond yields are the new normal. When central banks interfere in the free market by manipulating interest rates to artificially low levels, it creates asset bubbles that eventually burst. When asset bubbles burst, the free market takes over and attempts to correct the damage by raising interest rates to extremely high levels, which encourages consumers to reduce their consumption and increase their savings.
    NIA believes that over the next five years, 10 year bond yields will reach double digit territory throughout the eurozone and the U.S. The free market wants countries like Greece and Italy to default on their debts and restructure them, which is why their bond yields are rising so high. Although Greece and Italy have the highest debt levels in the eurozone as a percentage of GDP, the whole entire eurozone borrowed too much and has too much debt. Germany and France both know that the failure of Italy will spread to them when German and French banks with Italian debt begin to fail. The EFSF will soon be exposed as a failure itself when it is unable to attract the funding necessary to rescue eurozone countries in need of bailouts. Unless the ECB decides to bailout eurozone countries through the EFSF by buying their bonds, the ECB will be forced to directly monetize debts across the entire eurozone.
    Even though the destruction of the eurozone seems imminent, NIA believes it will take time to play out. Most likely, in about two or three months from now the media will begin focusing its attention on the U.S. crisis. When the spotlight is off Italy, their bond yields will temporarily dip back down, but U.S. bond yields will skyrocket. The U.S. national debt is very close to breaking 100% of GDP, which will likely be a catalyst for investors to begin dumping their U.S. dollar denominated assets. The U.S. has unfunded liabilities many times the size of Italy’s unfunded liabilities. Including unfunded liabilities, while Italy’s total debts are approximately 300% of their GDP, the U.S. has total debts equaling about 600% of its GDP.
    Austerity cuts are becoming very common in the eurozone and although citizens still protest them, it has become politically acceptable for politicians in Italy and other eurozone countries to support them. Italy’s cash budget deficit as a percentage of GDP is currently only 3.9% and their national debt has been barely growing. The U.S. cash budget deficit as a percentage of GDP is currently 8.7%, more than double Italy, and the U.S. national debt has been growing at a record rate. Americans are used to stimulus over austerity. Members of Congress are too afraid to make necessary spending cuts. The U.S. has a budget deficit from entitlement programs and interest payments on the debt alone.
    The supercommittee created by Congress to recommend $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions by November 23rd, so far hasn’t agreed to make reductions to any entitlement programs. The Democrats and Republicans have so far only reached consensus on changing the way the government calculates inflation for Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) increases. They want to calculate inflation by using a new chain weighted CPI, which will understate inflation even more than the current CPI they use.
    Based on how the current CPI has been miscalculating inflation for decades, Social Security recipients today should be receiving approximately triple their current payments. All Americans should be outraged that the government is planning to once again reduce the deficit through deception, when they should be eliminating wasteful government agencies like the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, and the Department of Homeland Security, while bringing our troops home from the middle east and immediately cutting overseas military spending in half so that we have the resources to better protect ourselves at home.
    The extremely high levels of debt in both Europe and the U.S. need to be liquidated as soon as possible. If Italy can’t sustain itself with 7% interest rates, which is only average on a historical basis, think about how large the crisis will be in the U.S. when interest rates here reach 15% as price inflation spirals out of control. Less than three months ago Italy’s interest rates were below 5%. Fundamentally, Italy’s economy is the same as it was three months ago, but perceptions in the marketplace change quickly. Today, U.S. treasuries are still perceived to be a safe haven, but this will change 180 degrees in no time.
    Just like how the U.S. government understates inflation when calculating COLA adjustments, they also understate inflation when calculating GDP growth. The U.S. recently reported 3Q GDP growth of 1.62% on a year-over-year basis, which used a price deflator of only 2.52%. If they used the real rate of price inflation, they would have reported negative GDP growth. The Federal Reserve just lowered forecasts for U.S. GDP growth in 2012 to between 2.5% and 2.9%, down from a forecast in June of between 3.3% and 3.7%. In order to ensure that we even meet the Fed’s new projections, the Fed will soon be launching QE3. NIA predicts that the Fed will use fears of contagion from the European Debt Crisis as their excuse for launching QE3 in the near-future. Combined with massive inflation from Europe as the ECB monetizes debt to save banks with exposure to Italian bonds, gold will soon skyrocket to new all time highs with silver likely beginning to once again outperform gold.