Monday Again!

Oh boy...here it is, Monday again! As usual, I'm not ready for it...lol

We had a wonderful weekend, in the Morgan house. Lee and I both worked Friday. I was going to get off Friday, go pick up Landon and the boys, then Moriah, then head to pick up Lee at work, and from there we were on our way to the Hickman/Rockbridge football game, at Farot Field. Nautrally, considering that I had places to be and things to do, in a very short time...between 6-7, it had to be one of those days when people started piling clothes in shortly before closing, and I could tell that I wasn't going to be out of there by 6 like I needed to be. We finally clocked out at 6:20, and then I had the 15 min. drive to ashland to get Landon, Kenny and Gabriel, then the 20 miles back to our house to get Moriah, back up to Tucker's to pick up Lee, and we finally made it to the game at about 7:45. The 2nd quarter had just started. Unfortunately, when we arrived, Hickman was behind 3-21, which understandably, didn't make Moriah very happy. The game didn't exactly have the ending that we wanted it to, but Hickman put on a burst of steam in the 4th quarter, and picked it up some so that the finaly score ended up 18-21....so it didn't quite appear to be the complete skunk that it was at 3-21. Food and drinks are so high at the stadium, that we opted to wait till after the game to eat. We headed back to ashland, ran through the Micky D's where Landon works, grabbed some burgers and fries, and then went back to Landon's to eat. We hung out for a bit, talking, watching TV, and then we headed home. No one had to get up Sat., Lee and I were both off, so it was pretty late before we finally went to bed. Saturday morning was great... I loved being able to just roll over, pull the covers up, and go back to sleep. Wow...how I love sleepin' in! lol

Saturday, I got some clothes of Eva's sorted through, and washed, to take out to Landon's for them to use, when Mary's born. I also sorted through some of Kirk and Tara-ee's clothes, that they're storing here, and got them folded and put into boxes, rather than the garbage bags that they had them in. Lee got my thermostat put in my car on Saturday. That will be nice. Now it won't take so long for the car to warm up, so that I have heat. It's starting to get too cold to not have heat in the car...or at least for it to take so long to warm up.

Moriah went with her friend Amanda out to the mall, then out to dinner, and then they headed to Midway (see map, just west of Columbia) to "Fright Night"....the annual haunted house that they set up there. She said it was pretty cool...lol And of course, she was acting totally "cool"... about how it wasn't "that" scarey. LOL ahahahahaha but...something tells me that she did her fair share of the girly screams while she was there. hehehehe

Sunday was just a wonderful a day, considering that I could pull the covers up and roll over that morning too. lol Landon had to work Sunday morning, but got off around noon. I had told him to call me when he got home, and that we'd make plans for some supper, and get together later that evening. Lee and I discussed some of the options for supper. The sun wasn't shinning, but it was in the lower 60's and not half bad feeling outside, so we opted to grill something...considering we won't be able to do that much longer at all. We decided on shishkabobs, with wild rice, tossed salad and garlic biscuits. Naturally, wouldn't you know it, it bagan to rain on us just as we were leaving for Landon's, and was pouring before we ever got to Ashland. We were about to think that we were going to have to change our plans for supper, but believe it or not, it had calmed down enough, and most of the rain blew over, by the time we were ready to cook. Dinner was delicious!

I was going to try and back off and not make too many trips to Ashland this week, or at least until it was closer to pay day...Thurs. Naturally, I'm already beginning to have to count the $'s. The gas tank is on 1/2, and I sure don't want to have a repeat of last week, when I ran out of money, AND out of gas. But, as usual, nothing can ever go the way you plan it, at times, and I had to make a trip to Ashland this morning, as soon as I dropped Lee off at work. Unfortunately, we went off last night, and left is insulin bag at Landon's house. So, I had to go get it this morning, since he will need it when he eats his lunch at noon. When I was there, Amanda said something about wondering if Landon and I had made plans for them to come over tonight, or exactly what was going on for Halloween. Last year, the boys came over here, and we took them trick or treating around our neighborhood. Well, of course, i don't mind my grandkids coming over here for Halloween, and was even feeling a little "blue" that I wouldn't be able to see them all dressed up in their costumes, if we weren't going to get to gether to try and conserve on the gas a bit. But, of course, I told Amanda that they were welcome to come over, if they wanted...that Landon and I hadn't really discussed it. So, I guess I'll give Landon a call this afternoon when he gets off, and see if that's what they want to do. If they come over here, I'll run and pick them up after I get off work, before I go get Lee, and then he should be done about the time we get back into town.

It was cloudy and had been raining, when we got up this morning, and before I had dropped off Lee and work, and headed for Ashland, it was coming down pretty good. I don't know what it is about rain and Halloween...but it seems to do this every year. I did say the rain was suppose to be ending, but whether it will stop before the kids will be out tick or treaing, I'm not sure. I hope so anyway. It isn't much fun trying to get out and run around in the rain. Of top of making the kids so cold. Currently, though, it is still giving us a pretty good shower. And, that definately makes it one of those days when you'd like to hybernate inside...certainly not have to get out and go to work!

Well, I have just a bit over an hour before I need to leave for work....plus have to run Lee's insulin bag by to him too, so, I guess I better head outta here and start to get ready. I'm sure I'll be back here at some point tonight, to check in and see how all of your days went. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Much love,
Lev

Around My Area

Click on the map to enlarge

You hear me talking all the time about my comings and goings...going here, or going there, so thought I'd let you all see exactly what I'm talking about. I appologize that I couldn't get the map a little smaller, without distorting the words.

So, guess you can see Columbia...lol This is where we live. It's a town of about 86,000, but that always goes up each fall when school starts, and our major university, Missouri University, starts, as well as 2 other colleges in town. When that happens, Columbia's population soars to well over 100,000,

Lee work right down town...smack dab int he middle, just almost precisely where that red star is. My work...well, if you'll go just a bit west/left of that star, to where you see the two roads intersect, that is where I work. Lee and I both work on Broadway, the main street that goes through the middle of town. I, on the West side, and him in the central location.

If you travel North on 63...this is where you'll find our house. We're just about where that Hwy 63 sign is. We are exactly 4 miles north of the I-70/63 intersection. Now, if you begin to travel south on 63, through Columbia, you will soon come to the small town of Ashland. This is where I'm headed, alot of the time, as you're well aware. You've heard me speak about going to Ashland to get Landon, on more than one occasion. Ashland is 16 miles from Columbia. So...from my house to Landon's is a total of about 20 miles.

Just east of Ashland...you'll see the little town of New Bloomfield. Lee and I lived there for a few months, while Lee was working in Jefferson City, which is just about 10 miles south of there on 54.

Now, if you go way back up to the north west corner, you'll see the town of Fayette. This is where we first lived when Lee took his job in Columbia. We lived there for 4 years. This is where Landon met Amanda. It took Lee about 45 mins to drive from Fayette to Columbia, to get to work. Once he was diagnoised with his lymphoma, we felt it best to be closer to columbia, his drs., and the hosp.

While I've got this map in front of you, I have to tell you a story. Another one, of how God sent angels to guard over Lee, when he needed them most. We were living in Fayette, and I was working for a convenience store chain, called Fast Lane. We had a store in Fayette, several in Columbia, and also one in Kingdom City. You can see it East of Columbia, on I-70, on the map. We had two cars working then, or for the most part. Lee usually left for work around 8 or a little before. I didn't have to be in to work till 12:00, so lots of times I got up at my leisure. I believe I had this particular day off, and wasn't real pleased when the phone rang, waking me up, and it was my boss. I could hear it coming, ....I bet he wants me to come into work. But...that wasn't the case. Marlon, my boss, asked me if Lee was there. I said, "no", "he's at work". To which he replied, "are you sure?" Well, he should be, at least that's what I thought he was doing that day. Well, it seems that the manager at the Fast Lane in Kingdom City, called Marlon, telling him that she had a man there who claimed that his wife worked for Fast Lane in Fayette. That he said his name was Lee, and she wanted to know if Marlon knew this guy. Well, of course Marlon knew him. Apparently, Lee had a low sugar attack, and for one reason or another, never went to work....just kept driving down I-70. The only thing that stopped him from continuing for God only knows how long, was that he saw the Fast Lane sign at Kingdom City, and it triggered something in his head, about that was where his wife worked. Luckily, the manager was familiar with low sugar problems, since her brother was a diabetic. She did give Lee some juice, and then told him to just take it easy for awhile. That's when she came to call Marlon. At one point Lee got up, told her he was better and left, but she had told Marlon that when he got out to the road, to pull out of the parking lot, that he just sat there for a long time, like he didn't know which was he was suppose to go. Finally he left. She was really afraid that he wasn't fit to drive, and from the way she talked, he definately wasn't. She was really scared that he might have a wreak and really hurt, or possibly kill someone, or himself. So, she called the highway patrol, and let them know about the situation. They said they would keep their eyes out for him. Well, the highway patrol never found him, but he did eventually show up at work. What little bit of food the lady at Fast Lane had given him, was enough to keep him straight until he got to work, and could test his sugar, and get a little more to eat. So, as you can see from the map, Lee took a pretty good little drive that morning, with angels all around him, there is no doubt, for him to make it that far, and then back to Columbia again, safely.

Oh well, guess that's about it for our little area. Just thought I'd show you where all these places are that I talk about quite often. Now you'll be able to picture a little better in your mind, for future reference.

Sunday Scripture

HAVE A WONDERFUL

LORD'S DAY

GOD BLESS

Love

Lev

Sabbath Scripture

HAVE A BLESSED SABBATH

SHALOM

Love

Lev

The Window

A great note for all to read it will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking. Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you." Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

Glad it's Friday!

Well, I'm not sure what happened, but I have my fonts back, and font size, smilies, align, in my yahoo mail. All of a sudden, they just started working again. Of course, that's just the way they stopped working too...one time they did, the next time, they didn't. Oh well, guess I shouldn't complain. I'm still not able to get all of my smiley central to work though. The smilies are the only thing working, stationery, signature, it won't let me use any of those. Maybe one of these days, I'll figure out what the deal is.

I've been back about 30 mins., I guess, from dropping Lee off at work. It is nice to be able to come home after dropping him off, vs. what I've been doing for the past 3 days. lol I'm ususally barely awake when I take Lee to work, and sure not ready to try and function that early in the morning, lol...usually, with only 1 cup of coffee in me. But the past few mornings haven't been like that.

Wed. morning, I dropped Lee off at work, and then headed right for Ashland to pick up Landon and Amanda, and Gabriel, to go to Amanda's drs. appt. Her appt. was at 9:30. We got back to their house around 10:30. I did something else, I remember, because I didn't get back to my house till about 11:30, or so, and then had to rush to get dressed and leave for work around 12:15 or so. But, now, for the life of me, I can't remember what else I did. Anyway, as I recall, I didn't get out of here by 12:15 either, but at least before 12:30, which still gives me plenty of time to get to work.

Thursday, I had off, but had to again, drop Lee off at work, and then head back to Ashland again, to pick up Amanda and go back to the drs. They have been wanting to do a glucose tollerance test on her, as she has had problems with her blood sugar, during her other pregnancies. So, it was back to the dr. to drink some nasty stuff, wait an hour, and then draw blood. Just before I got to Ashland, my cell rang and it was Moriah at school, telling me she didn't feel good at all....her stomach, upset, on top of the fact that I guess several of her friends took one look at her, and said she really looked pale. So, I told her to try and finish out her 2nd. hour, that I had to get Amanda, drop her off at the dr. by 10:00, and then I'd come pick her up. About 10 mins. later, the school called me to confirm that I was going to pick her up because she was sick. I dropped Amanda off at the dr....it was about 10:07, we were running a bit behind. We just left Gabriel in the car with me....Amanda didn't need to deal with him at the dr. Gabriel and I left, which he didn't much want to do...he has been soooooo facinated with his new little sister, and has always been mezmerized when he goes with us to the dr. He just smiles, and gets the biggest kick out of listening to Mary's heartbeat, and just thinks that's really neat! Anyway, we headed to the school to get Moriah. I knew we had some time to kill, as Amanda wouldn't be done yet, so we went to Sonic, which is just next to the highschool, and Moriah got something to eat, and something for Gabriel. We sat for awhile, till everyone was done, before we headed back out to get Amanda.

Landon was going to put the thermostat in my car for me, so I was going to go back to Ashland after he got off, so he could do that. I figured instead, that I'd just go pick him up, and Kenny, and come back to our house for supper. So, this saved me another trip back to Ashland, so after picking up Amanda, we just came back home. I had a little bit of time to relax, before having to go back to Ashland to get Landon. He got off at 3. I followed him home from work, and we hung out till Kenny got home from school. Naturally, I still had stuff that needed to be done, but couldn't get it all accomplished, until I got Lee's check around 5. So, we left Landon's just in time to arrive at Tucker's, about 4:45. Lee already had his check, and had cashed it, so that made that transaction rather smooth. There are lots of times we have to wait on the checks, and barely make it to the bank by 5.

Lee's mom sent us some money to replace Moriah's glasses, and to buy 2 new tires for Lee's motorcycle. So, after picking amanda up from the dr....(I forgot), we headed out to the mall, and re-ordered her glasses. They should be ready sometime tomorrow. Naturally, Moriah couldn't get out of the mall without having to go to her favorite store...and "naturally", she found something she liked. She has REALLY been needing a new pair of tennis shoes...of course, the ones she wants are $60. Now, I know that in today's prices...that's not bad....but for me, there AIN'T not way I'm paying $60 bucks for tennis shoes. She did find a pair that she liked that were on sale, so I did tell her I'd get those. The clerk said they'd hold them for me for 48 hrs....I didn't have enough money on me...I hadn't gotten Lee's check yet, and I'd just forked out $212.00 on a pair of glasses. So, I told her I'd be back either that evening, or by Sat. Well, needless to say, I did end up going back to get them. Which is where I left off a few paragraphs up...lol Landon and I stopped and picked up Lee's check, then headed to Wal-Mart to get a few things I needed there. We got some Halloween stuff for the boys, and picked Kenny out a costume. From there, I ran to the mall, that is right next to Wal Mart, and picked up Moriah's shoes. By this time, it was almost time to go pick up Lee.

The plan was, to pick up Lee's check...got to the mall, go to walmart...go home, get supper going, and then come back to get Lee. But, nooooooooo....it can never go too smoothly, and by the time we were done at the mall, Lee would be getting off in about 20 mins., and that isn't enough time to go home and start supper, and then get back in time. So, needless to say, by the time we got Lee and got back home, it was about 7:30, and I knew I had a dish that had to bake for 80 mins. Well, you figured right...it was almost 9:00 before we ate. Oh...and my thermostat never did get put in on my car. lol Oh well...Lee's got tomorrow off, so he said he'd do it then.

Speaking of tomorrow off.... I have tomorrow off too! Yippppppppeee! This is really going to be nice. Two days off in a row...and Lee off both of those days too, and Moriah as well. This just doesn't happen very often. lol

For about 2 weeks, Moriah has been telling us about the annual 'rival' football competition, between the two high schools here in Columbia.
Hickman High School (Moriah's)
http://www.columbia.k12.mo.us/hhs/welcome.html

And, Rockbridge
http://www.columbia.k12.mo.us/rbhs/


Rockbridge, is the "preppy/rich kids" school. So, when the annual game comes, you can bet that there are some feather's flyin'. lol To make it even more spectacular, it it held at Farot Field, the Missouri University football stadium, where the Missouri Tigers play. Rockbridge and Hickman, do not play each other during a regular football season. They are in different classes. But, the rivalry is big between the two schools, as to which is the best, so this annual game is held. Lee and I got to thinking that it might be fun to go see the game. Neither of us have ever been to Farot Field, and haven't been to a football game since Landon played in 7th grade. lol Before that...it was my high school football game. But, I always loved them! Lee naturally loves football....he was always on the field, and was all confrence for 3 yrs. in a row during his high school days. So...we've decided that is exactly what we're going to do. Landon gets off work at 3, and he wants to really take the boys...he thinks they'll get a big kick out of it. So, you guessed it, as soon as I'm off work, it right to Ashland to get Landon and the boys, then back home to get Moriah, then back downtown to pick up Lee....then right to the game, which we believe starts at 7:00...I have to double check to make sure. So, we are going to be running very close time wise.

Well, I have a little over 1 1/2 hr, before having to leave for work. I'm still not dressed, and then have to figure out what all is going to have to be taken with me, that will be needed for the game. So, guess I better head outta here and get everything together. Of course, if I get that done, and there is still time to spare, you can bet I'll be back here to kill a little more time.

Hope you all have a great day! Take care...

Much love,
Lev

I Am Meth

ANYONE WITH KIDS OR GRAND KIDS SHOULD READ THIS. More than powerful!This was written by a young girl who was in jail for drug charges, And was addicted to meth. She wrote this while in jail. As you will soonread, she fully grasped the horrors of the drug, as she tells in this simple, yet Profound poem. She was released from jail, but, true to herstory, the drug owned her. They found her dead not long after, with the needle still in her arm.Please keep praying. This thing is worse than any of us realize...

I Am Meth.

I destroy homes, I tear families apart,I take your children, and that's just the start.I'm more costly than diamonds, more precious than gold, The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold.If you need me, remember I'm easily found,I live all around you - in schools and in townI live with the rich, I live with the poor,I live down the street, and maybe next door.I'm made in a lab, but not like you think,I can be made under the kitchen sink.In your child's closet, and even in the woods,If this scares you to death, well it certainly should.I have many names, but there's one you know best, I'm sure you've heard of me, my name is crystal meth.My power is awesome, try me you'll see,But if you do, you may never break free.Just try me once and I might let you go,But try me twice, and I'll own your soul.When I possess you, you'll steal and you'll lie,You do what you have to -- just to get high.The crimes you'll commit for my narcotic charms
Will be worth the pleasure you'll feel in your arms.You'll lie to your mother, you'll steal from your dad,When you see their tears, you should feel sad.But you'll forget your morals and how you were raised,I'll be your conscience, I'll teach you my ways.I take kids from parents, and parents from kids,I turn people from God, and separate friends.I'll take everything from you, your looks and your pride,I'll be with you always -- right by your side.You'll give up everything - your family, your home,Your friends, your money, then you'll be alone.I'll take and take, till you have nothing more to give,When I'm finished with you, you'll be lucky to live.If you try me be warned - this is no game,If given the chance, I'll drive you insane.I'll ravish your body, I'll control your mind,I'll own you completely, your soul will be mine.The nightmares I'll give you while lying in bed,The voices you'll hear, from inside your head.The sweats, the shakes, the visions you'll see,I want you to know, these are all gifts from me.But then it's too late, and you'll know in your heart,That you are mine, and we shall not part.You'll regret that you tried me, they always do,But you came to me, not I to you.You knew this would happen, many times you were told,But you challenged my power, and chose to be bold.You could have said no, and just walked away,If you could live that day over, now what would you say?I'll be your master, you will be my slave,I'll even go with you, when you go to your grave.Now that you have met me, what will you do?Will you try me or not? It's all up to you.I can bring you more misery than words can tell,Come take my hand, let me lead you to #$%#.

~BLOG THIS~

LEV'S NOTES


The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts, wise.
Dr. Maya Angelou

Rosa Parks: Dead at 92

I couldn't help but shed some tears, when I heard this sad news this morning. But, even through the tears, I couldn't help but smile, knowing that now, in heaven, Rosa is reaping her rewards, and will NEVER...NEVER, experience prejudice again! There is NO DOUBT, that she made a tremendous impact on our country, and stands as a shinning beacon for ALL who struggle for human and civil rights. My prayers are with her family and friends, and with all those, whose lives she so lovingly touched. God Bless, Rosa!

Remembering Rosa: Photos



Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks Dies at 92
Tuesday, October 25, 2005



STORIES

DETROIT — Rosa Parks (search), whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday evening. She was 92.
Mrs. Parks died at her home during the evening of natural causes, with close friends by her side, said Gregory Reed (search), an attorney who represented her for the past 15 years.
Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."
At that time, Jim Crow laws in place since the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.
The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (search), was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.
Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (search) said he felt a personal tie to the civil rights icon: "She stood up by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her."
U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (search), D-N.Y., lauded Mrs. Parks' mettle.
"I truly believe that there's a little bit of Rosa Parks in all Americans who have the courage to say enough is enough and stand up for what they believe in," Rangel said. "She did such a small thing, but it was so courageous for her as a humble person to do."
Speaking in 1992, Mrs. Parks said history too often maintains "that my feet were hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long."
Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (search), who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.
"At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this," Mrs. Parks said 30 years later. "It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."
The Montgomery bus boycott, which came one year after the Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal," marked the start of the modern civil rights movement.
The movement culminated in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act (search), which banned racial discrimination in public accommodations.
After taking her public stand for civil rights, Mrs. Parks had trouble finding work in Alabama. Amid threats and harassment, she and her husband Raymond moved to Detroit in 1957. She worked as an aide in the Detroit office of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers from 1965 until retiring in 1988. Raymond Parks died in 1977.
Mrs. Parks became a revered figure in Detroit, where a street and middle school were named for her and a papier-mache likeness of her was featured in the city's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Mrs. Parks said upon retiring from her job with Conyers that she wanted to devote more time to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development (search). The institute, incorporated in 1987, is devoted to developing leadership among Detroit's young people and initiating them into the struggle for civil rights.
"Rosa Parks: My Story" was published in February 1992. In 1994 she brought out "Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation," and in 1996 a collection of letters called "Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth."
She was among the civil rights leaders who addressed the Million Man March in October 1995.
In 1996, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (search), awarded to civilians making outstanding contributions to American life. In 1999, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Mrs. Parks received dozens of other awards, ranging from induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor to an NAACP Image Award (search) for her 1999 appearance on CBS' "Touched by an Angel."
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum opened in November 2000 in Montgomery. The museum features a 1955-era bus and a video that recreates the conversation that preceded Parks' arrest.
"Are you going to stand up?" the bus driver asked.
"No," Parks answered.
"Well, by God, I'm going to have you arrested," the driver said.
"You may do that," Parks responded.
Mrs. Parks' later years were not without difficult moments.
In 1994, Mrs. Parks' home was invaded by a 28-year-old man who beat her and took $53. She was treated at a hospital and released. The man, Joseph Skipper, pleaded guilty, blaming the crime on his drug problem.
The Parks Institute struggled financially since its inception. The charity's principal activity -- the annual Pathways to Freedom bus tour taking students to the sites of key events in the civil rights movement -- routinely cost more money than the institute could raise.
Mrs. Parks lost a 1999 lawsuit that sought to prevent the hip-hop duo OutKast from using her name as the title of a Grammy-nominated song. In 2000, she threatened legal action against an Oklahoma man who planned to auction Internet domain name rights to www.rosaparks.com.
After losing the OutKast lawsuit, Reed, her attorney, said Mrs. Parks "has once again suffered the pains of exploitation." A later suit against OutKast's record company was settled out of court.
She was born Rosa Louise McCauley (search) on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Ala. Family illness interrupted her high school education, but after she married Raymond Parks in 1932, he encouraged her and she earned a diploma in 1934. He also inspired her to become involved in the NAACP.
Looking back in 1988, Mrs. Parks said she worried that black young people took legal equality for granted.
Older blacks, she said "have tried to shield young people from what we have suffered. And in so doing, we seem to have a more complacent attitude.
"We must double and redouble our efforts to try to say to our youth, to try to give them an inspiration, an incentive and the will to study our heritage and to know what it means to be black in America today."
At a celebration in her honor that same year, she said: "I am leaving this legacy to all of you ... to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die -- the dream of freedom and peace."

oooh...is Monday over yet?????

Well, it has definately been a Monday, and a Monday from hell, at that!!!! Man, what a day!

The past several days at our house have been pretty chaotic, due mostly to our car, that we can't figure out what in the tarnation is going on with it. We replaced to two sensors that they told us we needed, but it has made no difference at all. What this is doing to our gas mileage, has been etrotious!!!! It is sucking gas, like I have a hole in my tank. I had just a little less than 1/4 tank yesterday, when I went to pick up Landon and the boys, about 3:00. By the time I got to Ashland, my gas light had come on, meaning I was down to 1/8 tank. So, I put $5 in when I got to Ashland...only had $7 to begin with. That gave me right at 1/4 tank. I grabbed Landon, and a friend of his, that was over. His friend Dean, lives right on the highway, back to Columbia, so we dropped him off at his house, and then I ran him to work...not that far out of my way...about 3 miles or so. Before we had even gotten to Dean's house...just about 6 miles from landon's, I was already down to 1/8 tank again, and the gas light back on. After we dropped dean off at work, we stopped again, and Landon gave me $5, plus the $2 I had, and we put that in the tank....which put it back up to 1/4 again. We drove another 6 miles or so, to our house, but the gas light was on again, before we even got home. I had to take Landon back home, later that evening, so he gave me another $5 to put in the car...which put me back up to that ever emfamous 1/4 tank, but the light on again before I even got home. This morning, I had to take Lee to work...then come back home, then go to work myself at 1:00. I must have just made it work on fumes, because when i left work this evening, I only made it about 1 1/2 miles down the road....and I ran out of gas. I was able to pull off onto a side street, and call Lee. Our checks were suppose to be in today....but, why, for one reason or another, they didn't come in, so here I was, flat broke, and out of gas. One of the guys that works with Lee ran and got a gas can and some gas...enough to get me started and a few blocks farther to pick up Lee. Of course, what gas he put in, didn't even reach the 1/4 mark, so we knew that wouldn't even get Lee to work tomorrow, and then me back home, and then back into town to pick up my check. Hopefully, our checks will be in tomorrow. So, anyway....yesterday, between about 3:00 and 10:00, I put $17.00 in gas in my car, and it was suckin' it so fast, that you wouldn't have guessed that I'd put anything in it. something is definately wrong when you suck down $17.00 in gas, after only driving about 35 miles. This has got to stop, and something has to be figured out. We just can't afford $10-15 in gas a day. We really can't afford to take the car in to have it looked at. What little bit my check will be tomorrow, is already spoken for with other bills that are due, and then 1/2 our rent has to come out of Lee's check on Thurs., and that doesn't leave much left over either, and then another week before we get another pay check. So, it has just not made for a very pleasant day here...especially after running out of gas. I had to sit in the car...freezin' my butt off....it is cooooooooold here, for about 45 mins., before Jonathan got there with the gas. It took me forever to warm up, even after I got home.

So, as you can tell....I've just not had the best of days, not to mention the stress of trying to figure out what we're going to do with the car. It's just been a typical Monday, I guess. It was a mad house at work today...just didn't stop all day long, and they didn't want to give us any kind of a break. We close at 6, but it was finally about 6:50 before we even clocked out, that's how many clothes we had left to finish up before we could leave. About 4:30, they started dumping them on us, and we couldn't get caught up at all. We had the floor covered with piles of clothes. I am ready to get out of there at 6, and I sure don't want to be stuck there an additional 50 mins. I was soooooo glad to see those last clothes tagged, and us out of there. Of course, I didn't get very far once I did leave.

After today, I'm sure glad that I have tomorrow off, then back to work on Wed. Tomorrow, sometime...if our checks come in, so I can get gas....I'm going to pick up Landon, and we're going to go do some grocery shopping together. That will be later tomorrow afternoon, though, he works till 3.

Well, it's not really that late, or not late for me normally, just about 10:30, but after the day I've had, I think I may go soak in a hot tub, and try to unwind, and relax, just a bit. When I'm done, I may even call it an early night, and hit the sack. Or, maybe the bath will revive me a little, and I may be back here at the puter....who knows. lol Right now, I can't seem to stop yawnin', on top of the fact that my eyes are having a hard time staying open. lol Something tells me after a nice hot bath...I'm going to be more in the mood to just hit the bed. Even now, just thinking about it, I know how wonderful it's going to feel.

So, guess I'll head outta here, and head for the tub. I sure hope that you guys had a better day than I did....and I sure hope that my tomorrow is better than my today was! lol Have a great evening, and a wonderful tomorrow. Hope to talk to you all soon.

Much love,
Lev

Monday's here!

How is everyone doing this Monday morning? Well, I hope.

We got up this morning, and turned on the weather channel, first thing, to see what had occured with Wilma over the night. Wilma made landfall just south of Marco Island/Naples area, with 125 mph winds. I dropped Lee off at work, and when I arrived back home, picked up my phone to try and get ahold of Lee's brother, Scott, and his family, that live in Cape Coral, which is just across the river from Ft. Meyers. They are about 45 miles from Naples. Surprisingly enough, I was able to get through to them, on their land line. and they even had power still. Pam said that the electricity had flickered couple of times, but they never did lose power. They did have a generator, so they were somewhat prepared there, had they lost their power. They faired pretty well, just a few small trees that Scott had just planted, that got blown over, and they had neighbors with gutter damage, and a few trees down. Flooding wasn't bad. Scott lives on the canals in Cape Coral, and we were afraid that the storm surges would bring the water up into their back yard, but Pam said that it wasn't too bad, and didn't get much higher than it normally does at high tide. She said that they also had water up to about the middle of their drive-way, but that even that wasn't anymore than what they'd get during a normal thunderstorm. They were also spared the many tornados, that are so often spurred on my hurricanes. So, we are very thankful that they came through this storm, with very little damage, and that they are all safe. ....... wow.... I have the weather channel on, and they just showed a picture out of Naples Fl, of an air conditioner....in the top of a tree!!! Yeah, an airconditioner...and not a little window air conditioner, either... a big one...like you'd have for your house...just sitting in the top of this tree. I think I'd stay away from that for fear that it would come crashing down on top of me. lol Well, at least now that the worst if over, we can relax a little, knowing that Lee's brother, and his family are alright.

It's back to work today. Fun, fun!!!! As usual, nothing that I'm really looking forward to. hahahaha But, guess there's not much I can do about that. lol I guess, other than that, we really don't have much else going on for today...or no other plans that I can think of.

Landon and the boys came over for supper last night. Amanda wasn't feeling very good, and hadn't been all day, so she stayed at home. I fixed my big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup, which tasted pretty good, with the chilly evening we had. I think our high yesterday was about 48. Guess it isn't going to be any better today either, as the high is only going to be around 45. By tomorrow, though, they are saying we'll be up around the mid to upper 50's, so that will have to be a little better. As for right now, it is cold outside, and just adds to the fact that I don't want to have to get out in this to go anywhere...much less to work. lol

I don't guess that there's much else going on. Or I'm just not in a very talkative mood this morning...lol....one or the other. hahahaha But, I did wanna drop in and let you all know that we had talked to Lee's brother, and that he is well, and his family safe, after having gone through hurricane Wilma.

I'll be back around her this evening. I hope you all have a great day, and I hope to talk to ya soon!

Take care....
Much love,
Lev

Hello this Sunday

Well, here it is almost 2:30 on Sunday, and I've finally made it in to say Hi. Guess there just hasn't been much going on here to talk about. lol

Spent the usual Sunday morning, with coffee in hand, catchin' up on the latest on the net. I spent alot of time reading up on the latest with Wilma. Landfall is suppose to be sometime in the am on Mon. We are naturally concerned, as that is where Lee's brother Scott lives, and they are in that band between Ft. Myers, and Naples, which is expected to get hit the worst. We are just praying that the storm stays weak, and doesn't gain any momentum over the warm waters of the gulf. We spoke with Pam, Scott's wife, this morning, and Scott was finishing up on boarding the last few windows on their house. They are only about 4 miles from the coast, and surges are expected between 18'-22'. It is most likely that they will have some flooding, even that far inland, with surges that big. Just keep them in your prayers, that God keep them safe, as well as the 1,000's of others that have been, and will be effected by this storm.

Below are a few pictures that are very familiar to us, around the Ft. Myers area, as we have been there several times to visit Lee's parents when they lived there. We have walked along the shores of Sanibel Island, picked up the shells, and visited the lighthouse. It is hard to imagine, the horrific storms that will soon be atop this beautiful island. Just one look at the skies, tells you that what is headed that way, is not going to be quite as beautiful. I-75, we've travled many times, to and from Ft. Myers. Now, everyone is headed north.

I75

sanibel

sanibel2

sanibel3

sanibellighthouse

Guess I should have started writing this a little sooner. I need to head out and go pick up Landon, Amanda and the boys. They're coming over for supper. It's a very chilly day here..only 48 at 2:30 in the afternoon. So, we figured this would be a nice soup night, for supper, so I have on a chicken cooking, and am going to fix a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. That should help keep us warm. So, I'm gonna head out for now, but am sure I'll be back here later this evening, at some point. Hope you all have a nice day, and I'll talk to you soon!

Much love,
Lev
~BLOG THIS~

LEV'S NOTES


The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts, wise.
Dr. Maya Angelou

Sunday Scripture

HAVE A WONDERFUL

LORD'S DAY

GOD BLESS

LOVE

LEV

Sabbath Scripture

HAVE A BLESSED SABBATH

SHALOM

LOVE

LEV

It's Friday!

How is everyone doing this Friday morning? It's a cloudy rainy morning in Missouri, and I've been home about an hour, after dropping Lee off at work. Getting in somemore coffee, finally tying up lose ends on this crazy computer, and it's not wanting to run, so, now that I finally have that done, I can drop in on ya'll, and say "HI"!
Hope I about covered everybody...

So, what have I been up to since I talked to you yesterday afternoon. I did make it to pick up Lee's check, and to the gas station, without running out of gas. lol This is a good thing! Then, off to the cable company to pay the bill, and get the TV turned back on. By the way, I never did lose my internet. From there, had to head to O'Rilley's to pick up the part for the car, then had to stop and pick up ciggs., and a couple of things for supper, before heading back home, to get supper started. We also had to add torential downpours, while I was having to try and do all this running around. Raining so hard you could barely see the road. I got home a little before 6. It was still raining, although it had let up quite a bit...alot, actually. But, I went ahead and got my soup started, and simmering, and by then the rain had almost completely stopped. So, now it was time for the showdown with the car. I got the new map sensor installed, and turned the key, praying that this was the problem fixer. Well...it wasn't! The car is still running like crap, the "check engine" light still on. It was running so horribly with the map sensor plugged in, that I had to disconnect it too, like we did the old one, before I could even drive it to go pick up Lee. So now, we have spent $45 on a throttle sensor, and $67 on a new map sensor, and neither one of them has corrected the problem. We're still getting a diagnostic readout, telling us that there is a problem with the throttle senor and map sensor.... stating that the voltage is running either too low, or too high. We're assuming that the voltage is running to low...or the car wouldn't be dying. But...does this mean that the two new sensors we put in are bad?....Can you adjust this voltage somehow?....We are completely stumped. So, if any of you mechanics out there have ANY IDEAS....PLLLLLLLEASE!!!!! We could really use your help.

This puter!!!!! I don't know how I ever survived without it, but it can sure give me fits at times. I suppose what is the most aggrivating, is when you have used something, or done something, over and over, numerous times, without so much as a hit of trouble, and then one day, out of the blue, when you've done absolutely nothing different, no settings changed, or anything deleted...it just doesn't work. That's what has happened with my Smiley Central, and then a few days ago with my yahoo mail, and not being able to align, change font, or font size, or add smileys (yahoo smiley's), and then last night, yahoo messenger desides it doesn't want to download, my anti-virus won't update, trying to tell me there's no connection to the internet..,"check the proxy"....I get soooooooooooo sick of hearing that...when I've never done a thing to that. Anyway, I was able to us IE, but nothing else requiring the internet wanted to work. It was so discusting. It's a good thing my zone alarm was working so that I could stop all internet activity, or my puter would have been going without any virus protection running at all. I guess it was just some glitch with the internet. When I got back from taking Lee to work, I did an update on my virus prot., and it updated fine. Yahoo messenger did take it's time about wanting to load this morning, but finally decided that it would. I just wish I knew how to get all this stuff back to working the way it should, and the way it use to, but I've checked everything there is to check, and havent' had a bit of luck.

Well, today, I do have to get out at some point and go pay a couple more bills, and run by the $ store. I'm not in any big rush to do that, but will probably try to get it done sometime before 3. I wanna be able to get back here and have some time before I have to go get Lee. I'm not really sure if we're doing anything tonight or not. Landon gets off at 3, I may drop by and see him, and we may decide to get together for supper.

Moriah's friend, Amanda, came over and spent the night last night. I'm not sure what they're gonna do today. Probably hang out on the puter, or go up to Amanda's for a bit. They haven't been up that long, and haven't heard any talk coming out of her room, about their plans. lol. Who knows, with teen-age girls. hehehehe

Well, guess I'll head out. I'm gonna try and do a few things around here...thinking about cleaning out my closet...just trying to decide if I REALLY want to get into that big of a mess...hehehehehe. But, If I could get rid of some summer clothes, and move them to the other closet, it would sure make for finding things easier. So...I may try and tackle that. lol

I hope you guys have a great day! I'll be back here at some point today, I'm sure. But, with me...you just never know when. hahaha Have a good one!

Take care
Much love,
Lev

Thursday afternoon....

The better part of the day is done, and I thought it time to drop in and say hi, although, it has crossed my mind on several occasions. lol But, it's been one of those days when the puter didn't feel like cooperating with me, and it seemed I was in a neverending battle to constantly fix something, or clean-up something. I had the day off, and was telling myself about the things I wanted to try and get done today on the puter. It seems like it took forever to get anything done.

Well, I did get a couple of things added to my blog...a couple of new links, new images to see. Over the course of the past few days, I've added to my Swedish page, My Dad's page, soldier, hero, father... a new link on Kirk and Tara-Lee's Aussie page, and the home page, Lev's Notes. So, hope you will all go have a look at the new stuff that's been added.

I've had the day off, and as I said, have spent alot of the time messin' with this puter. But, I have accomplished to get a few things done around here also. Got the kitchen cleaned, and supper planned, a couple loads of laundry done, and my pantry/closet, that's also used for tupperware, cleaned out. That was a mess....lol I'll be leaving in a bit to go pick up Lee's check, get gas in the car, stop at the store, go pay my cable, then come back home and get started on supper, before having to go back and get Lee around 7. So, the next couple of hours, are gonna be go, go, go! I will definately be ready to get home tonight for good, and enjoy the evening.

It's been cloudy and rainy here all day...high only about 60. Just a chilly and dreary day. The perfect day to be indoors and not have to do anything, which I've been able to do for the majority of the day. Just a couple hours of hustle and bustle, and then I'll be able to come home to a hot bowl of homemade cream of brocolli and cheese soup, that I'm going to make, and also served with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. It sounded like the perfect supper on this chilly night.

I have tomorrow off too, and hopefully, Lee's going to be able to get tomorrow off too. He's just not sure. He has things that have to be done, and if he can't get them done, he'll have to work. That means he'll probably have Sat. off, and I have to work. He normally gets every other Sat. off, as do I, and for awhile, we were on the same Sat. off schedule, then somewhere or how, things got switched, and now we're on opposite weeks off. I was hoping that he could get tomorrow off, and work Sat., then next weekend, we'd both have Sat. off. But...who knows. Guess we'll find something out before too much longer....it will be here. lol

Moriah came home today and informed me that she was "going out" with a "guy" named Tyler. lol Her Dad and I, well, especailly her Dad, gives her a hard time about the term "going out", informing her that she hasn't "gone out", anywhere. Then she comes off with that discusted look and sigh....lol knowing very well, that we know exactly what she means, and are just wanting to give her a hard time. I told her I wanted to see a picture of this Tyler...but she conveniently says that she doesn't have one here. Guess that means it's a school???? But, she doesn't have a locker. So.... Who knoooooooooooows, what she means! LOL

Well, guess I better sign off, cause I'm gonna need to head out in a bit to pick up money. I'll sure feel better after these past due pills are paid. lol And not worring about my internet getting cut off...lol So, considering that I still have it now, and they're going to have money in the next 1 1/2 hour, I'm assuming that I will still have it too when I get back home later. So, I'll be back later tonight to drop in and see what you all are up to on the net.

Hope you've had a great day!

Much love,
Lev

I'm still here... :-)

Well, goodmorning, guys. Or at least it is morning for a little while longer...the next 10 mins. lol I just wanted to drop in and let you know that I still have internet. Now, for how long, will be the question. I'm just hoping that they don't get around to shutting me off, and by then, my payment will be in. I'll be paying them tomorrow. But, for now, I'm still here. Hopefully, when I return home this evening, it will still be on.

Guess not much has happened since I wrote last, other than sleeping. lol I dropped Lee off at work, came home, and was able to mess with the puter most of the morning. I got the majority of my housework done yesterday, so I sure wasn't going to tangle with anymore of that, especailly with having to leave for work. I'm going to need to leave it about 20 mins., but still had a bit of time before having to leave, so thought I'd drop in to let you know I was still on the net.

Gas is getting down to the nitty gritty, until tomorrow, so we don't have any plans to go to Landon's tonight. With my car running so crapy, it is just using way more gas than it should, and the mileage is a lot to be desired. It just takes up too much gas to go to Landon's and back, even though it isn't that far. So, it will just be head to work today, pick up Lee tonight, and come right home. Normally, I would just send Lee to work tomorrow with the car, that would save a couple of extra trips to town, but, I have to get his check at 5, so that I can go pay the cable bill before 6. So, hopefully, there will be enough gas to get to work today, and back home, lee to work tomorrow, and me back home, and then back into town at 5. I've got a little over a 1/4 tank, plus about $3 in my pocket, if I need to add a little more. It will be tight, but I think we'll be able to do it. Since we'll have gas tomorrow evening, we may make plans to do something with Landon, Amanda and the boys on Thurs. evening.

I almost forgot too, that when I pick up Lee's check, I'm going to need to go get the part we need for the car. I'm really anxious to see if that's what the problem is. This car driving the way it is, is really aggrivating, not to mention the fact scarey, wondering what in the world we'd do if it broke down, then we'd have no car at all, since the Buick isn't running. We've got to get this car running right, there are too many people depending on it. Landon's car isn't legal right now..the plates expired, so he has to be very careful where he can drive, so they've been depending on my car for alot of their transpertation too. But, if this is the part we need, that will help tremendously, and in return, should eliminate the problem we're having with it getting such horrible gas mileage. It's only a 4 cyl. engine, and should be getting close to 30 mpg....but I'm sure not. I'm doing good to probably get 20. I just hope this part will take care of all the problems we're having.

Well, guess I better head outta here. Got to take off in about 10 mins., so better start getting all my stuff together to head out. I hope the internet is still on when I get home. If it is....you can be sure I'll be here!

Have a great day....... Take care

Much love,
Lev

Hello guys....

Just thought I'd drop in and say a quick hi! There's not been much going on today...just spent most of the day cleaning house. I at least feal better, now that it is done.

I ran and picked up Landon after he got off work, around 3, and then ran him to pay his rent. From there, he just came and hung out at our house, till it was time to go get Lee, and then we all went out to his house for supper, and watched Star Wars.

I wanted to let you all know while I was here, that if I disappear for the next few days, it may be to the fact that I don't have any internet. I didn't get my cable paid in time, and we woke up this morning, to no TV. I did, and still do have my interent though, which is a little puzzeling, but the cable people said that it could also go off at any time, considering that the cable has already been disabled. I let them know that I was going to pay the bill on Thurs., so the guy said that possibly, since he now has in the puter that I'll be paying on Thurs., that the interent might hold out till then. We just don't know. anyway, we will be without TV for the next couple of days at least. I won't get to the cable company shortly before they close Thursday, so whether or not it will get turned back on Thursday night or not, I don't know. Hopefully, they won't make me wait till Friday, or worse off, even later. So, if ya don't here from me for a few days, don't be alarmed. "I'll be back"... lol

We haven't been back from landon's long. Lee, a little discusted because he doesn't have any TV, said he was gonna go to bed. I'm definately headed that way before long. I need to wait for Moriah's load of laundry to finish washing, so I can put it in the dryer for her, so it will be done when she gets up tomorrow for school. In fact, I think the washer just cut off. It's a little different, around this house, for us to be in bed before midnight. I actually, just might make it tonight.

I hope you all had a good day. Mine went very well, other than the cable getting disconnected...lol...but we'll live with it...even though it is discusting. It's back to work tomorrow, but, if my internet holds out, I'll be back here tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night after work too. Hope you all had a great evening.

Have a wonderful Wed....OH BOY....Hump day!!!!

Will talk to ya soon...
Much love,
Lev

Monday's here

The weekend is over, and here it is, Monday again. My two days off were great, although filled with some very frustrating and trying times.

I think I told you that we found the part for the car that we thought we needed, and Moriah and I left Sat. afternoon, as I told you, to go pick up the part, and head to Landon's, where he was going to install it for me, then we were to spend the evening with them, and having supper. Well...we got the part installed, I held my breath, and we started the car. It ran exactly the same as it had been before. There was no difference, the "check engine" light still on, and my car still runnin' like crap!!!! So...needless to say, I was very ticked! I was so sure that this was what was causing the problem. So, we just threw our hands up, as to what to do, and figured that maybe Lee could figure something out on Sunday, when he had off. So, we just decided to enjoy the rest of the evening. I took Landon with me, about 6:30, to go pick up Lee. We did good to make it out to the highway, the car constantly wanting to die, and me not being able to go fast enough to keep it from doing so. We finally headed out onto the highway, headed to Columbia, talkin' about what else could possibly be wrong with the car, when I looked down and noticed that the "check engine" light wasn't on!!! I called landon's attention to it, and now we were really stumped. The car drove beautifully, all the way to columbia. As we took the exit we needed to get to Lee's work, as we slowed down coming up the ramp, to a stop light, the car dies.....and it won't start. Every time I try to start it and give it a little gas...it dies. People are piling up in back of me on the exit. The light turns green, and I can't go, then red, then green again. I was never so discusted in my life. FINALLY...it started and we headed off to Lee's work, with me praying, that people will stay out of my way, that I won't hit any stop lights, for fear that this thing is going to die again, and not want to start. I did keep it running till we got to Tucker's, where Lee was waiting to just jump in the car. We informed him of the horrible mess we'd just gone through, and continued to talk about what the problem could be. Twice, before we got out of Columbia, the car died on us, and we had to pull off the side of the road to start it again. Once we got out onto the highway, and could get up some speed. We had no problems. We had a great evening at Landon's....supper, and movies. We had chili, and it was really good! Even if I did make it myself. lol We didn't get home from Landon's till almost 1:00. Of course, we knew we didn't have to get up the next morning...a sleep in, morning. I didn't go to bed till almost 3:00...lol Of course, Lee had nodded out in the recliner, long before then. hahahaha

Sunday morning was pretty lazy. I guess I was up about 10:30, doing my usual morning coffee and computer ritual. Lee was already up and watchin' TV. It stayed pretty much that way till around 1:00 or a little after. We decided that we needed to go out and get started on the car, seeing if we can find out what in the world the deal is. Well, we think we may have found it. We have a busted hose, that fits to the MAP sensor, which causes it to get the wrong readings. So, we replaced that, hoping that would solve the problem. We couldn't be so fortunate. It appears that the MAP sensor is "dead". So, we won't be able to get one of those till Thurs. Another $65.00. Let's just hope that this solves the problem. It better. So anyway, for now, Lee just has the MAP sensor unplugged. The car is still running horribly rough, but it doesn't die on you when you try to stop, or give it gas. So, we're hoping that by Thurs. we'll have the car running.

Now, here it is, Monday morning, and I have a couple more hours before having to leave for work. It's suppose to be beautiful here today, 81. The weather's really been beautiful the past few days...upper 70's. But you know me, I'm the supper girl, so I'm kinda looking forward to that 80 mark again. And I think it's suppose to be that way for most of the week. I don't guess we're planning anything for tonight. Just coming home after work.

Well, guess I'll head outta here and get a couple of things done I need to do, before going to work. You're probably tired of hearing me talk anyway...lol Hope you all have a beautiful day, wherever you are!

Much love,
Lev

Sunday Scripture

HAVE A WONDERFUL

LORD'S DAY

GOD BLESS

LOVE

LEV

It's the weekend, finally!

Oh how I love Saturday mornings off. Lee is at work. The house is really quiet, and Moriah's still sleeping. I've got some classic R&B playing in the background, and decided to sit down and drop in on you all, for a visit.

Moriah had a ball at her homecoming dance last night. She was suppose to have a ride home, but I ended up having to go get her a little after midnight. She really enjoyed herself! And she looked very very pretty! I think it made her Daddy almost cry to look at her. I'm really glad she had such a great time.

My car's been acting up, I think I told you. Plus, the Buick not working either. Well, it was REALLY actin' up on me last night when I went to pick up Moriah. I prayed all the way there, and all the way home...that the car would get me there, and not leave me stranded along the side of the road. It will not idle in neutral, or park...it just dies...so at every stop light, or stop sign, I have to put my foot on the brake with one foot, but keep my other foot on the gas, to give it a little, or it dies on me every time. Boy...how annoying is that. It didn't seem to be doing quite as bad today when I took Lee to work, as it was last night, but it was still trying to die on me everytime I stopped. Once I got back home I decided to try and do some troubleshooting on the internet. Of course, the first thing my search pulled up, was for a Chilton Manuel, and then it dawned on me that we had one.....duh....and I'm not even blonde! lol So, I got the book out, and figured out how to access the inner diagnostic system, and the code for what the problem might be. Seems that I need a 'throttle position sensor'... and the automotive store confirmed that diagnostic...and they have one... $42.99. Could have been a little cheaper...but...it could have been $149.00. I don't have $149.00...so I'm glad it was only $42.99. lol Anyway, I will be going to O'Rileys a little later, to pick up the new part, and then out to Landon's to pick him up, the boys, and Amanda, and they're coming over here for supper. we're going to fix chili. Landon is going to put my new part on the car, and let's pray that this takes care of our problem.

I've got to run just a couple blocks down the street to a little convenience store, to grab just a couple of things I need to get my chili started. It's not far from our house, and is really handy when we need something quick. They're a little mom and pop store, so they're not real high priced like the regular convenience stores are. I probably won't head out to Landon's until 12-1. I'm going to try to have my chili on the stove and cooking before then. Or at least try. It's going to depend how fast I can get this hamburger to thaw out....it's hard as a rock. lol

It's beautiful out today, suppose to be in the mid-70's. But, by the time Lee gets off tonight, and we're ready to eat, the temp. is suppose to drop, and it will be quite a bit chillier by then, so we thought chili for supper would be appropriate.

Moriah finally crawled her butt outta bed. lol Of course, she probably wouldn't have, had her friend Amanda not called. I guess I shouldn't have went in and woke her up, and just told Amanda I'd have her call. It was about 1:00 am by the time we got home last night, after the dance.

Well, guess I need to start getting up and around, so I can get the stuff done that I need to do. I'm really anxious to see if this new part I get for the car, takes care of the prob. Let's hope! Keep your fingers crossed.

I'm sure I'll be back at some point today...lol...when, who knows. hahaha But, I promise I will. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Take Care

Much love,
Lev

Sabbath Scripture

HAVE A BLESSED

SABBATH

SHALOM

LOVE

LEV

TGIF

Hey Guys,

Boy, am I glad that it's Friday! Just this one last day of work for this week. I was suppose to have yesterday off, but on Wed., Rex asked if I could come in and help out, which I said sure, but have previous obligations in the afternoon. Usually, when I work a morning like that, I'm usually out of there by 11, or 12. We were absolutely so swamped yesterday. We had an overabundance of shirts and drycleaning, and it just seemed to never end. I worked solid for an hour on the shirt line, and regardless of how many shirts I bagged, and put away, the line never seemed to get any smaller. For one that I'd get done, I'd replace it with two or three new orders. It went like that most of the morning. It was just about the same with the drycleaning. Rex finally asked me what time I had to leave, and I told him I needed to be somewhere by 3. This was at about noon, maybe a little after, and he wanted to know if I'd stay and help them catch up. The orders to be tagged, that had been taken in, were piling up in the floor, and on ever table. So, by the time we got everything tagged and sorted, I walked out of work at 2. Boy, was it a crazy day!!!! I work today also, and then will have Sat. and Sun. off. I am definately looking forward to that. I just hope that today isn't as insane as the past few days at work have been. We're due a break! lol

Well, tonight is Moriah's first high school homecoming football game and dance. She doesn't have a date, but now-a-days, guess that's no biggie. She is going with a friend. Naturally, she had NOTHING to ware.... or nothing that she thought looked good anyway. She had wanted me to take her to walmart...apparently she saw a skirt and top there she liked, but of course, she didn't bother to tell me what she wanted it for....very scatterbrained at times, she is...hehehehehe! So, me not thinking it was anything "desperate", didn't get her taken to wally world last night, so she was a little on the depressed side that she didn't have what she wanted to wear. With working today, I knew it would make for a pretty cramped morning to try to get to walmart, along with other things I had to do...so I was still trying to sort out if I had the time to do that. Well, my mind was made up for me, when I returned home from taking Lee to work, to find the birdcage upside down, busted, in the middle of the living room floor....The cat sitting on the back of the couch, watching the bird who is hanging from the curtains on the window. One of them on one window, one on the other. I quickly grabbed the cat and put him outside. I put the cage back together as best I could. and set it back where it was, without the bottom, which was busted to pieces, and tied the door open. So...off to Wally World I went, to get a new birdcage, and yeah, you guessed it, while I was there, picked out a new skirt and top for Moriah to wear to the dance. She showed me what they looked liked online at walmart.com, so I at least had some idea of what she was wanting. Naturally, when I get there, they have two different skirts, and I'm not sure exactly which one it was she showed me. So, I guessed on that, but think she'll like it even if it wasn't the right one. And the top she showed me online I couldn't find either. They may have been sold out, but I did find a real pretty one that I think she'll love. So, I hope she'll be surprised when she gets home from school, to find the new outfit laying on her bed. I got the new birdcage put all back together, and the bird in their new home. I had to put it back where it was, there is nowhere else to put it, so I think the "puddy tat" will stay outside while I'm at work today!!!!!! It is hard to imagine that the cat can reach them where they are. We have them sitting on top of an 8 foot tall amoire'. And it is a looooooong jump from the back of the couch to the top of the shelf. But, somehow, that cat made it. I'm just not sure what we're gonna do, but we're gonna have to do something. I'm afraid that one day, they'll end up kitty food, if we don't. We may have to try and put them on some sort of pully system, so that we can lower them to feed and water, and them raise them way out of the cat's way. Hopefully, we'll come up with something.

Landon and I both have tomorrow off, so at some point, we're going to get together and cook something up for supper tomorrow night, then I'll pick up Lee and we'll go to Landon's house. We're not sure what we're gonna have. But, I'm sure we'll come up with something. Maybe a big pot of chili, of it's gonna be kinda cold tomorrow night.

Landon came over for a while last night, and ate supper with us. Amanda wasn't feeling well, had a migraine, so she stayed home. While Landon was here, I decided to try out my new phone card I got, and call Kirk...the time was about right for him...around noon. But, when I tried, the line was busy. Not long after that, I had to leave to take Landon back home. When I arrived back at my house, everyone was asleep, so I sat down in the quite to check my email, and then go to bed. It was about 12:30. When I got on the puter, I noticed that Tara-Lee had tried to buzz me in IM. I replyed, not even knowing if she was still there....but she was. We talked, and then she went to get Kirk. Kirk and I chatted IM for a bit. I wish they had their camera, so I can see them. They have windows xp pro on their computer, and guess it won't work with their webcame, So, they need to get the home addition. Anyway, it was good talking to him. I told him I had tried to call, but the line was busy, so we made arrangements for him to be at home around noon the following day...so we'll try him again tonight...which will be Sat. at noon for him.

Well, I just noticed the time. I need to head outta here. I have to stop and pay my cell phone bill on my way to work, so I'll need to allow a little extra time to do that.

I'll be back here tonight. Hope you all have a great day! Take care...

Much love,
Lev

A wonderful anniversary day!

Today was a wonderful day. The overcast sky, made it wonderful for sleeping in, which Lee and I were both looking forward to. I got up around 10:30...not sure how long Lee had been up, but the coffee was made, and I grabbed my cup, and set down at my puter to check my morning email, and such. Lee watched TV most of the morning, and we discussed what we wanted to do that evening, for our anniversary, which is today. We decided we'd go see a movie, then out to dinner, and then we've been wanting to visit a new piano bar that in town. So, we made the decision to do that. I had to run to the bank, get gas, pick up my check, go to wal-mart, run some money to Landon, and then headed back to the house. On the way home, I stopped at the store, and picked up Moriah some of her favorite...chinese food, and some egg rolls. After all, she was going to be stuck here by herself, all evening. Oh, and a caramel apple for dessert. lol

Just before getting to the store, Moriah calls me, reminding me that her backpack broke yesterday, and there is just NO WAY, that she can go another day using her old backpack...it just ISN'T working...lol...you know how 15 yr. old girls can be....hehehehehe I was already running short on time, if we were going to make the movie, and didn't have time to go backpack shopping. lol I just told her I'd be home in a bit, and we'd figure out what we were going to do. Once I got home, and we started looking at out time schedule...and me still not ready...not by a loooong shot, we knew we weren't going to have time to do that, and still do what we had planned for the evening. We did decide to go eat first, then do the show, and then the piano bar, and told Moriah, that if she'd trust me to pick out the backpack, that if we had time in between dinner and the movie, that we'd go see what we could find.

Lee and I decided to go to a place in town that we'd never been, but had always heard was fabulous. It's called Everette's, and Kirk worked there for awhile, at one time. It was, by all means, fabulous. We started with a calamari(octopus) appitizer, then Lee had Ceasar salad, and I had a bowl of roasted potato and bacon soup. For our main course, Lee had prime rib, with fried parmeasean asparagus spears, and I had fried shrimp with a baked potato, loaded with bacon bits, sour cream, green onions, and butter, along with wonderful homemade bread, and honey wipped butter. It was DELICIOUS! Well, needless to say, between what we spent on supper... $70, including tip, getting ciggs, filling the car with gas, spending $20 bucks at Wally world, loaning Landon $20 and having to set back $20 to repay a friend what we owe him, there wasn't much left. So, we figured so much for the movie, and the piano bar. Instead, we went to Target, and bought Moriah a new backpack, came home and got "naked", as we say in our house, and have just been relaxing for the rest of the evening. It was a wonderful day, and I had a marvelous evening spent with Lee, on our 27th anniversary.

Now, it's back to work tomorrow. I was wanting to get up to the floral shop today to talk to Kent about any job openings he might have, but I sure didn't have time for that, so maybe I can get that done on Thursday, when I'm off again.

I have added a few new things to my blog...on my main page, and also on the Sweden page. So, if you get the chance, hope you take time to check those out. The links at the bottom of my email, so it's always handy! lol

Hope you all have had a wonderful day. I hope you have a great day tomorrow, as well. Take care, and I'll talk to you all soon!

Much love,
Lev

A good Sunday evening to you all...

Okay, this is just toooo odd! After touchin' in with you all last night, I went in later to write an email to Kirk and Tara-Lee. Out of habit, I went directly to the "font" button, in my email, to change font size, type, etc...and guess what...they worked. Great, \I thought...must have just been a glitch with yahoo. Well, I'm not believing it, but in I come tonight, and it won't work again. I get that same stupid little y, with the two dots over the top of it. What is so strange, is that when this first happens, the color will pop up the same white screen with the Y in it, but then the color chart immediately opens. But, with the font type and size, or smiles it won't. So, all I can do is change color, bold or italics. That is just REALLY bizarre!

Anyway, so how did everyone Sunday go? I hope you all had a good one! It was great here, beginning with getting to sleep in. I guess it was going on 11 before I got up...can't remember the exact time. Moriah had beaten me to the computer...lol, so I sat in the living room with Lee and drand my coffee, and watched a movie. I was finally able to run Moriah off, after an hour or so.....hahahaha

Landon had to work and was suppose to get off at 2. I called out to his house a little before 3, and he had just then walked in the door. We really weren't ready to leave here yet either, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Lee got started watchin' a movie, and by the time we got stuff rounded up, there wasn't much of it left, so Lee wanted to finish that. I need to run to the store, pick up a money order, and get my rent in the mail. It has to be postmarked tomorrow. So, while Lee was finishing up the movie, Moriah and I ran to do that, then came back to the house to get Lee. We have been having some cool nights, and we were trying to decide what to do for supper. Landon has an old bbq grill that he's rigged up like a campfire type thing...lol and we had a few logs in our back yard along the fence...have no idea who's they were...just always been there, so, we loaded the wood in the truck, along with a box of smaller sticks for kindling, and headed to landon's. Lee made some really cool wennie sticks out of coat hangers, and after getting our fire stared, we all able to sit around the fire, after dark, and roast our wennies! It was alot of fun, and Kirk and Gabriel really get a kick out of doing that. After supper, we roasted marshmellows over the fire, and made S'mores. Of course, Kenny and Gabriel had gooey marshmellow from ear to ear! lol :-) no smilies :-( We had a fun time at our little cookout, and the warm fire felt great on this cool night.

On a morning I can sleep in...guess what? My phone rings!!!!! Guess who got their times confused ....again!!!? Kirk...asking me what I was doing. Duuuhhhhhhhhh!!! It's 7:30 AM, on a Sunday morning, and you ask me what I am doing. Then he is surprised what time it is when I tell him. So...still half asleep with the phone to my ear, I was able to talk to him for about 15 mins., I guess...maybe it wasn't that long. I didn't look at the clock when I hung up the phone. I hung up...closed my eyes! That was it!!!! He's doin' good. The first tennis match I told you about, that he was going to play on Thurs...well, our Thurs., his Fri., it got rained out. So, they didn't get to play at all. He wasn't sure when it was going to be rescheduled. It is their spring there, so it is a rather rainy season for them.

It's back to work tomorrow, for both Lee and I. He's hoping that he can get Tues., 11th off, since I'm off that day too, and it's our anniversary. We're talking about going out to dinner, but we can't decide where. We're tossing around a couple of ideas. We won't be able to spend the amt. of money it takes to go to one of the "nicer, nicer", restaurants in town...but, one of the "nicer" ones. Lee and I went one yr to a great place here in town. But, it was close to $70 for just the two of us. Of course, we both did have the steak and lobster. And it was delicious! But, we're looking at probably closer to the $30-40 range for Tues. Can't really do much more than that. But, there are some rather nice places in Columbia. Right now, we're looking at either "Longhorn", a FABULOUS steak house here in town, that we've been to before, and absolutely LOVE! Or a new place called "Macaroni Grill". Neither one of us have eaten there before, but have heard that it is really good. So..that's a couple. We still have awhile to descide.

So, I guess that's about all that's new. Hope you all had a great day today, and a wonderful tomorrow.

Take care....

Much love,
Lev