Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Look Out T-Dub!

 Here I come!
Oh, happy day! I was accepted to Texas Woman's University last week. I am too excited for words, but I was accepted to the university and into the English department. YEAH!! I'm so happy. Now if I can just get the government to pay for it all will be right with the world! By the way, is this not the funniest shirt you've ever seen? TWU was an all-female school for years, so they've never had a football team! I suppose that makes them undefeated. More news coming soon... Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Developments!

I know, I know...it's been a while AGAIN! Scold me later, okay? Here are the most recent developments in my life and the lives of those around me.

As far as my life is concerned, it's going great! I finished out the semester and did well in my classes. I signed up for an English class that begins in June. I applied to Texas Woman's University (TWU) but I haven't heard back yet on the acceptance. I also applied for financial aid at TWU and apparently I'm so poor that my Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a big, whopping zero! So I may get some grants this year, yeah!! I'm really excited about transfering to TWU, the English program is awesome and with the government money I can actually afford it now. I always feel God's presence and that He always provides for His children, but I feel it more strongly than ever. It's been a really long educational road for me, many of you know precisely how long, but I realize now how much closer I am to God because of the journey.

That brings me to my next bit of good news. I'm dating a really great man named Brent. Things between us are growing and moving forward and our relationship is very strong. We have a lot of common interests and thoughts but enough differences to make it interesting and cool. I'm very happy all the way around right now, hopefully things will keep moving up.

My mom was offered a job working for the parent company of Lexxus International, a company she worked for previously. She accepted the position and is already busy kicking out the projects as well as keeping me busy with odd tasks to help her out. She's excited and thoroughly focused, which is totally awesome. I love to see her so motivated and happy.

So saving the best for last...

Jason and Jessie had a beautiful baby girl. She was born on Friday, May 12, 2006, at 9:05 AM (mountain) in Bozeman, Montana. She was 6 lbs, 6 oz. and they named her Haylee Marie. She's a gorgeous, little girl. Here are some pictures... Let the comments begin!!

Click here for the hospital photo...


First Family Photo (Everyone is crying! Too cute)


Mommy and Baby


Bath Time!


Proud Papa


Haylee's Ride Home


Jason and Haylee at home

Thursday, April 20, 2006

For Those Who Want Something New On My Blog

Several of you out there have asked me if everything is alright with me since I haven't posted in a while. Just so all concerned parties know, I am alright. I have been very busy here at the end of the semester, trying to finish these classes and get all the necessary paperwork together and submitted to Texas Woman's University for my transfer acceptance. It's been nuts lately, but in a good way. So for your ocular and mental enjoyment, I submit the following...Hope you all like it!

"Understanding Tax Cuts"
by: David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D

Sometimes politicians, journalists and the liberal left exclaim; "It's just a tax cut for the rich!" and it is just accepted to be fact.

But what does that really mean?

Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, I hope the following will help. Please read it carefully.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20." Dinner for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to eat their meal.

So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

Friday, February 17, 2006

Texas Rarities: Under the Influence of Stupid

It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
(Huh? Are the beer police watching for this? 2...3...4...I'm sorry ma'am you're going to have to come with us.)

The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.
(And one google search for homemade beer can get you the same recipe. Is the internet next on the chopping block?)

It is unlawful for a person to consume an alcoholic beverage while operating a motor vehicle upon a public roadway, if the person is observed doing so by a peace officer.
(Could this be worded any worse? Is it written this way just to give rednecks ideas? So, what you're saying is that it is perfectly lawful to operate a motor vehicle while consuming alcohol until I'm seen by a cop, then and only then is it illegal. And while we're on it, it says motor vehicle...so it must legal to drink a beer while riding a bike on a public roadway even while observed by a peace officer so long as I don't get so drunk as to fall off my bike. Our fine state has achieved a whole new level of stupid with this one.)

In Galveston, one needs permission from the director of parks and recreation before getting drunk in any city park.
(I stand corrected on my previous statement about levels of stupidity...this is by far this most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Who has ever planned far enough in advance to get drunk in a city park that they got a permission slip from the city? I never did. I mean, I never got drunk in a city park. Oops. What I meant to say was I've never been drunk (crap!) never had a drink before in my life. Whew, glad that's over!)

In Lubbock, it is illegal to drive within an arm's length of alcohol - including alcohol in someone else's blood stream.
(Let me get this straight, it's illegal to be a designated driver in Lubbock?? I'm confused.)

My Exciting Life

I hate that you guys look at this page occasionally and never see anything new. I feel for you, really I do. No, REALLY! Scout's honor. It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I'm busy with my very uninteresting life. For instance, this week I finished up some labs for college Biology and faxed them to my professor, I took my first test for that class and made a 90 (yea me), took some soup to a sick friend, got sick because of it, got better, picked up my "nephew" (Phoenix is his name) from preschool, read some Twain and some Hemingway, made dinner several times *grin*, went out with some friends for drinks and to see a band, worked on some artwork for several t-shirt designs, watched Olympic hockey with my grandma, oh yeah, and I slept some too. If you are still reading this and find it fascinating, you are in need of some serious excitement in your life! Try staying up past 9:30pm... Seriously though, my life is so freaking uneventful I don't really find it necessary to blog or blab about it. It's really not "uneventful", there is plenty of stuff going on and lots of stuff to do, but it's not exciting and I really don't have any interesting stories to tell.

Well, alright, you twisted my arm. I think this is funny, you guys might or not, but do I care...not really. I was working on this artwork for a t-shirt and my mom walks up behind me. This makes me nervous since she was my boss for a while. I'm now goofing around with different elements, secretly waiting for it...here it comes...
"It looks good..."
Wait for it...waaait for it...
"BUT, it needs something."
AH HA! I knew it! The phone rings...it's for me, saved by the ring. But no, she keeps going. Mind you while I'm on the phone with a friend, she says, "You need to make it pop." She's set herself up...
"You mean it needs some pizazz, it needs more flair?"
"Yeah", she says.
"So the minimum 15 pieces aren't enough?"
Internally I'm thinking, she's only seen this movie twice, she's never going to get the "Office Space" reference. Meanwhile, my friend is dying laughing on the phone.
She says, to my surprise, "Do you want to do the minimum or do you want to express yourself?"
I was totally impressed...my mom ROCKS!!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Baby Foster Update

Hello to everyone, family, friends, fellow bloggers out there. I come to you today with exciting news. Jason and Jessie (see my last post) had their first sonogram yesterday. I've never heard my brother so excited about anything before in my life or his for that matter, considering he's about to be a father that's a really cool thing. He's going to make an incredible dad. My mom is so happy about being a grandma, from here on out I will affectionately refer to her as Granny!

So here's what Jason said on the phone. The official due date is May 21st. I think Granny has already booked a flight! The doctor "didn't see anything" so as far as they can tell it's a girl! At least now Granny can stop buying yellow and green stuff and start getting lots of pink stuff. Jason and Jessie decided on her name...Haylee Marie Foster. I love my brother for that one. Before Grandpa Hayles passed away, he told me if I ever had a little girl to name her, Haylee Marie, a play on his last name and Marie is my mom's middle name. Several years ago I found out that kids would be difficult for me and recently out of the question. I told Jason that if it was a girl to please consider Grandpa's wish for me. I love Jason and Jessie, they have made his wish come true. My brother is the greatest brother in the world. I'm a very lucky woman to have a brother and sister-in-law so kind as to consider my feelings and our grandpa's during a time when they could easily put their own desires first and be totally justified, it is their child on the way. They are such good people, they are so good together and they will make awesome parents!

So...that's about it on my end. It's no longer baby Foster, but a baby girl named Haylee. I love this. I can't wait until May! I feel a bit like Pinocchio, now I'm going to be a real aunt. A real, live Aunt Gigi! Congratulations Jason, Jessie and Haylee!