The Essence of a Woman

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 My day in a nutshell

The guy from Home Depot came over and did the measurements for my laminate floors. Hopefully I can get them back tomorrow so I can get my wood tomorrow since it is going off sale tomorrow. I will get it tomorrow, one way or another. They delivered my couch and chair. It is so nice and comfortable, and I have become the wicked witch of the west with everyone. Not eating, drinking, jumping, shoes, or looking at it wrong.

I had a standing appt between 4-5pm for an electrician to meet me at the trailer to do repair work. I get a call at 300pm, "yeah, my guy who is suppose to meet you at the trailer is there and no one is there to let him in."

Me: "Uhm, you said 4-5, and it is 3pm. I told you I need a confirmed time because there is no one residing in the trailer and I do not have a key so I need to make arraignments with the people who bought the place to be there so we can get in."

Her: "oh, that is right, they must have had the times wrong,"

So I go over at 4pm and the guy who bought the place meets me. I call the electricity place at 4:15.

Me: "Hi, this is "Mamma Mia", I am at the trailer, are we still on for today."

Her: "Yes we are."

At 430, my cell phone is ringing. Can you guess who it is?? yep, the electricity place.

Her: "Yeah, my guy who was at the trailer earlier is done for the day. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?"

Me: "That is not my problem, we made an appt, he came sooner, that is not my problem. Someone needs to come out here and do something."

Her: "Well, I do not have anyone else. It will have to be tomorrow."

Me: "I can not be here tomorrow. And I am paying for this."

Her: "You are paying my Visa/MC, I can take that over the phone."

Me: "Fine, but I WANT to know what is being done first before anything is done, I want to know what I am paying for.."

UGH, what is wrong with incompetent people?

Then J.R. freaks out on the way home. She is almost 6 and acted like a two year old. I pulled over and was about to go ballistic on her. So I gave her an option, go home and go to bed and stay in your room or get a spanking. Yeah, she choose her room.

I made spaghetti tonight for dinner. Couldn't eat any of it. My tummy is feeling weird. So I went down and got me some California rolls (yeah, I am still a novice sushi eater) and a salad. Didn't eat much of it, but it was good. I took one of my anti-nausea meds, so I will probaably be out here soon. Tummy is starting to feel a little better.

There is something seriously wrong with me. I have no focus. My brain is a fog. I can not take this much longer. I can not focus or do anything, I feel like a vegetable, if that makes any sense.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 9:39 PM :: 3 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Today's news Story.....

Woman Sentenced To Jail For Sons' Truancy
Prosecutors Say Teens Missed 50 Days Each

POSTED: 6:03 am EST February 28, 2006
UPDATED: 7:03 pm EST February 28, 2006

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ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The mother of two Rockville teenagers is headed to jail after a Montgomery County jury found her guilty of failing to send her kids to school.

Prosecutors say 44-year-old Shirley Lumbao's 13- and 15-year-old sons each missed more than 50 days of class last year. The mother has been sentenced to spend two nights in jail and could face more jail time if her sons' attendance doesn't improve.

Attorneys said Lumbao works two jobs and was unable to get the boys to school.

Lumbao's eldest son Timothy said the situation is not his mother's fault. "You know it's not fair that they put my mother in jail, because it's my brother's fault."

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Assistant State's Attorney Jeffrey Wennar told The Washington Post the sentence was necessary to send a message to the woman and her sons in the courtroom Monday. He said truancy won't be tolerated.

Prosecutors say they try to work with families and only go to court as a last resort.

Brian Edwards of Montgomery County public schools said the district tries its best to work with families wher truancy is a problem. School officials have bought the boys alarm clocks and offered incentives to come to class.

"We worked with her over almost 2 years, and in the end she still didn't do it, those kids were missing 50 plus days of school a year, we had to send a strong message here," said Edwards.

Timothy believes his mother tried her best to get his brothers to go to school and that they simply defied her. He's now worried his mother could lose one of her jobs.

Unlike other states, Maryland prosecutes parents, not children, for truancy. Lumbao is the first parent in Montgomery County to do be sentenced to jail for the crime.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Hmmmm, well, I am not sure where I stand on this. 50 days of missed school. That is a bit excessive. However, it sounds like this mom was working when he kids are suppose to be getting up and going to school. My question, is this DA and Judge a single mother who has to work two jobs just to keep the electric on and food in her kids mouths? I mean, why not going after the farther for not being supportive and getting his children up while the mother is working to support her children. But hey, he is not a part of their lives so he is accountable for their actions I guess. If this was a parent who didn't care, then yeah, put her jail, but she seems like a caring mother trying to make ends meet. I would like the DA and Judge to walk a mile in her shoes.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 9:19 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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How I fall in love

Pretty true, but the first and last one is wrong, I just picked those answers because I am plain LAZY, yeah, I admit it, I am LAZY.

How You Are In Love

You fall in love quickly and easily. And very often.

You tend to give more than take in relationships.

You tend to get very attached when you're with someone. You want to see your love all the time.

You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change.

You are fickle and tend to fall out of love easily. You bounce from romance to romance.

How Are You In Love?

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 3:16 PM :: 0 Know the Essence of a Woman

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My past life, HMMM

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Jittery Poet.

Where You Lived: Saudi Arabia.

How You Died: Buried alive.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 3:13 PM :: 0 Know the Essence of a Woman

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My Hillbilly name, LOL

Your Hillbilly Name Is...

Bobbie Jean Walker

Hillbilly Name Generator

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 3:11 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Monday, February 27, 2006 I am getting lazy.....

I have been going nonstop to school since Fall '03. I do not know if I am burnt out or just lazy, but I can not do this anymore. I do not want to do my school work. I just want to lay around and sleep. I am exhausted and have been sick with various sickness over the month. This is one of my hats I want to take off for awhile. But I can't, I only have 5 more classes left after this semester and I am done. That is it, I will have my BBA degree. That means, Sept 18, I am finished with school. But I do not want to do this now. Nor next semester. I need a break, a good long break. But I know I can not stop, I have to keep on trucking. Why stop now, it would be foolish. God, please grant me the strength to keep on working.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 11:18 PM :: 2 Know the Essence of a Woman

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I am so proud of Big Daddy

He has decided to make a life change. He has decided to lose weight and get healthy. He has extremly high blood pressure and cholesterol. When he went to the Doctors a couple of weeks ago his top number for his blood pressure was 289. Yes, you read that right, 289. And he is only 30. I have been on him about doing so, and he is finally doing it. He is working out, cardio and calastynics. He is also working on his diet. It is hard but he is doing a good job. I am trying to get him to eat his greens. He has never really ate greens, but he is starting too. I am so proud of him though. keep up the good work Big Daddy.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 10:53 PM :: 0 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Today's Funny

ÂYou Were TerribleÂ
In a blistering letter, Donald Trump tells Martha Stewart what he really thought of her 'Apprentice'

WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Keith Naughton
Newsweek
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET Feb. 21, 2006

Feb. 21, 2006 - Look out Martha, the Donald is gunning for you. "I'm tired of Martha blaming me for her failure," Donald Trump roared over the phone to NEWSWEEK on Tuesday.

Trump was referring to comments Martha Stewart made in the current edition of NEWSWEEK about why her version of "The Apprentice" failed. (NBC declined to renew Stewart's version of the program after its initial season). And he fired off a letter to the domestic diva assailing her for suggesting that her show suffered from "Apprentice" overload because it was on the air at the same time as his.

In the NEWSWEEK story, Stewart contends she was supposed to have fired Trump on the air, leaving her show as the sole "Apprentice" on NBC. "Having two "Apprentices" was as unfair to him as it was unfair to me," Stewart said. "But Donald really wanted to stay on."

Trump's response: "It's about time you started taking responsibility for your failed version of "The Apprentice"," he wrote in a Feb. 21 missive to Stewart that he shared with NEWSWEEK. "Your performance was terrible in that the show lacked mood, temperament and just about everything else a show needs for success. I knew it would fail as soon as I first saw itÂand your low ratings bore me out."

Trump went on to attack Stewart's sidekick on the show, her daughter Alexis, as well as Stewart's practice of writing thank-you notes to contestants she'd just fired. "Between your daughter, with her-one word statements, your letter writing and, most importantly, your totally unconvincing demeanor, it never had a chanceÂmuch as your daytime show is not exactly setting records."

Trump's primary complaint was Stewart's contention that she was to have fired Trump on the air. She says that was proposed. "The franchise," she told NEWSWEEK, "should only be one show. It shouldn't be two shows." "Apprentice" producer Mark Burnett confirmed that firing Trump was suggested. But Burnett, who co-owns "The Apprentice" with Trump, quickly added: "Thank God that didn't happen."

Trump, though, is adamant that no one wanted to turn the boardroom tables on him. "What moron would think you'd fire a guy with the No. 1 show on TV," he told NEWSWEEK. (In season four, "The Apprentice" averaged about 10.7 million viewers a week, down several million from its previous season. Stewart's show averaged 6.6 million viewers through its first four weeks.)

In his letter, Trump even addresses Stewart's high-profile 2004 conviction and imprisonment for perjury and obstruction of justice in the ImClone stock trading scandal. "You made this firing up just as you made up your sell order of ImClone," he wrote. "The only difference isÂthat was more obvious."

To Trump, the cruelest cut is that Stewart, in his view, has turned on him. "I did nothing but positively promote you," he wrote. "My great loyalty to you has gone totally unappreciated."

At the end of his letter, Trump takes one more shot. "P.S.," he wrote. "Be careful or I will do a syndicated daytime show, perhaps called The Boardroom, and further destroy the meager ratings you already have."

Stewart, who last week told NEWSWEEK she had an "excellent" relationship with Trump, might be reassessing that now. After reading the letter late Tuesday, she issued this statement to Newsweek: "The letter is so mean-spirited and reckless that I almost canÂt believe my long-time friend Donald Trump wrote it. I am very proud of the work we did with Mark Burnett Productions and Mr. Trump, who was an executive producer, on 'The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.' Many young entrepreneurs learned so much from the show and enjoyed it. Many families sat their children down weekly to watch it. We are even more pleased with our excellent daytime show MarthaÂsyndicated by NBC UniversalÂwhich has just been nominated for six daytime Emmys (including best show and best host), was touted by The New York Times as one of the best shows on television, and has been embraced by our wonderful audience throughout the country."

Â© 2006 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11486686/site/newsweek/

C'mon Martha, you fire the Don man? Puh-lease. I was rolling when I heard about this. And heads up to Donald Trump for your come back letter. Martha didn't you know, what the Don man touches turn to gold? You still need a little work on what you touch, because it is still hit or miss. Their will be Apprentice, and it is not you Martha.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 10:36 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Sunday, February 26, 2006 Reality has hit me in my face....

I am almost done with my college education. I am 5 classes from my Business degree. I received my AA degree last June. I thought it would be easy to find a job. Boy was I wrong. I have been putting my resume out at place of interest and not one bite. It is actually getting pretty depressing. I need a career, I am tired of working a job, and I need to gain more experience not mention money. But I realized, even with an education, a job will not be handed to you. But you need to start somewhere and I can not even get that.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 8:12 PM :: 3 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Oh my poor tummy.....

I go in on Friday to have a endoscopy done. The Doctor is checking for ulcers. I swear I have the worst gastric problems. From top to bottom, literally. The problem we are focusing on now, after we took care of the GERD, is my nausea. I have the worst nausea. I am always sick to my stomach, and my stomach is always upset. It doesn't matter. He gave me this wonderful medication for it. It works great! Problem: It knocks me out, and I mean knocks me out. And this does not help mi vita loca. I have to work, and I drive, so this is not the best medication to be on. I have school, I can not take it and concentrate on school. Hopefully Friday we can fix this problem and start working on my other problems.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 8:06 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Friday, February 24, 2006 Who would have guessed????

Iraq under curfew to quell sectarian violence
Officials urge end to revenge attacks after mosque bombing

Friday, February 24, 2006; Posted: 5:31 a.m. EST (10:31 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- With sectarian violence intensifying nationwide, Iraqi authorities extended a curfew in Baghdad and two neighboring provinces into Friday to try to calm tensions in the wake of Wednesday's bombing of Shiite Islam's third-holiest shrine.

The bombing of the mosque in Samarra has sparked dozens of attacks on Sunni institutions, resulting in the killing of clerics, worshippers and bystanders. By late Thursday, authorities said more than 132 people had been killed in the violence. That toll included 87 bodies found in Baghdad alone.

The curfew, which bars the movement of vehicles but not people, could stir even more controversy because it will remain in effect through Friday's noon Muslim prayers -- the most sacred prayers of the week for followers. The curfew ends at 4 p.m. Friday.

In addition to Baghdad, the curfew covers Salaheddin and Diyala provinces.

In Samarra on Thursday, thousands of enraged Shia Muslims gathered at the bombed-out Al-Askariya Mosque and called for revenge. Among those taking part in the protests were followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militia has been reported going door-to-door in Sunni areas asking for heads of households. (A country struggling to stay together -- 2:38)

President Jalal Talabani urged Iraqis be calm.

"If the flames of division get enraged, God forbid, they won't help anyone," Talibani said. "No one will be spared. Putting those flames out is a sacred duty of all Iraqis and a must in order to achieve a unified democratic Iraq."

Witnesses of Wednesday's attack on the shrine said armed men dressed as police commandos stormed the site, bound the guards and detonated their bombs -- an act that U.S. officials said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda and wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

"It's clearly the signature of Zarqawi and terrorists and foreign fighters," U.S. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters in Baghdad.

President Bush has condemned the bombing as the work not of a religious person "but an evil person."

Iraqis' response to the attack has raised concern that the country could slip into civil war. (Watch enraged Iraqis after bombing of the mosque -- 1:51)

"I don't think we're anywhere near that, but ... neither do I think we can sit back and suggest that it couldn't happen," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, a former U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said in Washington.

John McLaughlin, the former deputy director of the CIA, said another attack in the next few days could push Iraq toward civil war.

"Something like further attacks on other Shia sites, the assassination of a major Shia figure, something like that could take this to another level," said McLaughlin, now a CNN analyst.

On the ground in Iraq, the nation seemed to be struggling to stay together as the divisions between Shias and Sunnis -- from clerics to politicians to ordinary citizens -- appeared to be widening.

Iraq's largest Sunni political bloc suspended all negotiations with the Kurds and Shia on the formation of a new government after it said the country's Shia leaders had failed to condemn the reprisal attacks.

In the city of Baquba, Sunni men could be seen crying in the streets after reprisal attacks were carried out there.

Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's most powerful Shiite cleric, called on Iraqis themselves to prevent attacks against shrines.

"If its security forces are not able to secure these sites, then the believers are capable to do so with the help of Allah," he said.

Al-Sistani asked believers to express their sorrow and condemnations of the Samarra bombing peacefully. But his comments sparked indirect and unusually strong criticism from a group of angry Sunni clerics over the revenge attacks.

"We point the finger of blame at certain Shiite religious authorities calling for demonstrations while they know Iraq cannot control the streets," said Sheik Abdul Salam al-Qubaisi.

There were isolated signs of unity Thursday. In the southern city of Kut, tens of thousands of Sunnis and Shias joined together, carrying the Iraqi flag and finding a common foe -- they chanted "No to America!"

Other developments

On Friday, coalition forces and Iraqi police conducted a raid in the capital, killing Abu Asma, whom they described as the al Qaeda military emir of northern Baghdad. The man, an explosives expert, had suicide vests and was responsible for "many deaths and injuries" of security forces, the military said in a written statement.

While reporting on the Samarra attack, three journalists for Al-Arabiya television, including a female correspondent, were kidnapped and killed, police and the Arabic-language channel said. (Full story)

An explosion Thursday killed 16 people and wounded 20 others in Baquba. Five people were killed and 10 others were wounded in another Baquba blast that's suspected of being a suicide bombing.

The U.S. military said Thursday that "about 95 male detainees were released" during the past several days. The Iraqi-led Combined Review and Release Board has reviewed the cases of "more than 28,500 detainees" and recommended release for more than 14,900 of them.

Also Thursday, ABC News reported that photographer Doug Vogt has been discharged from a hospital and anchor Bob Woodruff is making "good progress" nearly a month after they were seriously wounded by a roadside bomb.

CNN's Aneesh Raman, Barbara Starr and David Ensor contributed to this report.

So Iraqi is fighting itself. Who would have guess that going into a hot country that has major internal conflict, between the Shia's and Sunni's, would result in possible civil war? And of course the White House says this is not a civil war. Well, umm, last I checked the definition of civil war is: A war between factions or regions of the same country. HMMM, if it looks like a duck, walks like aduck, and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck. But hey admitting a possible civil war will be admitting failure and wrong, and of course our wonderful President is infallible.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 7:20 AM :: 2 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Thursday, February 23, 2006 This Price of comfort.....

Wow! Just spent $1600 more on a couch and chair than I wanted too. It was difficult though looking for a set that I like. My requirements:

Leather or Microfiber
Sleeper
long
comfortable

So, I had a lot working against me in finding a set I liked. 1. Sofa sleepers are not that populates. 2. Couches these days are made a lot shorter, where instead of 3 people only 2 people can really sit on the comfortable, hmmmm, isn't that a loveseat? And finally 3. Sleepers are very uncomfortable. 4. To find a leather sleeper is even harder.

Well I found one that fits all these requirements at The Room Store. Beautiful leather sofa sleeper that you just sink into. And the oversized chair (that is getting harder to find) is heudge and just as comfortable. Spent a fortune, but hey I am in love, and willing to pay for the price of comfort.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 2:16 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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Tuesday, February 21, 2006 Princess Tinkerbell

I was getting my younger daughter ready for school and we were having a conversation. I asked her if she knew what her name meant. She said Tinkerbell. No, your name means Princess. She proceeds to argue with me that her name means Princess Tinkerbell. If you can't tell by now, she is obsessed with Tinkerbell. Finally, I cave in, yes darling your name means Princess Tinkerbell.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 10:16 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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The Joys of Potty Training

Oh the joys of training little boys how to use the potty. I have to older girls, and they are much easier to train. Just have them sit on the toilet and go. Boys, they come with extra equipment, which as a woman I am clueless on how to use. Luckily, big daddy is here, and "mamma's little man" can learn from him.

See my son, is the master of observances. He is a hawk and watched your every move, only to mimic it. So this is where big daddy has come in handy. See I knew I kept him around for some reason.

My son, decided to take his diaper off and go "commando." Running around the house with his equipment flapping in the wind. I told him to use the bathroom before I draped him in his lions cloth. He approaches the porcelain god to concur him. He stands in front of it on his toes, holds himself, and looks at me and says "I can't." Of course you can't, go sit on your potty chair and go. Hey at least he know what he is suppose to do.

Posted by The Phenomenal Woman :: 5:33 PM :: 1 Know the Essence of a Woman

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