November 21, 2007 at 10:17 am · Filed under 99 cent Stores, Christmas Fear, Faith, Health, Holiday Joys, HOME ECONOMICS, single parenting, ThanksGiving and Giving Thanks!, Uncategorized, Views from Within and tagged: 99 cent stores values, Bargin Hunters, Green Acres Mall Flea Market, Holiday Decorations, Holiday Shopping, Martha Stewart, ThanksGiving Food
I just got some last minute ideas on decorating my diningroom table. A friend of my told me how to make a Christmas Tree and wreath from construction paper! No—it is not a new idea….but instead of spending alot of money on decorations….I have plenty of glue and paper. I love Arts and Crafts! Today after I sing at a concert I will go and do that! Last year I had limited financial resources! What else is new? But I still brought a Christmas tree. I paid about $35.00. And this year I have the same financial problems but that does not stop my holiday Spirit! *****My update is about an actual 99 cent store that contacted me today. It is an actual online shopping spree for those looking for the economic thrills of low budget shopping. Here take a look. Now mind you….I have not actually gone to the store….but it gives the address and I love to drive….I will take a ride out there and let you know how it looks. Here is the online address pasted: http://www.99centplusonline.com Posted today 12/4/07—Hurry Holdiay shopping is in full swing! Enjoy!**************************** *************************************************************** I love a live tree. My childhood was filled with a fake tree. But what my mother could afford back then I cannot. My mother’s fake tree had fake snow coming out of the top, and the tree itself rotated, and my mother even had a strobe light on too. What a holiday I truly enjoyed!! My mother was very creative. She made a wooden tree and hung it on the front door of the house and put candy canes on it foir visitors or the mailman to take and eat! There were little elves hanging all aroud the house. I would play with them and then put them back where ever my mother hung them! I loved Christmas! It was the spirit of the holiday –NOT THE GIFTS! My mother made the holiday a special time in our house! Not the shopping! I did not even see her shop. I truly believed that Santa was bringing me my gifts! So it was not comercial like it is today! I thank God that I had the mother I had, and the father who could help her to supply a very fantasy, sheltered DisneyLand mentality for my childhood. That is probably why I still enjoy the holiday season. I love to recreate that for my son! So I enjoy that live tree–it smells soo Good! The live tree is good! I don’t have to put it together. Although securing it is not always easy—but my son and I tend to get it anchored into it’s base after a few tries! I shop at the 99cent stores to get my holiday decorations. Why should I spend and arm and a leg getting a decorations? I like my food, and holiday gifts to be around the tree also. So I have to stretch my dollars. So 99cent store is just fine. Last year I used a lot of red little bows on the branches and a few Christmas plastic red, yellow and green balls. I always love a little Santa, and a few elves! All of these things cost 99Cent. Sometimes I go to the***** Valley Stream Flea Market off of the Sunrise Highway behind the Cineplex!***** It is free to go in, and you have vendors. The vendors have great close outs, cheap costume jewelry, some silver jewlrey and even jade, jeans, coats, some leather, some designer closeouts. There is even a vendor who sells suitcases. I see eager shoppers who have relationships with these vendors. Certain vendors at the flea market are so committed that they know each other and all of their regular customers too. One vendor always remembers me, I buy a few things each time I go. There are also$10.00 sheets for the bed too. There are MINK blankets for sale too! What a great opportunity to have the things that others buy for much higher prices! There are people who sell spices, and plants too. So between the two places, the 99cent store and the Valley Stream/Green Acres flea Market I make out pretty Good! I want to put up Christmas Lights also. I love to have rotating lights and white lights. I have a Manager scene, and bells on the front door. I want to purchase a colorful tree skirt this year. I spend some dollars at Marshalls also. Marshalls has such beautiful holiday decorations. I buy a few special pieces at Marshalls just to add a little pizazz to my 99cent decorations. I will give more entries later. Tonight when I get home I have to run right out to get my Spanish Rice ingredients for tomorrow’s meal. I am cooking of course. I truly believe I would be a Martha Steward if I had more personal time and more energy! I list my menu later on tonight. But baked ZITI will definitely be on the menu for our THANKSGIVING DINNER! My sons bakes the zitti. I get it started and he seasons to his taste and puts the whole tray in the oven. I that’s right I have to pick up more butter and Eggnog too! I love to cook and bake. I going to make an apple pie and some sweet potatoes with the marshmellow topping—yummy, yummy!! Oh, boy, Christmas Decorations and Great food!!! I truly have a lot to be thankful for. I will check in later to night, and I will tell you how my cooking and decorating and shopping goes this weekend too! Today is ThanksGiving! As always I am running behind schedule. I have to run to the LIQUIDATORS in Valley stream to pick up more aluminum pans and such. Ziti noodles, more butter, turkey seasonings, more Apple Cider, Black Cherry Soda, more cheese, pie crusts, apples, brownie mix, cake mix, marshmellows, and more sweet poptatoes! I always take my time! I love to cook. I would do it all the time if I could. I also want to pick up a themed table cloth if I can find one for a low price. Well, I will check later! It is 8:44 and my son is still asleep! Gotta get him up and get this show on the road! **************************************************************** Okay, I’m Back! I cooked my turkey….until it fell off of the bone! YES!!! My son ate, and my Mom ate, and of course I –the chef had to ate it and saw what I could improve upon. Well my ingredients for the turkey are first in the cleaning preparation. I rinse the turkey, take out the giblets and the neck. I scrup the turkey with the KOSHER salt. I rinse and then pour lemon juice from concentrate inside and outside of the turkey. I rinse several more times. I cut up celery, and onion and place in a small pot with butter and water. I let that come to a boil. I have already prepared my stuffing. I rub the last bit of KOSHER salt and pour it inside of the turkey. I rinse one last time and then I take the boiling vegetables out of the pot with a holed spoon and then pour the boiling mixture of butter and water over the turkey. It does a good job of sealing it for cooking. Then I use the BELL TURKEY seasoning, mixed with a little Adobo seasoning too.—(not too much) just for a little zing! I massage the entire bird with this delicate mixture of flavor–YUMMY! I place four pats of butter on the bottom of the pan and then lay my nearly green bird down. It looks a little weird….but guess what it is golden brown when it is finished cooking…after I stuffed the bird with the boiled vegetables, and Stove Top Stuffing I poured the last bit of butter and water combo over the bird and then I reconnected the legs…checked the done pin and then poured more vegetables on the top of the bird. I used foil and alot of butter to cover the wings so that they would not burn or cook faster than the rest of the bird. I noticed that the foil and the temperature at 350 according to the directions practically steams the bird to perfection! Great! So we had a great turkey. Today I went out to WholeSale Liquidators. I was shocked because I was there yesterday and spent $75 dollars on food and utensils that I needed. I received a $10.00 gift card from the store. So guess what? On BLACK FRIDAY, I gave the card to my son and he brought something that he wanted for Christmas with it. I have never gotten a gift card from a store before! So check out Wholesale Liquidators in Valley Stream Green Acres Mall—at the opposite end from Walmart. I was so happy. My son was more than happy to buy a controller for one of his game systems. I did look at their decorations….they have them for a buck too! Great! What else should I say? Oh, I was a bit upset with Old Navy—I got there late (meaning 8:00 in the morning)– The clerk told me that I had to be there at 5:00 am so that I could have purchased the $20.00 worth of items and then get a $40.00 value MP3! But it did not say that on the flyer that I got in the news paper! Oh, Well! I ‘m satisfied…I got to GameStop at 7:00 just in time to get my son his game system. It was a difficult decision for me to make. I struggle—but he did get an A in 9th grade American History and he holds a pretty strong B average in everything else. Saturday will be my Green Acres Mall, Flea Market Day. I’ ll let you know what they have out there. Or better yet—you take a look for yourself! Blog to you soon!
November 21, 2007 at 3:26 am · Filed under ANIMAL ABUSE, ASPCA, Black Children, Black History, Blacks in Sports, Crime, Domestic Violence, Mentoring Programs, Michael Vick Case, PAWS FOR A CAUSE, PIT BULL ATTACKS, PIT FIGHTING, Racism, Selfesteem and tagged: , ANIMAL ABUSE, Animal Rights Activisits, Black Foot ball Players, Dog Packs, FootBall and Ethics of Foot Ball, Freeport Animal shelter, Michael Vick Case, Sports Players as Role Models
When I heard the Michael Vick story I got so disgusted, I said oh, no. What is wrong with this guy? He has the American Dream right in the palm of his hand! He has the opportunity others dream about!
He has the chance to change the lives of young white, black, brown, yellow, children by starting foundations with some of that “hard cold Sports Cash!” What is this guy’s problem?!
I have lived in neighborhoods where I had the ability to see young men between the ages of 14 and 25 walking around with thick bodied pit bulls on leash and some off leash. Those young men would stand in a group and talk while the dogs would sit or stand timidly beside the tough looking owner with the brand new unscratch sneakers and fitted caps, and puffy bomber jackets.
These guys would scare me a little. To be honest, these guys scared me alot!!! You know why?!
I am and always have been a lover of God’s creations! I love animals!
When I was a young teenager I used to take the long ride out to Freeport Animals Shelter and volunteer. I grew up seeing my cat give birth.
More recently I rushed my dog about five years ago to the Vet. when she gave a breach birth. The puppy had come out alright, but the mother and run from her own pain and the puppy popped out on to the floor.
I got her and her new pupps to the vet. just to find out that everything was fine except for that little glitch!
I helped a Saint Bernard that was wondering lost up and down my block before I was even twenty. The dog was sick and we did the best we could for it.
My mother used to leave food in deserted car dumps when she would see a pregnant female or one that had appeared to have given birth recently.
After she would gain the animals trust she would then put it in her car and take it home.
My mother would get in touch with her friend Joyce. Joyce was well conected with animal assistance organizations.
She would then get the “saved” dog free medical care, and free spay or neuter. After that my mother and Joyce would place ads in the newspapers to get the saved, healthy animal a home.
So please understand, I never did, and do not currently have any one requesting me to write a blog about this Michael Vick issue, it is something that comes purely from the heart.
Michael Vick is black. I must state the obvious! But Michael Vick’s actions do not equal the actions of all black sports players, or black people in general.
All Michael Vick did was add to the climate of racial hostility!
I have read the AOL blogs on the Michael Vick case and all I see is total anger and racial hostility and it is being wiped across the entire race of black American’s because of this”guy’s” horrible, evil actions.
People talk about being enslaved, and how bad it was for the “black Man, woman, and child.”
But should we who have been freed from that terrible life of slavery, now turn and enslave others….even if it is just a dog?!
I do not understand the enjoyment of watching animals tear into each other. I had two dogs that were brothers. I midwifed them, and raised them.
The two bothers loved to play fight. The two dogs would play and fight so hard I sometimes tried to stop them.
My son would say, Mommy, leave them.
They are just playing! I would watch and then the dogs would stop their rough play when one would yelp or they would just lean on each other, lick each other’s face and then lay down to an exhausted sleep.
They loved each other and would not harm the other. The two dogs would even play rough with my son by jumping on him, licking him, and tugging at his clothes. If one dog jumped the fence the other dog would follow. They were inseparable!
That is why that unnatural goal of dog fighting is evil. To turn two animals against each other, or train an animal to attack another animal on the grounds of “general purpose,” makes no sense at all.
From my readings on the topic, and life experience tells me that dogs, or wolves, are pack animals. Generally dogs may show aggression for many different reasons.
But most times they do not want to “fight to the death.”
I have read that they give those dogs cayanne peppers, and other things that are not healthy for the dogs stomach to make it “mean.”
Such ignorant, and willful abuse! The victim of this is the “pit bull”–
My question for Michael Vick , “Why are you using dogs for violence? What would make you believe that there was nothing else you could do to help your brother make an income for himself?
Why would you hang, torture, and electrocute helpless animals? The dogs only had their teeth, and yet you had a brain. You were the more dangerous of the two living.
This is a tradegy for Football!!! It made me wonder if Football is such a brutal sport that is messes up the mind of the Football player and how he preceives the world around him.
Do Football players in general think or believe that no one cares for them and they have alot of pain from sports injuries so they do not care about the pain that they inflect on countless others in their personal lives? I would like an answer, that I know I will never get from Mr. Vick.
I will share more of my personal feelings about animal rights tomorrow; and why it was unfare to have Michael Vick get an easy way to go on this one.. on this man who did not appreciate the opportunity handed to him.
Why do I feel somehow responsible for his actions?
Is it because I share the same “race” as Michael Vick ? I have read blog, for blog stating negative things about black people that sound like things from the sixties because of what Mr. Michael Vick has done to animals.
Lets face it, how he treated the animals, could be translated into how he would treat another human being!-
I read in the Black Voices blog of AOL that the judge on the case for Mr. Vick is well known for his love and animals and is also known for his dislike of gambling!
Look out Mr. Vick. I pray for the family of Mr. Vick. I pray that people in general take a reality check on how they treat animals.
It scares me that we do not consider animals to have rights! Especially when this country has helped so many people to escape abuse on so many levels of inhumanity!
Gotta go—I have a ThanksGiving Meal to cook!
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