Joining the gym

Thanks to Olga Quinn

I decided to join the gym in November. I was trying to work out at home or at the park, but with two kids, it just was not happening. I knew that if I joined the gym and was paying for it, then I would make it a priority to work out consistently. When I joined, the gym staff told me that they had a new member challenge going on. All I had to do was go to the gym 20 times in the first two months. Last night I completed the challenge and I received a free t-shirt and gym bag. They also took my picture and told me that they were going to put it on their facebook page. It’s a good thing we have clearwirelessinternet because I was able to see the picture when I got home and luckily it did not look so bad. I also looked online to see the new class schedule for the gym because they did not have any paper copies of it when I was there. I am really enjoying going to the gym because I am starting to get back in shape and I have some time to myself each day.

Typhoon Sendong aftermath

Here are more pictures of the destruction and heartbreaking deaths from Typhoon Sendong in the Philippines. The pictures speak a thousand words.

Dumaguerte City Philippines Typhoon

I guess it will not be a very Merry Christmas in some parts of the Philippines this year. A huge Typhoon (Bagyong) hit the southern Philippines very near where Ana used to live. Typhoons don't usually go this far south, but this one did. Her family and friends came through it okay, I wish I could say the same for some other families. I read that somewhere around 700 people were killed and 29 people lost their lives in Dumaguete! I down loaded a new video requesting help. If you're reading this post, please help them if you can, and by all means, pass this video on. We need to get the word out to everyone connected in any way to the Philippines. Just take a look at the flooding and destruction...amazing.
Dumaguete is the home of Silliman University and known as the "City Of Gentle People". It is located about 400 miles south of Manila in the Providence of Negros Oriental
Check back as I'll update video/info as it comes in.

Santa's coming to town!

Well, it's almost Christmas once again...wasn't it the 4TH of July just last week? LOL Man , I can't get over how time flies.
Anyway I want to report to you that Ana has completed her class just this past week. Her instructor told her that she had done so well that she didn't even need to take her final exam if she didn't want to and still get an "A"!!! Wow! How wonderful Ana. Keep going kid-o, you're making all of us so proud of you. Hey, I went to college (way back when) and never did that well...um...smarty pants! LOL
It's quite cold here in Michigan today. Tiana is catching a cold, so the kids will most likely stay inside today, even though they would love to go outside. Next week, they only go to school until Wednesday, then they're off until the 3RD of January. They both sang in the school choir yesterday. Each class sang Christmas songs for the parents. It was great, we had a wonderful time. I would imagine that Ana will post some pictures soon.
Well I guess that I'm out of things to say, so I'll get this posted for you. I'll try to post once again before Christmas, but if I don't, have a wonderful Christmas!
Nice song, the pictures remind me of the Philippines...enjoy.

Grandmothers Surprise

Guest post by Dana Osborn
We were curious about direct tv packages because we wanted to get a package for my grandmother for Christmas. During our last visit, she complained of her cable service and said she was going to disconnect it because she was so dissatisfied. My grandmother is an avid classic movie lover and she still gets all giddy when she sees an old black and white on TCM. Working closely with my mother as a partner in crime, we are having the system installed while my grandmother is gone. Just for fun, we are going to wait and see how long it takes for her to notice the big change and if she can figure out who did it. Do we have a sense of humor or what? Fortunately, my grandmother is a good sport and I know she will be thrilled with our gift. Now if only everyone on my gift giving list could give me a great idea then this would all be a piece ofcakeand I would be finished!

Thanksgiving in America!

Happy "THANKSGIVING" everyone!

Raising taxes for Special Education

Voting day here in Michigan. Short ballot, just a few measures to vote on, such as increased property taxes for parks and special education for handicapped children. This is why I had to vote today, you see, we have two children who are handicapped. One has a physical deformity in her leg, the other has a mild case of Autism.
You know it's one thing to have one child with some sport of handicap, yet another when you have two. Don't get me wrong, I would never complain. These two are the greatest and after being around them you don't even notice their problems. The only real problem is, the one with Autism needs special education, so she has to be taught by a special education teacher which costs extra $$$. We're not rich so she has to be schooled through our community school system and they are running out of funds do to the economy. This is why it was so extraordinary important to vote today. The community has to pass a small tax increase in order to maintain special education. Without this measure passing, I don't know what will happen.We should get that answer soon however. I hope that this small tax increase passes so they don't have to cut something else to keep special education going.
For those of you interested in the outcome, I will post the election results soon.

Election Results: Special Education Tax "Failed" 60,000 for...65,000 against.

Ma, wherever you are, I'm thinking of you today...this song is for you.

Moving to Calgary, start here first

I know that most of you don't know that my Father was from Canada, Ontario to be exact. We live in Detroit where he came years ago for employment in the Auto Industry, consequently he met my Mother here. Just in case you don't know, Detroit boarders Canada. We can look at each other across the Detroit river, we live that close to one another. The two countries are connected by the Ambassador bridge and a tunnel under the river. People cross daily from one country to another mostly because they work in each others country.
One of the reasons that I wanted to post about this today is because of the economy. Families are on the move, chasing jobs because everything has gone global. I wanted to fill you in a little about the Detroit Canada connection because there are so many Canadians living in this area, many will return home someday or at least travel back and forth. I know from my own family that this has happened many times. You always want to go home for one reason or another.
Now that I told you that, I want to pass on some information to the families that are planning to relocate back to Calgary. You know that you 'll need all the information that you can get before you go in order to give yourself the best chance of a smooth transition.
Keeping what I just said in mind, just the other day I was checking something out on the Internet when I came across a website that lists homes and apartment rentals in Calgary
and the surrounding area. Surely we have families living in the Detroit area that could use this information if they're relocating there in the near future. I know from our own experience, when we moved here from the west coast we spent way too much time living in a motel @ $300.00 a week looking for an apartment, which took a few weeks before we found something acceptable. Had we been able to secure an apartment or a house initially, just think of how much money we could have saved, not to mention time.
I always want to share any helpful information that I come across and pass it along to my Canadian friends. So if you are relocating, or you know of someone who is planning to relocate to the Calgary area, please let them know about this unique website before they go. We all have an obligation to stick together in these tough times. and I don't want anybody to spend one dime more than they need to. Whenever you move anywhere it's always a good idea to do all that you can do to make your move as painless to your family as possible., Secure an apartment or house before you go and you'll save yourself a lot of headaches.

Today is Hannah's Birthday!

Well today is Hannah's Birthday, she's 5 years old today...Yipeeee! Boy does time go by fast. It seems like only yesterday that she came into the world, and what a world she came into...war, hunger, hate, world economies on the verge of collapse, even college seems to be only a dream with the high cost of education today. What has gone wrong anyway?
When I was a kid everyone had a dream...maybe to be a Fireman, Police Officer,Teacher or Nurse If you wanted to go to college, that too was within reach. But now that the world has changed so much many kids may not get that chance. Good jobs are leaving our shores because of cheaper labor in places like China and Mexico, the jobs that are still here don't pay enough to get by, so many famlies have to work more than one job(if they can get one) just to make ends meet. This is no way for anyone to have to live, so something has to change
I just hope that by the time Hannah grows up, things will improve and we'll have learned from our mistakes. We all have an obligation to solve our problems and make this a better world for our children.
That's about it for today friends, I have to go now and pick Hannah's Birthday cake up now. Have a wonderful weekend.

Excellent teen clothing store!

I guess many of you know that Ana and I have two young daughters. Every time we look for clothes for them we wind up going to our local Mall. Sears is there along with many other clothing stores. As I walk through the Mall I notice many young people looking very smart in their outfits, so I had to ask myself, wait a minute, I haven't seen such clothing at places like Sear etc. so where the heck are they buying them? Everyone wants their children to be up with the latest fashion, our children are no different. Want to get a real downer, just buy something that is "on sale" and going out of fashion, then send them to school, surprise!
Now lets cut to the chase and get to the point of what I'm trying to say. I had to know where all those cool looking clothes such as guys jeans were coming from, so I had to ask someone. The answer I got was right in front of me all along. Believe it or not, it turned out to be a store at our Mall we had walked past many times without giving it a second thought. The teens knew where to go though, not only for the gals but for the guys as well. Teens want to be the first to be wearing the latest fashions, to stand out from the crowd and look great. Parents, you too make out on the deal by saving a ton of money because of great deals. Okay, now comes the the big secret....it's a store called AERPOSTALE! I can't tell you how many times we not only walked by this store, but there's an ice cream stand right in front of it where we always go for a cone before going home. Low and behold we never noticed it before, I guess because I'm an adult and teens just don't tell their parents where they like to shop.
Anyway, since the holidays are right around the corner this would be a good place to keep in mind for gifts for that teenager in your family. Remember, this store is always on the cutting edge in fashion, so you can't go wrong with whatever you choose. Have a look, you'll buy!