Posted 9:54 PM by Bonnie

Men & Women complement each other by the unique traits we were each
given:

WOMEN

Women have strengths that amaze men. They carry children, they carry
hardships, they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream. They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

Women wait by the phone for a "safe at home call" from a friend after
a snowy drive home. They are childcare workers, executives,
attorneys, stay-at-home moms, bikers, babes, & your neighbors. They
wear suits, jeans, and they wear uniforms. They fight for what they
believe in and they stand up against injustice. They walk and talk
the extra mile to get their children in the right schools and to get
their family the right health care. They go to the doctor with a
frightened friend.

Women are honest, loyal and forgiving. They are smart, knowing that
knowledge is power. But they still know how to use their softer side
to make a point.

Women want to be the best for their family & their friends and
themselves. Their hearts break when a friend dies. They have sorrow
at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think
there is no strength left. They drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you. The heart of a woman is what
makes the world spin!

Women do more than just give birth. They bring joy and hope. They
give compassion and ideals. They give moral support to their family
and friends and all they want back is a hug, a smile and for you to do
the same to people you come in contact with.

MEN

Men are good at lifting heavy stuff and killing bugs.

Posted 11:22 PM by Bonnie

I'm guilty of ignoring my blog since my return. Things got a bit hectic...had a presentation to do at TOPS a day after I got back...then had to start on the August newsletter... today I HAD to spend the day at Lake Santee :-). We took a pontoon around the lake, had a cookout with lots of healthy foods, walked around and then just sat and talked. It was great fun! But alas it ended and I had to come back to my apartment. Which gets totally destroyed if left uncleaned for one day. So tomorrow it is cleaning day, laundry day, and get the oil changed in the car day. Thursday is TOPS day and Friday is Doctor day for my PAP smear and then meet up with another woman from TOPS who is now doing the scrapbook and needs some advice and help to get her started. One of the women today said with all my talents and abilities I should be doing something besides giving all my time to TOPS so she is going to find me a job where I can use them and earn money :-). Okay, no comments from the peanut gallery on where my best talents lie :-)... but wouldn't that be nice if she really could find me a job!!! I will try to be more faithful to my blog.

Posted 6:55 PM by Bonnie

I'm back!!! Had a fun but exhausting trip. First to Erie, PA where I checked on the house my husband and his brother share. More on that later. Walked around Erie doing some walks down memory lane and visited family.

My sister Linda and her husband Paul drove us to CT for Victoria's 50th bday party. What a blast. That has to be the best party I have ever attended. Got to meet Bernie, with whom I play online scrabble, when I went with her to pick up Billie and Sarah from karate. Also, met Kerri, (we prepared the meat and cheese platters) another person with whom I have been debating issues online. It was great meeting and chatting with both in person.

The next morning I went to breakfast with Vic and Billie. When we returned I realized my cleaning compulsion had ruined some pics for Victoria. She took pictures of the mess from the night before, but unfortunately I had already cleaned up quite a bit the night before. I'm sorry!!! I'll never clean again :-). Still there was enough to make the pics memorable.

The open mic was a lot of fun and I even got up enough nerve to recite a short poem about Victoria in honor of her 50th. There were a lot of laughs and even some serious performers. All in all it was a really great time.

Arrived back home last night and am trying to get back into a normal routine again. Well, as normal as anything ever gets for me :-).

Posted 5:22 PM by Bonnie

I'm leaving for a weeks vacation tomorrow. First to Erie, PA for a few days to get pics of my husands house there and see what repairs need done, and to visit family and some old haunts. My hubbie will not be making this trip and it will seem strange. This will be the first time we will have been away from each other since we were married a little over a year ago. From Erie it is on to CT for my "baby" sister's 50th birthday!!! Now if she wld start looking more like 50 instead of 30 that would be nice of her :-). See you all in a week!!

Posted 9:55 AM by Bonnie

Hey, I'm actually doing a Friday Five on Friday!

1. What were your favorite childhood stories?

The Little Match Girl
Heidi
Black Beauty
Nancy Drew books
Lou Gehrig (about his life and death)
and any Louisa Mae Alcott books

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?

Little Women, Little Men... the Louisa Mae Alcott books, but I know these are too innocent and simple for today's generation. Even though Wynonna Ryder played Jo the latest movie version the children today are more sophisticated than we were and need more to stimulate their imaginations.

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?

Yes, I have. I call them my warm fuzzy books. When I was very ill I reread Rose In Bloom as well as other of her books and found they took me back to that simpler time in life. I still enjoyed them.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read?

I know I could read before kindergarten, but am not sure if I was 3 or 4 when I learned.

5. Do you remember the first 'grown-up' book you read? How old were you?

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. My mother had some hard cover books hidden on the top shelf of her closet. She told us we couldn't read them because they were for adults. I read them all, but A Tree Grows In Brooklyn still stays in my mind. The part she didn't want us to read was when the youngest daughter of the Irish Immigrants is accosted on a stairway in their Brooklyn apt. and sees a mans penis. It was also about an alcoholic father. Gee, something we knew nothing about :-). I guess she thought that was too risque for us. I was in junior high so probably around 12 or 13 when I read it.

Posted 3:07 PM by Bonnie

Well, it's Thursday and time to update my T.O.P.S. news. No loss this week, but also no gain. I am still 93 pounds from my goal. Considering my husband has been on break starting this week, I consider it good to not have gained. Didn't get in my usual walking and I admit I did eat more stuff I shouldn't have.

On the good side I did win the 50/50 and bought Subway subs with it on the way home. And I also won a basket of fruit and veggies. Not a bad day all in all.

I am also now editor of the monthly newsletter.

More later...have a safe and happy 4th!

Posted 12:02 PM by Bonnie

And I'm even later on the Friday Five... figured I better get the last one done and try to get this coming Friday's done on... well, maybe Friday!

Jun 27, 2003

Answer the following five questions in your weblog or journal. Make sure you leave a comment here with a link to your post (or just leave your answers in the comments section).

1. How are you planning to spend the summer [winter]?

This summer I will be taking a short trip to PA and then CT... someone is having a birthday there and I want to help celebrate.

2. What was your first summer job?

Working in the accounting office for Sanitary Farms Dairy... Sanida... I was the youngest one there, but the only one who could run a comptometer so got the job. Yes, this was long before computers :-).

3. If you could go anywhere this summer [winter], where would you go?

Vermont.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?

My honeymoon with my second husband. We had called and reserved a cabin in a resort somewhere in TX...can't remember where... when we got there it was late and when we got to our cabin, we found the people before had left rotting food in the refrigerator and we spent the night spraying cockroaches. We had paid for a week, but the next morning got all our money back and just travelled around TX for the rest of the week. That turned out to be a lot of fun even though it started off so badly.

5. What was your best vacation ever?

Going to CA with my Aunt Wilhelmina when I was 30. Met some cousins I had never known and saw a lot of CA. Even Disneyland wasn't too bad. Of course, that was also where I had was in a truck that hit a lamp post, but that's another story.

So it seems like my worst vacation ended up being a good one, and my best ended up bad. Maybe I should switch them around.

Posted 11:40 AM by Bonnie

Okay, so I'm doing This or That Tuesday on Wednesday :-).

July 1: Summer Fun!
Summer Fun!

1. Lemonade or Ice Cold Beer?

Ice cold beer and pretzels!! or Lemonade and chocolate chip cookies... one of my favorite memories from my childhood is laying on the porch glider, on a hot summer day, drinking lemonade and eating home made chocolate chip cookies.

2. Swimming pool or beach?

Swimming pool for laps, but the beach for the enjoyment of the water.

3. Long weekends here & there, or a 2-week vacation?

Long weekends usually, but once in awhile I like the 2 week vacation to visit family and friends.

4. Destination: Acapulco or Hawaii?

Neither! Alaska for me!

5. Destination: Mountains or Beach?

Mountains! Even though I no longer ski the mountains are still exciting to me.

6. Hotel/motel/B&B or camping?

Camping! as long as the campground has a bathroom with showers :-).

7. Carefully planned vacation, or play it by ear?

Play it by ear. I love to go off the beaten path and see things I may have missed staying on a scheduled day.

8. Sneakers or sandals?

Sneakers.

9. Air-conditioning or fans?

Fans. A/C is hell on my arthritis.

10. Concerts in the park or baseball games?

Concerts in the park. Even though I have been told I am unarmerican for this... I hate baseball!!!!!!!!!

Posted 11:26 AM by Bonnie

4TH OF JULY

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured
before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons
serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the
Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their
sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine
were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated,
but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that
the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his
Ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and
properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move
his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay,
and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from
him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton,Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British
General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his > headquarters.

He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was
destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed
his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their
13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were
laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves,
returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. Some
of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price
they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!