Several monthes ago, while watching 'Good Eats', a show on the cable tv food channel hosted by Alton Brown, I learned that the primary source of gelatin in the USA is derived from the pig. Maybe everyone else knew this, but I didn't and it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Why did it disturb me? Because I do not eat pork. Here I was abstaining from pig, or thinking I was, and come to find out it was a 'secret' ingredient in some of my favorite foods. Pop tarts, Jello, some yogurts, etc.
I started researching 'pig, the secret ingredient' and found out that pig is in a LOT of the things we eat and use.
Some shampoos, conditioners, skin creams, shaving lotions, etc.
Even if you don't believe that God was talking to you when He said to not mess with the pig, still I would think you would be amazed, perhaps even shocked, to find out that it is so widely used in food products and cosmetics, but yet such an unknown fact.
And if you believe that God truly meant for all of mankind, and not just the Jews and Muslims, to keep away from the pig, then it must seem downright sinister that the use of pig is so secretive and pervasive in the world.
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
The other day I was telling you about the new credit card machine I had to purchase in order to be in compliance with the new law that states that the entire credit card number must not be on the credit card receipt. The reason given for this is to help prevent identity theft.
One of my many arguments regarding the fallacy of this law has to do with Blue Cross Blue Shield, the healthcare giant, and their insistence that your social security number be your membership number. As such, my social security number is on the face of my BCBS card. Anytime that I use my BCBS card, the doctors, hospitals and pharmacies have my social security number written down in their files. Any one who accesses their records, for reasons good or bad, have access to my social security number. As do the people who handle the check I write every other month to pay for my BCBS because my id number/ss number has to be written on the face of my check.
The one number that we are always told to guard with our lives is our social security number. Our ss number unlocks our whole and entire lives and, should it fall into the wrong hands, it has the ability to wreak financial havoc on our lives.
When someone steals our credit card number(s) and criminally uses it to purchase things without our consent, there is no denying that it is a pain in the ass to straighten the mess out. I know firsthand. Someone--I do believe it was the woman who cleaned the office building where I used to rent a suite--stole my credit card number from the trash in my wastebasket. The card was used to purchase things. It took me about a month to get it all cleared up. More recently, someone stole another one of my credit card numbers and used it to purchase music online. Again, it took a few phone calls but I cleared it up.
When my credit card number was stolen, did the thief steal my identity? No, he stole my credit card number. Was it a pain in the butt to clean up? Yes, but I did it and it wasn't terribly difficult. Did it wreak untold havoc on my life? No.
Now if someone were to fraudently use my social security number, well, that would have the potential to wreak untold, possibly everlasting havoc on my life. They could open credit card accounts, rent a house, get a loan to buy a car, etc., all with no intention of their ever paying for the goods. I would be left with a terrible no good very bad mess to try and clean up and it would likely take me a very very very long time to get my life right again.
The more I've thought about this, and you are welcome to disagree with me if you'd like, I think this new law signed into being by President Bush was not intended to help you or me. It was intended to help Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. It was intended to help big business. How? By making it less likely that credit card numbers could be stolen from old charge slips. Making it less likely that criminals could charge goods that the credit card companies would be unable to collect on.
The credit card companies often time try to coerce us into purchasing credit card protection insurance. They claim it will save us from paying for unauthorized charges to our accounts. Fact is, when faced with unauthorized charges to our accounts, it is my belief and experience that we cannot be forced to pay them. Who then eats the loss? Often times the merchant who provided the goods or services. Or even the credit card companies themselves.
If the government really and truly wanted to help keep us safe from identity theft I firmly beieve that they would outlaw the use of our social security numbers from anyone/anything other than what it was originally intended for at its inception.
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
One of my many arguments regarding the fallacy of this law has to do with Blue Cross Blue Shield, the healthcare giant, and their insistence that your social security number be your membership number. As such, my social security number is on the face of my BCBS card. Anytime that I use my BCBS card, the doctors, hospitals and pharmacies have my social security number written down in their files. Any one who accesses their records, for reasons good or bad, have access to my social security number. As do the people who handle the check I write every other month to pay for my BCBS because my id number/ss number has to be written on the face of my check.
The one number that we are always told to guard with our lives is our social security number. Our ss number unlocks our whole and entire lives and, should it fall into the wrong hands, it has the ability to wreak financial havoc on our lives.
When someone steals our credit card number(s) and criminally uses it to purchase things without our consent, there is no denying that it is a pain in the ass to straighten the mess out. I know firsthand. Someone--I do believe it was the woman who cleaned the office building where I used to rent a suite--stole my credit card number from the trash in my wastebasket. The card was used to purchase things. It took me about a month to get it all cleared up. More recently, someone stole another one of my credit card numbers and used it to purchase music online. Again, it took a few phone calls but I cleared it up.
When my credit card number was stolen, did the thief steal my identity? No, he stole my credit card number. Was it a pain in the butt to clean up? Yes, but I did it and it wasn't terribly difficult. Did it wreak untold havoc on my life? No.
Now if someone were to fraudently use my social security number, well, that would have the potential to wreak untold, possibly everlasting havoc on my life. They could open credit card accounts, rent a house, get a loan to buy a car, etc., all with no intention of their ever paying for the goods. I would be left with a terrible no good very bad mess to try and clean up and it would likely take me a very very very long time to get my life right again.
The more I've thought about this, and you are welcome to disagree with me if you'd like, I think this new law signed into being by President Bush was not intended to help you or me. It was intended to help Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. It was intended to help big business. How? By making it less likely that credit card numbers could be stolen from old charge slips. Making it less likely that criminals could charge goods that the credit card companies would be unable to collect on.
The credit card companies often time try to coerce us into purchasing credit card protection insurance. They claim it will save us from paying for unauthorized charges to our accounts. Fact is, when faced with unauthorized charges to our accounts, it is my belief and experience that we cannot be forced to pay them. Who then eats the loss? Often times the merchant who provided the goods or services. Or even the credit card companies themselves.
If the government really and truly wanted to help keep us safe from identity theft I firmly beieve that they would outlaw the use of our social security numbers from anyone/anything other than what it was originally intended for at its inception.
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Be still my beating heart! but I think the Neighbors From Hell are in the process of moving!!
There have been rumors that they had bought a house and were waiting to sign the papers since some time in January, four loooong monthes ago. There would be signs of hope--like when they started packing up huge boxes and piling them in their living room, directly in front of the picture window so all the street could see them--and
then nothing. Then teaser signs again, then nothing.
But as it stands now, the general consensus is that they have moved most of their belongings out. And that's a good thing, a cause to rejoice and celebrate!
Tawny
There have been rumors that they had bought a house and were waiting to sign the papers since some time in January, four loooong monthes ago. There would be signs of hope--like when they started packing up huge boxes and piling them in their living room, directly in front of the picture window so all the street could see them--and
then nothing. Then teaser signs again, then nothing.
But as it stands now, the general consensus is that they have moved most of their belongings out. And that's a good thing, a cause to rejoice and celebrate!
Tawny
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Friday, May 20, 2005
What's that old saying? When it rains it pours. It's pouring big time at my house today.
Okay, yesterday I got the new phone system that I'm struggling to get the hang of. Today the new credit card machine showed up.
Why did I need a new credit card machine? Because your president signed a law that made the old fashioned credit card machines--like the two I'd been using for years--illegal. New law says the credit card number has to be disguised on the credit card receipt. You've probably noticed how only the last four digits of your card show up on store receipts, right? They say it's to prevent identify theft......
All I know for sure is that I am now the proud owner of two obsolete credit card machines that are worth zero, and the new (almost) owner of a brand new machine that has more bells and whistles than my new phone system has!
This new credit card machine that I am struggling to get the hang of will be all mine after six monthly payments of $149.00. Nothing is cheap.
And that identity theft thing? Isn't that just a hoot and a half? I mean, when I make the payment for my health insurance, the contract/id number they've assigned me is my social security number. So everybody who works for Blue Cross Blue Shield has access to it, as does whoever handles the checks I write to pay my premiums with, as does every doctor or hospital or drugstore I have to show my card to in order to get service, etc.
Maybe it's just my wierd thinking, I don't know, but I'm far more concerned about people having my social security number than I am about them having my credit card number.
But instead of making BCBS stop using my social security number for my account number, they make me buy a new credit card machine.
Identity theft protection? Yeah, right.
disbelieving Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Okay, yesterday I got the new phone system that I'm struggling to get the hang of. Today the new credit card machine showed up.
Why did I need a new credit card machine? Because your president signed a law that made the old fashioned credit card machines--like the two I'd been using for years--illegal. New law says the credit card number has to be disguised on the credit card receipt. You've probably noticed how only the last four digits of your card show up on store receipts, right? They say it's to prevent identify theft......
All I know for sure is that I am now the proud owner of two obsolete credit card machines that are worth zero, and the new (almost) owner of a brand new machine that has more bells and whistles than my new phone system has!
This new credit card machine that I am struggling to get the hang of will be all mine after six monthly payments of $149.00. Nothing is cheap.
And that identity theft thing? Isn't that just a hoot and a half? I mean, when I make the payment for my health insurance, the contract/id number they've assigned me is my social security number. So everybody who works for Blue Cross Blue Shield has access to it, as does whoever handles the checks I write to pay my premiums with, as does every doctor or hospital or drugstore I have to show my card to in order to get service, etc.
Maybe it's just my wierd thinking, I don't know, but I'm far more concerned about people having my social security number than I am about them having my credit card number.
But instead of making BCBS stop using my social security number for my account number, they make me buy a new credit card machine.
Identity theft protection? Yeah, right.
disbelieving Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Obviously in my business you need dependable phones. I always buy AT+T phones, they're the only ones that hold up for me. And my phones take a beating. Not only are they on 100 feet of extra line so I can drag them throughout the house and out the side door to the backyard, but it isn't uncommon for me to knock them off the table or just plain drop them. Add to that the fact that I'm talking on them about a gazillion hours a day.
So it wasn't unexpected when the time came that I needed to replace one of them. I prefer a corded phone, a 2-liner, no frills, just a plain phone. Not the easiest thing to find in today's world of gadget hungry consumers.
My first stop was Hello Direct, an online and catalog communication business. I've bought phones from them in the past and they're always a good phone at a good price with speedy delivery. They didn't have what I was looking for. Okay, they did in their catalog, and I orderred two of them, but what showed up at my door wasn't
the plain phone I thought I'd orderred. The phones went back the very next day.
Next stop was Sam's Club. I found an AT+T 2-line phone, corded, built-in answerring machine, speakerphone, caller ID, intercom system, handsfree earpiece, with 2 cordless extensions. Whew! It makes me dizzy just to type all that! Basically, I think the phone system could land planes at the airport!
Yes, it was way more phone than I was looking for, no doubt about it. But I bought it anyway. Approximately $165.00. A great deal. Especially when I'd seen the same phone system in the Hello Direct catalog for approximately $179.00, plus $69 extra for each cordless extension, plus x-amount extra for the cordless earpiece.
I'm not real good with new stuff, at least not right away. So far I have hung up on dozens of people, the hold button isn't in the same spot as on the old phone. But I'm working with it.
Be patient with me when you call, okay?
hugs, Tawny
248-615-1300
So it wasn't unexpected when the time came that I needed to replace one of them. I prefer a corded phone, a 2-liner, no frills, just a plain phone. Not the easiest thing to find in today's world of gadget hungry consumers.
My first stop was Hello Direct, an online and catalog communication business. I've bought phones from them in the past and they're always a good phone at a good price with speedy delivery. They didn't have what I was looking for. Okay, they did in their catalog, and I orderred two of them, but what showed up at my door wasn't
the plain phone I thought I'd orderred. The phones went back the very next day.
Next stop was Sam's Club. I found an AT+T 2-line phone, corded, built-in answerring machine, speakerphone, caller ID, intercom system, handsfree earpiece, with 2 cordless extensions. Whew! It makes me dizzy just to type all that! Basically, I think the phone system could land planes at the airport!
Yes, it was way more phone than I was looking for, no doubt about it. But I bought it anyway. Approximately $165.00. A great deal. Especially when I'd seen the same phone system in the Hello Direct catalog for approximately $179.00, plus $69 extra for each cordless extension, plus x-amount extra for the cordless earpiece.
I'm not real good with new stuff, at least not right away. So far I have hung up on dozens of people, the hold button isn't in the same spot as on the old phone. But I'm working with it.
Be patient with me when you call, okay?
hugs, Tawny
248-615-1300
Friday, May 13, 2005
There's a rumor going around the neighborhood about the Neighbors From Hell that live across the street from me.
It all started back in January.
One of the neighbors said that 'those people' had bought a house and would be moving on the 28th. They said the woman, Rebecca's mother, said she'd been pre-approved for a $145,000 mortgage. Large moving boxes started showing up in their living room window, even their garage was being cleaned out, so we all took it as a good sign and assumed they'd be gone on the 28th of January.
So the 28th of January, February, March and April came and went, but the NFH stayed put.
Two days ago another one of the neighbors said that Rebecca's mother told them that they would be moving in a few days, they were just waiting to sign a few papers.
Today is the 13th and we're counting down. I am ever hopeful that the rumor is true and that they're almost gone.
Keep your fingers crossed, please.
Tawny
It all started back in January.
One of the neighbors said that 'those people' had bought a house and would be moving on the 28th. They said the woman, Rebecca's mother, said she'd been pre-approved for a $145,000 mortgage. Large moving boxes started showing up in their living room window, even their garage was being cleaned out, so we all took it as a good sign and assumed they'd be gone on the 28th of January.
So the 28th of January, February, March and April came and went, but the NFH stayed put.
Two days ago another one of the neighbors said that Rebecca's mother told them that they would be moving in a few days, they were just waiting to sign a few papers.
Today is the 13th and we're counting down. I am ever hopeful that the rumor is true and that they're almost gone.
Keep your fingers crossed, please.
Tawny
Thursday, May 12, 2005
In yesterday's blog entry I was talking about halal foods. As soon as I hit the 'publish' button I knew I had left something out, something that I should have mentioned.
Not only are halal foods pork and alcohol free, the animals that are slaughtered for food must be properly slaughtered, as in accordance with the Holy Quran.
For more information regarding halal, do a google search on the word. There is a ton of information out there. Even if you're not a Muslim or a non-pork eater I think you will find it really interesting reading.
We can all stand to learn a new thing or two.
hugs--
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Not only are halal foods pork and alcohol free, the animals that are slaughtered for food must be properly slaughtered, as in accordance with the Holy Quran.
For more information regarding halal, do a google search on the word. There is a ton of information out there. Even if you're not a Muslim or a non-pork eater I think you will find it really interesting reading.
We can all stand to learn a new thing or two.
hugs--
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
This morning I picked up a copy of the free alternative weekly newspaper available in the metro Detroit area--MetroTimes--www.metrotimes.com if
you're interested in reading it online.
While it often times has a really good article or two per issue, this weeks' copy spoke about a blog written by Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan. The blog www.juancole.com provides a "comprehensive wrap-up of reports from a multinational array of news sources with analysis by Cole...". It's an interesting blog, you just might enjoy reading it.
Another good site, this one if you're looking to get an understanding of Islam, is www.soundvision.com. They have many links that are interesting and informative.
For the past few weeks I've been searching for a source for marshmallows that aren't made from the typical pork- based gelatin that is widely used here in the US.
I began by looking in the various health food stores in the area and came up blank. Then I did an internet search googling under vegetarian/vegan marshmallows, then kosher ones, and finally halal marshmallows. For those who are't familiar with the word 'halal' it designates foods that are pork and alcohol free and approved for consumption by Muslims.
Being that the metro Detroit area has, I do believe, the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East, once I discoverred that there was such a thing as halal marshmallows finding them became easy. In fact, it's so easy that there is a store here in Farmington Hills that carries them.
Now I'm not a big marshmallow eater but the children of my best friend are. For religous reasons they, as well as me, do not eat pork. After watching a show on the FoodTv cable channel hosted by Alton Brown, much to my dismay I discovered that the bulk of commercial gelatin made, used and available to consumers in the US is derived from pork. Oh dear.
If that isn't bad enough, Pop Tarts have gelatin in them! Strawberry Pop Tarts are, scratch that, USED to be my all time favorite snack food.
Further research has shown that many many many other foods also have the dreaded and forbidden pork-based gelatin in them. Marshmallows, Jello, some yogurts, some ice cream, etc. I have had to become a devout label reader.
It all sort of rminds me of when I was a child and my family was involved in the nationwide boycott of Campbell soup, and by extension all of the companies that were either owned by Campbell or owned Campbell. I became a superlative label reader back then, tracking company to company to make sure we weren't helping to support an entity that was breaking the backs of migrant farm workers by paying them lower than low wages while reaping record profits.
It's not always easy trying to do what you think is right.
hugs--
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
you're interested in reading it online.
While it often times has a really good article or two per issue, this weeks' copy spoke about a blog written by Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan. The blog www.juancole.com provides a "comprehensive wrap-up of reports from a multinational array of news sources with analysis by Cole...". It's an interesting blog, you just might enjoy reading it.
Another good site, this one if you're looking to get an understanding of Islam, is www.soundvision.com. They have many links that are interesting and informative.
For the past few weeks I've been searching for a source for marshmallows that aren't made from the typical pork- based gelatin that is widely used here in the US.
I began by looking in the various health food stores in the area and came up blank. Then I did an internet search googling under vegetarian/vegan marshmallows, then kosher ones, and finally halal marshmallows. For those who are't familiar with the word 'halal' it designates foods that are pork and alcohol free and approved for consumption by Muslims.
Being that the metro Detroit area has, I do believe, the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East, once I discoverred that there was such a thing as halal marshmallows finding them became easy. In fact, it's so easy that there is a store here in Farmington Hills that carries them.
Now I'm not a big marshmallow eater but the children of my best friend are. For religous reasons they, as well as me, do not eat pork. After watching a show on the FoodTv cable channel hosted by Alton Brown, much to my dismay I discovered that the bulk of commercial gelatin made, used and available to consumers in the US is derived from pork. Oh dear.
If that isn't bad enough, Pop Tarts have gelatin in them! Strawberry Pop Tarts are, scratch that, USED to be my all time favorite snack food.
Further research has shown that many many many other foods also have the dreaded and forbidden pork-based gelatin in them. Marshmallows, Jello, some yogurts, some ice cream, etc. I have had to become a devout label reader.
It all sort of rminds me of when I was a child and my family was involved in the nationwide boycott of Campbell soup, and by extension all of the companies that were either owned by Campbell or owned Campbell. I became a superlative label reader back then, tracking company to company to make sure we weren't helping to support an entity that was breaking the backs of migrant farm workers by paying them lower than low wages while reaping record profits.
It's not always easy trying to do what you think is right.
hugs--
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Monday, May 09, 2005
It was a really pretty day here today. Sunshiney, breezey, close to 80, no humidity! About as perfect as it can get.
I cooked dinner outside on the barbecue grill--asparagus, mushrooms, onions and beef bratwursts. I marinated the veggies in Balsamic Italian Vinaigrette dressing (Wishbone), then basted them with the marinade as they grilled. Wow! that's good stuff. The brats I brushed with barbecue sauce. When everything was cooked I ate on the patio. Dessert was left over homemade peach cobbler.
Earlier today I stopped in at the library to dop off my due books and check out some more. There were helium ballons all over the place, the staff was celebrating the passage of last week's library millage. According to a sign on the door, because the millage passed, library hours will be fully restored by July 1st. I'm glad the hours are going to be restored, I think it's appalling when a library locks its doors on the people, but I'm unhappy about the millage. Taxes are already too high. And I felt like the library folks laid a gangster move on us to get the millage passed.
I spent most of the day working on paperwork and writing checks. Not much fun, but at least it's all pretty much done. Another couple of hours tomorrow and I should be able to see the top of my desk.
I wanted to watch a show on PBS tonight, a tribute to George Jones, but I got caught up on the phone. Numerous singers were paying homage to George by singing his songs--Randy Travis to name but one. I think it was a repeat but PBS does a lot of repeating so hopefully I'll catch it next time it's on. George Jones is one of my favorite country singers.
Gotta go, the phone.......
Tawny
I cooked dinner outside on the barbecue grill--asparagus, mushrooms, onions and beef bratwursts. I marinated the veggies in Balsamic Italian Vinaigrette dressing (Wishbone), then basted them with the marinade as they grilled. Wow! that's good stuff. The brats I brushed with barbecue sauce. When everything was cooked I ate on the patio. Dessert was left over homemade peach cobbler.
Earlier today I stopped in at the library to dop off my due books and check out some more. There were helium ballons all over the place, the staff was celebrating the passage of last week's library millage. According to a sign on the door, because the millage passed, library hours will be fully restored by July 1st. I'm glad the hours are going to be restored, I think it's appalling when a library locks its doors on the people, but I'm unhappy about the millage. Taxes are already too high. And I felt like the library folks laid a gangster move on us to get the millage passed.
I spent most of the day working on paperwork and writing checks. Not much fun, but at least it's all pretty much done. Another couple of hours tomorrow and I should be able to see the top of my desk.
I wanted to watch a show on PBS tonight, a tribute to George Jones, but I got caught up on the phone. Numerous singers were paying homage to George by singing his songs--Randy Travis to name but one. I think it was a repeat but PBS does a lot of repeating so hopefully I'll catch it next time it's on. George Jones is one of my favorite country singers.
Gotta go, the phone.......
Tawny
Sunday, May 08, 2005
For any mothers who are reading this, Happy Mothers Day!
I was out and about earlier today. I'm sorry if you called and I missed you. My best friend, today is her third oldest son's birthday, he's 9. I went over to their house for cake and ice cream, and to drop off the present I'd bought for him. Even though her four kids (ages 6, 9, 11 and 15) are all off into the electronic world of games--Gameboy, Playstation, computers--they still get a kick out of the 'old fashioned' board games. One year I presented one of them with Twister for his birthday and they had lots of fun with it. This year the 9 year old received Risk and Scrabble.
I had to pass several cemeteries on my way to and from their house. Talk about a happening place! There was a line at each of them to get in!
I'm guessing that all the visitors were because it was Mother's Day.
It got me to wonderring about all of those women when they were alive. Did those same people that were all dressed up and their arms full of flowers they were placing on the gravesites, did those same people visit their mothers when they were alive? Did they take her flowers when she could smell them and enjoy them? Did they take her out to dinner? Did they call her?
I wonder because it sure does seem to me to be a big waste of time and money to be taking flowers to the cemetery, wiping off the headstone, 'talking' to
her, etc. She's not there. She's dead.
The time to be doing something for Mom or Dad or any other loved one is when they're alive, not after God has called them home.
Better to take that same time and money and do something constructive, something worthwhile, something that will benefit someone alive than to waste it on the dead all in the name of tradition.
Do something nice for someone. Feed the hungry. Visit the sick. Do something for the least of us. Do it in memory of your Mother.
hugs--
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
I was out and about earlier today. I'm sorry if you called and I missed you. My best friend, today is her third oldest son's birthday, he's 9. I went over to their house for cake and ice cream, and to drop off the present I'd bought for him. Even though her four kids (ages 6, 9, 11 and 15) are all off into the electronic world of games--Gameboy, Playstation, computers--they still get a kick out of the 'old fashioned' board games. One year I presented one of them with Twister for his birthday and they had lots of fun with it. This year the 9 year old received Risk and Scrabble.
I had to pass several cemeteries on my way to and from their house. Talk about a happening place! There was a line at each of them to get in!
I'm guessing that all the visitors were because it was Mother's Day.
It got me to wonderring about all of those women when they were alive. Did those same people that were all dressed up and their arms full of flowers they were placing on the gravesites, did those same people visit their mothers when they were alive? Did they take her flowers when she could smell them and enjoy them? Did they take her out to dinner? Did they call her?
I wonder because it sure does seem to me to be a big waste of time and money to be taking flowers to the cemetery, wiping off the headstone, 'talking' to
her, etc. She's not there. She's dead.
The time to be doing something for Mom or Dad or any other loved one is when they're alive, not after God has called them home.
Better to take that same time and money and do something constructive, something worthwhile, something that will benefit someone alive than to waste it on the dead all in the name of tradition.
Do something nice for someone. Feed the hungry. Visit the sick. Do something for the least of us. Do it in memory of your Mother.
hugs--
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
I've got a bunch of cousins, some are married and some aren't.
My cousin Lanita is married to Derek. They've been married for about five years. They're in their mid-20's.
We have another cousin, Lil, who is unmarried and a few years older. Lil has two children, a boy and a girl, and they are two of the cutest and best behaved children on the planet.
My neighbors from hell should take parenting lessons from Lil and then maybe Rebecca wouldn't be such a horrible child.
Lanita is a cutie, but Lil is a beauty. She's tall, has a nice figure, and a wonderful disposition.
Derek has a 'thing' for Lil. Lil can't stand Derek, although she loves Lanita like a sister.
Derek, in his obsession over Lil, has behaved oh-so improperly on numerous occasions. For example, he put a series of spy holes in the wall outside the bathroom in their old house so he could peek at Lil when she used the bathroom, both for toilet purposes and to take a shower when the one at her place was broke. Last spring when Uncle Mack was murdered and we were all in Michigan City for the funeral, the older cousins were all hanging out together down in Aunt Bobbie Jean's basement. Derek started sexually verbally assaulting Lil, telling her what he'd like to do to her sexually.
As always happens when Derek does something like this, nothing ever happens to him. In Michigan City, Lil's mother and stepfather loaded Lil and her kids up and took them back to the hotel and away fom Derek. And that was a good thing because Lil was very upset.
Me, I've been waiting for the women of the family to do something about him. Obviously the men aren't going to do anything or they would have already. And it's obvious Lanita isn't going to do anything about him or she would have already.
I think we women should beat the snot out of him. And if he doesn't learn his lesson and disrepects Lil again, well, then we should beat his ass again.
On the phone I hear a goodly number of men tell me how they're hot for their sister-in-law. They fantasize about having sex with her.
If Derek was keeping his lustful thoughts about Lil to himself then no one would be the wiser. But he isn't.
Word to the wise: Nobody likes to have a disrespectful freak in their family.
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
My cousin Lanita is married to Derek. They've been married for about five years. They're in their mid-20's.
We have another cousin, Lil, who is unmarried and a few years older. Lil has two children, a boy and a girl, and they are two of the cutest and best behaved children on the planet.
My neighbors from hell should take parenting lessons from Lil and then maybe Rebecca wouldn't be such a horrible child.
Lanita is a cutie, but Lil is a beauty. She's tall, has a nice figure, and a wonderful disposition.
Derek has a 'thing' for Lil. Lil can't stand Derek, although she loves Lanita like a sister.
Derek, in his obsession over Lil, has behaved oh-so improperly on numerous occasions. For example, he put a series of spy holes in the wall outside the bathroom in their old house so he could peek at Lil when she used the bathroom, both for toilet purposes and to take a shower when the one at her place was broke. Last spring when Uncle Mack was murdered and we were all in Michigan City for the funeral, the older cousins were all hanging out together down in Aunt Bobbie Jean's basement. Derek started sexually verbally assaulting Lil, telling her what he'd like to do to her sexually.
As always happens when Derek does something like this, nothing ever happens to him. In Michigan City, Lil's mother and stepfather loaded Lil and her kids up and took them back to the hotel and away fom Derek. And that was a good thing because Lil was very upset.
Me, I've been waiting for the women of the family to do something about him. Obviously the men aren't going to do anything or they would have already. And it's obvious Lanita isn't going to do anything about him or she would have already.
I think we women should beat the snot out of him. And if he doesn't learn his lesson and disrepects Lil again, well, then we should beat his ass again.
On the phone I hear a goodly number of men tell me how they're hot for their sister-in-law. They fantasize about having sex with her.
If Derek was keeping his lustful thoughts about Lil to himself then no one would be the wiser. But he isn't.
Word to the wise: Nobody likes to have a disrespectful freak in their family.
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Just the other day, here in Farmington Hills, MI, there was a terrible automobile accident. The local newspaper and the police department called it one of the worst ever.
A mother and her two young sons, one in elementary school, the other in middle school, were killed.
They were on their way to the orthodontist. In fact, the crash site was maybe a stone's throw from the dentist office.
The person who caused the accident, a middleaged man, was drunk. I forget what his blood alcohol level was, but the police chief seemed surprised that he wasn't dead from alcohol poisoning.
Apparently the man had a drinking problem. Some news reports say that an intervention was scheduled for him, it just hadn't happened yet.
They say that the man showed up for work the morning of the accident but was sent home because he'd been drinking. They say he returned to his workplace later that afternoon and was again sent home because he had been drinking. It's thought that he spent the day drinking, then returned to his workplace. It was on his way home that he caused the accident.
After examining the 'black box' in his SUV it was determined that he had been speeding along at 70 mph and never touched his brakes at impact. Aside from the family he killed, he hit several other vehicles and injured the people in them.
That saying that we hear in commercials--friends don't let friends drive drunk--it makes me wonder how the people at his work who said he was drunk and sent him home, why didn't they take his keys and put him in a cab? or drive him themselves?
If nothing else, maybe this is a reminder to all of us not to drink and drive. And not to let people drive who have been drinking.
Tawny
A mother and her two young sons, one in elementary school, the other in middle school, were killed.
They were on their way to the orthodontist. In fact, the crash site was maybe a stone's throw from the dentist office.
The person who caused the accident, a middleaged man, was drunk. I forget what his blood alcohol level was, but the police chief seemed surprised that he wasn't dead from alcohol poisoning.
Apparently the man had a drinking problem. Some news reports say that an intervention was scheduled for him, it just hadn't happened yet.
They say that the man showed up for work the morning of the accident but was sent home because he'd been drinking. They say he returned to his workplace later that afternoon and was again sent home because he had been drinking. It's thought that he spent the day drinking, then returned to his workplace. It was on his way home that he caused the accident.
After examining the 'black box' in his SUV it was determined that he had been speeding along at 70 mph and never touched his brakes at impact. Aside from the family he killed, he hit several other vehicles and injured the people in them.
That saying that we hear in commercials--friends don't let friends drive drunk--it makes me wonder how the people at his work who said he was drunk and sent him home, why didn't they take his keys and put him in a cab? or drive him themselves?
If nothing else, maybe this is a reminder to all of us not to drink and drive. And not to let people drive who have been drinking.
Tawny
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Someone on the phone (who shall remain nameless) suggested to me that this blog of mine should be about sex. Since I talk sex for a living, and since this blog is an extension of my phone sex line, it seemed to them that I should be writing some erotic prose here.
You know, I tried that in one post a few monthes ago. I wote this erotic little story that took me what felt like forever to finish. And I vowed right then and there--never again!
There are so many places where you can find erotica, all written much better than anything I can crank out, that it seems to me like a major waste of our time--both yours and mine--for me to spend time on that.
Hope you agree with me.
hugs--
Tawny
You know, I tried that in one post a few monthes ago. I wote this erotic little story that took me what felt like forever to finish. And I vowed right then and there--never again!
There are so many places where you can find erotica, all written much better than anything I can crank out, that it seems to me like a major waste of our time--both yours and mine--for me to spend time on that.
Hope you agree with me.
hugs--
Tawny
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
How are your neighbors? Do you like them? Do you get along with them?
Most of my neighbors, except for the women who live next door, whose names I know and with whom I speak from time to time, I only know well enough to wave and say hello to. And that's fine with me, I like it like that. The people on my street are pleasant, they don't cause a disturbance, they're good neighbors.
Now directly across the street from me are the neighbors from hell. I don't know the wife's name, but I know her daughter's name--Rebecca--because she and her husband are always yelling it. Rebecca is not a well-behaved child. She throws tantrums, she causes trouble with the other kids on the street, she's loud, disobedient and disrespectful of everyone and everything she encounters. I think she's around 9 years old.
These people are so loud that even in the summer when their house is closed up (they have central air) and my windows are open, I can hear everything that goes on in their house from across the street. As much as I love the warm weather and being able to keep my windows open, just that much am I cringing at the thought of being subjected to their lives for another summer.
I don't like them, I don't talk to them, I wish they would move.
Thing is, they don't own the house across the street. They moved in with the man across the street in 2001, supposedly for a few monthes that stretched into a few years and still counting.
Now as I'm typing this with my front door and window open because it's a nice day, I can hear them all yelling and carrying on across the street.
It's only May..........
long suffering Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Most of my neighbors, except for the women who live next door, whose names I know and with whom I speak from time to time, I only know well enough to wave and say hello to. And that's fine with me, I like it like that. The people on my street are pleasant, they don't cause a disturbance, they're good neighbors.
Now directly across the street from me are the neighbors from hell. I don't know the wife's name, but I know her daughter's name--Rebecca--because she and her husband are always yelling it. Rebecca is not a well-behaved child. She throws tantrums, she causes trouble with the other kids on the street, she's loud, disobedient and disrespectful of everyone and everything she encounters. I think she's around 9 years old.
These people are so loud that even in the summer when their house is closed up (they have central air) and my windows are open, I can hear everything that goes on in their house from across the street. As much as I love the warm weather and being able to keep my windows open, just that much am I cringing at the thought of being subjected to their lives for another summer.
I don't like them, I don't talk to them, I wish they would move.
Thing is, they don't own the house across the street. They moved in with the man across the street in 2001, supposedly for a few monthes that stretched into a few years and still counting.
Now as I'm typing this with my front door and window open because it's a nice day, I can hear them all yelling and carrying on across the street.
It's only May..........
long suffering Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Monday, May 02, 2005
Do they have mid-year elections where you live? Here in Farmington-Farmington Hills, MI they do. It's tomorrow.
There are only two things on the ballot--1. a millage for the library and 2. school board election.
The last figures I heard, it was going to cost approximately sixty thousand dollars to have the school board election. Sixty thousand dollars that could be used, that should be used for the kids and the schools, or a needy project here in town.
Then the library got the millage issue on the ballot, and last I heard they were going to go in on the costs.
A few monthes ago in an effort, I believe, to try and make sure people voted yes on the tax millage for them, the libraries here in town, of which we have two, cut back on their hours. They shut and locked the doors on Fridays. Now the library is open only Sunday thru Thursday, and I think the branch in Farmington is closed Sundays. They said it was a budget cutting move, that they couldn't afford to be open as much as they used to be. The way I see it they're trying to squeeze our guts, trying to scare us into thinking that if we don't vote yes for a tax increase for them then our libraries will be boarded up and exsist no more. Bull puckey.
But even though the doors are locked and no patrons can use it on Fridays, there is still staff in there. If they're paying staff wages, and if the lights and heat are on, why can't we use the library? Squeeze squeeze squeeze.
I love the libraries here in town. I'm in there every week checking books out by the arm loads. I think libraries are an important resource.
But I resent them trying to squeeze a millage out of us by having a mid-year election. Statistics show that very few people vote when the election is not in November. I'm guessing that's why the vote now, to make sure only their supporters vote, thus making sure they get what they want.
Same way with the school board election. Wouldn't the taxpayers money be better used by holding the election in November when there are other things on the ballot and when turn out is better?
The local paper, Farmington Observer, has been running lots and lots of letters from residents about this subject. It should be intersting to see what happens.
If the library gets away with a special tax millage to give them more money, then what stops the police or the fire department or ? from trying the same tactic?
I'll let you know what happens.
Tawny, the reporter
www.tawnyford.com
There are only two things on the ballot--1. a millage for the library and 2. school board election.
The last figures I heard, it was going to cost approximately sixty thousand dollars to have the school board election. Sixty thousand dollars that could be used, that should be used for the kids and the schools, or a needy project here in town.
Then the library got the millage issue on the ballot, and last I heard they were going to go in on the costs.
A few monthes ago in an effort, I believe, to try and make sure people voted yes on the tax millage for them, the libraries here in town, of which we have two, cut back on their hours. They shut and locked the doors on Fridays. Now the library is open only Sunday thru Thursday, and I think the branch in Farmington is closed Sundays. They said it was a budget cutting move, that they couldn't afford to be open as much as they used to be. The way I see it they're trying to squeeze our guts, trying to scare us into thinking that if we don't vote yes for a tax increase for them then our libraries will be boarded up and exsist no more. Bull puckey.
But even though the doors are locked and no patrons can use it on Fridays, there is still staff in there. If they're paying staff wages, and if the lights and heat are on, why can't we use the library? Squeeze squeeze squeeze.
I love the libraries here in town. I'm in there every week checking books out by the arm loads. I think libraries are an important resource.
But I resent them trying to squeeze a millage out of us by having a mid-year election. Statistics show that very few people vote when the election is not in November. I'm guessing that's why the vote now, to make sure only their supporters vote, thus making sure they get what they want.
Same way with the school board election. Wouldn't the taxpayers money be better used by holding the election in November when there are other things on the ballot and when turn out is better?
The local paper, Farmington Observer, has been running lots and lots of letters from residents about this subject. It should be intersting to see what happens.
If the library gets away with a special tax millage to give them more money, then what stops the police or the fire department or ? from trying the same tactic?
I'll let you know what happens.
Tawny, the reporter
www.tawnyford.com
Sunday, May 01, 2005
As you may recall, faithful reader, I wrote about various buffets in the metro Detroit area a little while ago. So now I've got another one to add to my list--the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit, Michigan.
There are three casinos in the city of Detroit--Motor City, MGM Grand and Greektown. To date, the only one I haven't been to is Greektown. From what people tell me, Greektown is for the hgh rollers. From what I've seen, MGM is for white people from the suburbs, and Motor City is for black and white people from Detroit.
I scoped out the MGM buffet on line before I ever went there. It sounded wonderful! So many choices from so many different food stations. I got hungry just reading about it!
They didn't lie, everything they said they had on the 'menu' was represented. It looked great. But it was just okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't real good either. And the desserts, well, it's rare when my sweet tooth and I can't get wild over dessert, but none of it 'was all that'. In fact, the best tasting item was the cellophane wrapped fortune cookie.
So, as it stands, if you're ever in Detroit and you want to get a good meal at a casino, I say the Motor City Casino buffet is the place to go.
hugs--
Tawny, the food critic
tawnyford@webtv.net
There are three casinos in the city of Detroit--Motor City, MGM Grand and Greektown. To date, the only one I haven't been to is Greektown. From what people tell me, Greektown is for the hgh rollers. From what I've seen, MGM is for white people from the suburbs, and Motor City is for black and white people from Detroit.
I scoped out the MGM buffet on line before I ever went there. It sounded wonderful! So many choices from so many different food stations. I got hungry just reading about it!
They didn't lie, everything they said they had on the 'menu' was represented. It looked great. But it was just okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't real good either. And the desserts, well, it's rare when my sweet tooth and I can't get wild over dessert, but none of it 'was all that'. In fact, the best tasting item was the cellophane wrapped fortune cookie.
So, as it stands, if you're ever in Detroit and you want to get a good meal at a casino, I say the Motor City Casino buffet is the place to go.
hugs--
Tawny, the food critic
tawnyford@webtv.net
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