As I read the paper this morning about the General Assembly struggling to set a budget for the new year, I'm thinking.........For crying out loud.......get on with it.

I have customers that work for the State and don't know if they will be paid next week because Illinois is now operating on a "TEMPORARY" budget because it was not settled by the end of June and the State would be shut down. Now it will take a majority vote to pass the new year budget and that deadline is Aug. 1st. I think the overtime and per diem is now about $800,000 PLUS. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING?".........with that money, they could have funded some of things they are arguing about!

We have a Governor that #1:
Lives in Chicago and is too good to live in the Governor's Mansion in Springfield. I could just imagine what the thoughts of the people would be if the President said he didn't want to live in Washington. And.........not only doesn't he occupy the Mansion....he flys back and forth to Chicago on our tax dollar!

We have a Governor that #2:
Called for the mandatory overtime (7 days a week) of the 177 representatives and senators because they could not agree on the budget (especially the bills he wanted and are his personal pet projects)and doesn't even show up himself for half of the budget meetings. Too bad he is not paid per meeting or better yet, for a per physical presence working day.

We have a Governor that #3:
Didn't have a problem signing a bill that will put another $1.00 tax on cigarettes and at the same time passed a bill that as of January 1, 2008 will not allow anyone to smoke anywhere but their own bathroom (so okay, I am exaggerating a little)! Boy, that $1.00 tax will sure bring in a lot of revenue when everyone quits smoking.

Nursing Homes with Public Aid residents........no pay.
Schools that will be starting up in Aug........no pay.
Daycares that have State working parents.......no pay.
And on and on and on.............Trickle, trickle, trickle!

I have a question that I have not seen in print yet. What about the Illinois State Fair that is supposed to start Aug. 9? Is that going to be shut down too? The revenue that the Fair brings to Springfield will be greatly compromised and the "trickle down" effect will again fall on most of the other people that are not working for the State. Can't say any impartial treatment is shown here........everyone will be effected. Maybe it would be better if they moved the Fair to Chicago. For that matter, I think good ole boy Rod, would like to see the State Capitol moved to Chicago!

My only hope is, (because there is not term limits on the Governor of this State) Blagojevitch will be seeing his last term.

My weekends are now referred to as: Working and Non Working weekends. My non working weekends are filled with my to do or not to do things that I either put off or carry out and "git 'er done". Non working weekends are both leisurely and quiet and sometimes even productive!
On the other hand, there are the Working Weekends. My grandchildren come to "Nana's" house on those weekends. If anyone has ever been on the receiving end of divorce and visitation schedules these weekends will be recognized. My Grandkids are the most wonderful little people I know. The play well together without very little fighting with each other, they have very good manners when you take them out, they have respect for others and they simply love their Daddy to pieces!BUT...There is a game kids play when it comes to visitation and if you don't know how it works "Heaven help you"!
Aaron has not a clue. But in time maybe, just MAYBE he will GET it.

KIDS RULE #1: WE ARE THE BOSS.
Explanation: When we were a family, Mom and Dad were the boss. Now Daddy wants us to be "happy", so we can be the boss.

KIDS RULE #2: NANA'S HOUSE IS A RESTAURANT.
Explanation: When we are home, Mom fixes meals and we eat it and like it. Now because Daddy and Nana really don't know what we like, we will be able to eat things we don't usually get at home. THIS MAY NOT LAST TOO LONG BUT IT'S WORTH A SHOT AS LONG AS IT DOES.

KIDS RULE #3: NANA'S HOUSE IS NOW DADDY'S HOUSE.
Explanation: When we used to come to Nana's house we picked up toys, put bikes back in the garage, turned out lights when we left the room, picked up clothes and put them in the hamper, picked up wet towels off the floor and hung them up to dry and did not bug Goofy because he really doesn't like to be messed with. THIS RULE MAY HAVE TO BE MODIFIED BECAUSE NANA GIVES US THAT LOOK WHEN SHE HAS TO REMIND US TOO MUCH! BUT........SHE GIVES DADDY THE SAME LOOK SO, HE KNOWS THIS RULE!

KIDS RULE #4: THE T.V IS NOW OUR DOMAIN!
Explanation: We like the Disney Channel and we like Nickleodian and the Cartoon Channel too. Why would anybody want to watch silly stuff like the news or racing. Nana has two T.Vs so Daddy will want us to be "happy" so he will want us to watch what we want to watch.

Well..........I am in the process of teaching them the "What Were You Thinking Game" and believe me when I say....I KNOW THE RULES TO MY GAME!

In weeks to come I will keep you posted.......wish me luck!

This is my "Goofy" cat. I named him that after some serious thought. It seemed like he fits the definition of "The porch lights on, but nobody is home". I have a sneeky feeling it's all in the number of times his family was inner bred! He was abandoned next door to one of our rental properties and brought home by my ex. He was not really old enough to be away from his mother but he survived, with our help. Bill thought he would be an asset because, after all, we all know "cats catch mice"? Not that we were over run with the little rodents, but you never know when you might need one caught.
Now you are talking about an energetic, smart cat? NOT! Goofy is neither smart nor energetic. He lays down to eat for crying out loud! Well the only mouse he caught I'm sure died of a heart attack because the only thing he did with it was bat him up against the wall until he fell over dead. Then Goofy had the nerve to walk away and let me dispose of the little critter.

Goofy has never been outside. Wouldn't even venture out if the door was left wide open for days. I attribute that to two things. #1: He probably developed a phobia at a early age because of his momma abandoning him and #2: The only time I took him out was to the vet to be neutered and de-clawed. (can't say I blame him on that last one...after all why would you want to relive the memory of having both your balls cut off and your fingernails removed!) I kept telling him,,,,"Now hon it was only for your own good". But I'm sure he was thinking...
"Just What The Hell is She Thinking!".

I remember when my children were born I was young enough to believe that ...Hey..."I'll still be young enough to have plenty of time for myself after they are raised!" Just what was I thinking? Because I also was raised to believe that parents are parents f-o-r-e-v-e-r, I'm here to tell you, it just hasn't worked out quite like I thought because it seems I'll be raising one all over again.
I have survived marriage twice and divorce twice but believe me raising this one, over again, just may be the death of me!

Let me give you a little info about my kids. I love them both equally but lets face it "I RAISED THE ODD COUPLE!"

Scott, my oldest(39) is a guy that when he lived at home would have requested me to iron his underwear if he thought I would have done it. His space is always neat and clean and he is VERY organized, almost to a fault. Scott is stand offish and the first time you meet him you may think he's a snob. After you get to know him though, he can be your best friend. He is a penny pincher and thinks long and hard before he spends any kind of real money. He has been married and is divorced and has one daughter (14) that is the absolute light of his life. I can honestly say he will probably never remarry because I don't think he'll ever find that Ms. Perfect that he is searching for.
Aaron (34), on the other hand, thinks cleaning house and being organized is moving the T.V. trays out of the front room, taking the laundry out of the dryer, putting it into a laundry basket and living out of that basket until the laundry needs to be done the next week. Multi-tasking is out of the question and if you want him to be on time....tell him you want him there an hour before you really want him to be somewhere. Aaron is my "party animal" and can talk to anyone like he's known them all his life. Money? If Aaron had $millions, he's be broke in less than a year...but he would of had a blast spending it! Aaron was married and now is recently divorced and has three children ages 10, 6, and 4. He enjoys spending time with his kids and has them every other weekend.
To make a long story longer, guess who has come back home?
Right....
Aaron!
And the worst of it is, I think he likes living here! My calm, comfortable, quiet, independent life has been taken in a new direction. Sometimes adventurous! Oh yes, I'm the one that said "Just move in here" but I forgot to add... "For a little while" (or) "Until you get on your feet"! Just what was I thinking?
My intentions for this blog is to maybe relieve some of my hostilities, find humor in the day to day situations, or just to get a load off my chest. Either way, it might be a good read!