Hello. My name is...

...Julie.  How goes it?

I'm Baaaaack!

So, just in case anyone taking the time to read  my blog didn't believe my disclaimer about taking hiatuses... I decided to prove my point and disappear for a year and a couple months... believe me now?

Hmmmm.... let's see, what's new?  Well, I now have TWO beautiful grandchildren... Kain celebrated his 1st birthday in March....

And Lyla, our little Bean, celebrated her 1st birthday in June...

My husband's daughter- my step-daughter- Lyla's mother- Jessie, graduated high school and we are SO proud of her...

AND, we've closed our boutique and I've started singing again...




More to follow on that but for now, I am off to bed! :o) Sleep sweet my friends...

Making a Statement

Just in case there was any question as to my political/social ideologies....

WARNING: Photos May Be Offensive to Tea Partiers

Down Memory Lane....

I decided to log in to a long ago abandoned LJ journal today to see what I had been up to "back in the day".  I figured I would share with you some of the entries from December, 2008 in that journal not only for archive sake, but as something to refer to in gauging if I've grown at all these past 2 and 1/2 years.  Oh yeah, and the Rapture is supposed to be happening at 6:00pm local time so for all you heathens being left behind, here are some stops on my little trip down memory lane for your viewing pleasure after the jump (and the Rapture)...

Puppy Love

Normally I post about crimes against humanity like ignorance, intolerance, bigotry, hatred, racism, etc. (usually inflicted by the likes of Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, and Dr,. Laura Schlessinger).  However, today's lesson boys and girls, is all about crimes against creatures who can't even engage in such abhorrent behavior and responsible pet ownership.  Let me just start by saying I LOVE my babies.  All three of them.  And if anything ever happened to one of them I would be devastated.  I have no children although I would love to have one.  That being the case I make up for not having kids by doting on my pups.  There are only two ways my pups will ever leave me. One is by going to that great puppy beach in the sky and the other is if by some unforeseen reason I ever become unable to give them everything they could possibly need. Then I would want them to be in a better place where they could have everything they need or want. But I don't see that ever happening.

I see too many pets (especially the area where I live) that are not taken care of the way they should be because their owners couldn't afford to get them in the first place, don't get them spayed/neutered and don't keep up with their shots because a vet is too much money for them.  If you can't afford the vet, you shouldn't have a pet. It is just like having children and never taking them to get shots or even to a doctor for a check up. It pisses me off that people do that to their pets. And there isn't a whole hell of a lot I can do about it. I wish I had the time and money to take all of them in but unfortunately, I don't.  So many puppies die out here in the country and that is unacceptable. Please make sure you can afford a pet before you get one.  The sad thing about this whole situation is that if I call animal control or a shelter about all of the neglected pets I see roaming our back roads they would most likely be picked up and put down. A staggering 75% of the animals in animal shelters down here in the south are put to death. Despite that disgustingly high percentage, there are still pet breeders down here and folks who will only buy from breeders.  How on earth could anyone even consider buying a bred pet with so many precious creatures in our shelters down here? 

I've recently started watching the show "Last Chance Highway" on Animal Planet. The woman on there is amazing. She is based out of Tennessee and she spends about $75,000 of her own money every year rescuing, caring for and placing animals in homes in the Northeast (where there is a shortage of pets to adopt if you can believe it).  If you live in the Northeast and are interested in pet adoption, please consider helping with the pet over-population down here in the south.  You can go here to check it out.  They're through petfinder.

And just so that I can end a happy and inspirational note, take a look at this video.  It will make you smile the whole way through. :o)  

Catholic Churches, Playgrounds and Mosques... Oh My!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mosque-Erade
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

DADT.... Isn't it Ironic... Don't Ya Think?

They put their lives on the line for the sake of honor, liberty and freedom... yet, ironically, are asked to sacrifice their own honor, liberty and freedom. DADT needs to end.

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmm.......

Ok so yes, I know...  It has been over a month since my last post.  What can I say? I go in spurts when it comes to blogging.  I'm not quite sure why because I am generally just chock full of hot air. I've had plenty to say in some groups I belong to on facebook but I think by the time I sit down to write an actual blog about the subject matter I feel that I have gotten it out of my system already and just don't feel like re-hashing the issue.  Well, I'm pretty sure there is more in me on these matters so this entry will consist of a sort of hodge podge of talking points and my thoughts on the issues at hand.  Some will be taken directly from what I said in my original comments in these groups and I'm sure I will add more to them as I get into the heart of it all.  Here goes...

Clitterrific!

Enter at your own risk!

Dear God,

Don't know if you noticed, but...

Your name is on a lot of quotes in this book.

Us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look;

and all the people that you made in your image,

still believing that junk is true...

well I know it ain't, and so do you... Dear God.

~ Sarah McLachlan