Things that make you go hmmm...

Let me get this straight...someone FINALLY wants to develop East Tulsa, but has to back out because they have to line of credit??? I wonder...did all the developers downtown or those associated with Vision 2025 have to do the same thing? My guess would be...nope. Why is East Tulsa treated like the red-headed stepchild? Doesn't anyone remember that it was the East Central Cardinals, located in, you guessed it, East Tulsa, won the 5A state championship? Congrats, because in the near future, I doubt if you'll have enough students left to field a football team!

I'm partial to East Tulsa as that's where my DH grew up (EC class of '91) & where his father still lives & where we lived when we first got married almost 5 years ago. We lived there when the councilor was Art "blame everything on OKC" Justus. Every time he had a town hall meeting & someone asked why things weren't being done, his reply was "all the money went to OKC." Finally, people saw the error of their ways & voted in Jim Mautino. When we were in his district, he attended all our neighborhood association meetings (Wagon Wheel/Rosewood) & was very approachable & helpful when it came to getting things done. It's obvious he has a heart for the district he lives in, which, oddly enough, is the district he represents...

I know he has worked hard to bring development into East Tulsa & it appeared that they were going to see results. Alas, it was not to be, thanks to the GOBS (good ol' boy systems).

I have an idea...maybe Catoosa or Broken Arrow can annex East Tulsa...that way our regional mayor will want to do something there!

On a side note...congratulations to the Bates family (see www.batesline.com) DH & I are very happy for you!

On another side note...everyone have a safe, happy & blessed New Year! And, to quote one of the best television shows ever, "Let's be careful out there!"

Merry Christmas

I just want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe, blessed, & Merry Christmas!

It'll be strange around our family this year. Christmas is, was, my mother in law's favorite holiday, so it's really odd here not being here. However, one good thing has come out of the situation (I'm sure there's a lot more, but this is the one I'm focused on for now) - my DH & his dad have grown closer & I'm thankful for that. It's not that they were ever at odds, just 2 different people, Mark being more like his mom, talkative & outgoing, his dad, more laid back & a bit of an introvert.

My hubby is also not having a good year when it comes to sports...his poor Packers, while I, on the other hand, am quite excited about my Broncos making it to the playoffs...now if I could just figure out why the Cubs want to trade Mark Prior...

On a local note, it appears we will have a new council representative come next year. Our "illustrious" councilman, Tom Baker, has annoucned he's running for mayor. Good luck!

Again, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to y'all!

Been a while

I know it's been a while since I blogged...sorry about that. I got assigned a new job duty at work which takes up most of my day, so I haven't had time to blog.

Hubby & I are moving into enemy territory! That's right, we're moving from Chris Medlock's district to Tom Baker's district...can't wait to get our "Medlock for Mayor" signs to place prominently in our new front yard!

On a more somber note...my mother in law passed away from brain cancer yesterday morning. Her viewing is Friday & memorial service is Saturday. She was a wonderful example of Jesus's love who will be missed, but we're rejoicing that she's in Heaven with the Lord; in fact, she went out singing "Jesus Loves Me." We spent today as a family gathered with their pastor talking about our memories of her; it was bittersweet, of course, but I'm glad we did it.

Needless to say, it may be a bit of time again before you hear frome me.

A chuckle

I was visiting the Tulsa City Council website & noticed its slogan -- "your voice in city government." After all the shenanigans going on, I think it should be altered to read "your voice in city government...providing you're a member of the good 'ol boys network, of course." Sometimes I wonder if there's anyone out there who speaks for the common man (other than "the gang of four", of course).

Second item on the agenda...

DH & I drove to Owasso after work last night & were quite amazed with all the development going on...and not a casino in sight! I wonder if anyone from Owasso (or Jenks, or Bixby, or Broken Arrow--you get the picture) bothered to send a thank-you note to Mayor M. for all the growth we've caused. You'd think we'd get a share of the profit or commission or something.

News Flash

This is directed to the "protesters" @ 71st & Memorial yesterday...

I don't believe that anyone is putting a gun to your head & forcing you to stay in America. Do you not realize that the men & women in the armed services are fighting to protect your right to disagree? If you dislike it so much, why don't you move to a country more in line with your feelings...say, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, etc? Oh, that's right, if you lived there, you wouldn't be able to say what you believe!

A comment on "political correctness"...

I heard on the radio yesterday that some idiotic high school has determined that the term "freshmen" is considered detrimental to the children, so they will now be referred to as "ninth graders." Give me a freakin' break! It was detrimental to my mental health when, in middle school I was referred to as "WD-40", but I didn't complain about it. Okay, so I further retreated into myself & was no fun to be around, but it was my own doing. (As an aside, I no longer have that nickname. My parents were getting divorced & this was 1976, so there wasn't much of that going on, so my self-esteem dropped off the radar, etc...you get the picture.) Are there not better things that the government could better spend their time doing, like, I don't know, legitimate probes of failed airline deals & probes of goverment employees who may not be paying taxes on fuel used @ their airport? Oh, what am I thinking...that's a pipe dream! I forgot, governments are there to fund pocket parks & haunted arenas.

Gee, anything else get my goat today? I'm sure something will come up later...

New title?

I think our mayor is trying to create a new title for himself...world mayor. Can't you just see him, standing on the corner of the arena (okay, standing on a mound of dirt) & yelling "I'm mayor of the world!" (Sorry, thought Titanic was a cheesy movie.). Picture it with me...as he's standing on the mound, you see a mist out of the corner of your eye. What is it, you might ask? It's the ghosts of all the poor souls that were buried there, of course! (Sorry, had to get in the Halloween spirit there!).

This all stemmed from a news story I saw last night. Apparently, we now have ANOTHER sister city...some town in France. Personally, I think it's just an out in case Mayor M. needs to vacate the premises in a hurry (oh, I don't know, because the ghosts chased him out of town, maybe?) & he'll have yet another place to retreat to. Lord knows, he probably doesn't have enough places in his own city to go. Is anyone keeping track of how many sister cities we actually have? Do we have one on each continent now? DH suggested (jokingly, of course) that maybe our mayor's the anti-Christ, but I couldn't figure out a way to get 666 from his name. Remember, that was tried with Ronald Wilson Reagan, but I guess he proved them wrong last year when he died.

Topic #2--

I was listening to KFAQ & listening to them talk about Carlton Pearson & his bankrupt church now meeting at Trinity Episcopal when a comment struck me. "Jesus died for the whole world, so He couldn't/wouldn't send anyone to Hell." Here's my problem with that statement...Jesus isn't sending anyone to Hell; people choose to go there. God created man with free will. He didn't want to have a relationship with robots, but with living, breathing humans who choose to have a relationship with Him...breath that He provided, I might add.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

The stupidity of people...

Never ceases to amaze me. I work for a car rental company in the claims department. We also have another claims department in Boca Raton, FL, which is, of course, closed due to Hurricane Wilma. I have taken more calls today from people who are upset because no one is working on their claim. Hello! They were hit by a hurricane & they have no power! I really don't like people who live in their own little world, insulated from the world around them by their own selfishness. I just want to tell them, excuse me, but I think the Floridians have a little more to worry about than the $200 damage our renter did to your vehicle! Do the words "loss of life" mean anything to you people?

As you can tell, I have no patience with stupid people...of course, people who know me (especially DH) would say that I don't have patience with anyone!

On to other topics now that I have that off my chest...

Hubby & I have already seen 2 LaFortune signs out...it takes everything he can not to write "Mis" on pieces of paper & tape them on the signs.

I'm looking forward to this Friday. DH & I joined a new church & they're having a women's retreat. I'm excited as I'm looking forward to getting to know my new church family. I've never been on a retreat before, so this will be a new experience for me. DH is excited as that means he gets to have lunch at India Palace, his new favorite restaurant (mine being Jamil's). I'm not fond of spicy food, so I don't think I would like it, so every chance he gets, he walks down there & enjoys their lunch buffet. I recommend it if you like Indian food. I recommend Jamil's if you enjoy steaks!

All of this to say...see, you knew there was a reason I titled my blog "Ramblings".

Out for now!

Translating the Gobbledegook

Ok, so maybe I didn't spell it right, but you get the point...

DH & I were on our way to work this morning listening to KFAQ. We heard most of Michael DelGiorno's interview with Jerry Buchanan, chairman of the Tulsa Republican Party. Michael brought up the recent poll by soonerpoll.com & commissioned by KOTV & the Tulsa Whirled (thanks Michael Bates for that title!) that showed less than half of 500 likely Republican voters (38% to be exact) would vote for Mayor M. The other two-thirds are either undecided, voting for Chris Medlock (my choice for mayor), other candidates, undecided or refused to answer. Michael asked Mr. Buchanan if he believed there was a split in the Republican Party &, if so, what was going to be done about it. Mr. Buchanan replied that he didn't believe there was a split &, when Michael questioned him on other issued, he answered as a true politician schooled in the Misfortune school of responses---he talked about everything but the questions asked. It reminded DH & I of our former Sunday school class--few people saw there was a problem & when it was brought to everyone else's attention, no one wanted to admit there was a problem or wanted to fix the problem...after all, admitting there's a problem is the first step to solving it. I don't want a cheerleader or yes man as the head of any organization I'm involved with. I want someone who is passionate about the organization, but can see the problems and wants to work to fix them. After all, didn't our current mayor run on a platform of being a uniter, not a divider? I'm trying to discover exactly who or what he did unite...oh, now I remember; he united all those opposed to him & his regional, not local views.

On another topic, now that I've figured out how to add blogs, websites, etc., to my blog roll, I'll be listing more blogs. Please read these often for insightful & informative comments on topics regarding the world we live in.

Here's my "deep thought" for today taken from "The Office" calendar...

"I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter."

Working in customer service, that's my underlying motto.

Out for now!

Happy Friday, Y'all

I know, not a very witty title, but I'm not always witty.

My latest "obsession" is with ghost stories & haunted places. Who knows? Maybe it's the season coming up. I'm a Christian, so I don't believe in ghosts & goblins, but I do believe in angels & demons. My theory is either most of the stuff is made up, or there are demons/demonic spirits there. Anyway, on www.batesline.com, he has a link to a route 66 blog, who lists haunted places in Oklahoma, so I spent some time reading about those. Good to know that my hometown of Yukon does not have any on the list. Also, I never knew there were so many "crybaby bridges" in Oklahoma. Then, I got the crap scared out of me while watching "Night Stalker" last night. Now, let me preface this with the fact that I've been reading mysteries since a very young age; actually read the book about the Boston Strangler as a child (okay, actually my friends & I sat in a dark stairwell with a flashlight & read it out loud), so it takes a bit to make me jump. I think The Night Stalker has to be one of my new favorite shows (ABC, Thursday nights, 8:00 CST, just after Alias--one of DH's favorite shows). The subject last night was about these people who were being killed by their worst fears (literally being "scared to death"). This was all brought about by some secret college society who held their meeting in a house that a family was murdered; somehow the fear had "attached" itself to them. Like I said, I don't subscribe to these beliefs, but it makes for good television. Who doesn't like to be scared every once in a while?

As for batesline.com, I highly recommend you check it out for information on local politics & events in Tulsa. He is very knowledgeable & informative on government happenings, political stories, etc. You can also hear him on Monday mornings (I think) on KFAQ & he has a weekly column in Urban Tulsa (a fine magazine in its own right). I've told hubby that he should start up a blog, especially to voice his opinions on local issues.

When is it appropriate?

Okay, latest item going on. Hubby has contacted some people who used to attend the same church as his parents (actually, they're the former youth pastors...I think) to let them know about his mother as they've been gone from the church for some time. The first time he called they were at church, but one of their kids was supposed to give them the message. He called again last week & was able to let them know about her, but the couple had company & told him they'd call him back...they never have. He's made the decision (which I fully support) to not try & contact them anymore. I suggested he only call them in 2 instances: a) when she passes away & b) if it is truly the end. Now, mind you, they have, in the past, offered their support for things he's gone through. It's not like he had to call them; in fact, I don't even think he told his parents that he called them. What to do, what to do...

Second topic...our city is going to hell in a handbasket. You'd think this was Chicago or New Orleans with all the corruptness & good ol' boy networking going on around here. Our mayor (Mayor MisFortune, as hubby calls him) is more concerned with every other city in the area than ours. I'm sorry, but I believe I, as a citizen of Tulsa, voted for a Tulsa mayor, not a mayor for Owasso, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Skiatook, Collinsville, Sapulpa, Sand Springs, and any other town that may remotely be affiliated with Tulsa. Rumor has it that our mayor has an 8 year plan: 8 years as mayor, 8 years as governor & 8 years as president. God help us if that were to happen. I mean, this is the same state that elected Brad "I'm a nice guy, so vote for me & help you gamble & tax your way to prosperity" Henry for governor. I have a different plan for our Tulsa mayor, it's called the 4 plan: 4 & out as mayor of Tulsa, then you can move to each of the surrounding cities & serve 4 years a mayor of each of those cities...you've done more to help them out than you have your own city (Tulsa, remember?) Just a suggestion...and, hey, if he goes, can he take our daily paper with him? They're pretty much just as corrupt as he is...in fact, sometimes I think they're actually the ones controlling things around here...or maybe they just want us to think that. O, for the day that we could have another daily paper which would actually report fairly on all the stories & not just the ones that don't involve them. Also, if you get a chance, click on to KFAQ's website (www.1170KFAQ.com) & check out the link of a recent city council meeting. It shows a reporter for the paper (the "not my Tulsa World" as I'm calling it) cheering on a city council member who's verbally attacking another councilor). I thought reporters were supposed to be fair & balanced?

Okay, rambling over for now...

Later, y'all!

In a funk

(WARNING, RAMBLING AHEAD) Yes, I'm in a funk & I'm not sure why. I think part of it has to do with my creativity. I dabble in writing, but haven't written anything in a while. I've noticed that I tend to get focused on one thing, stick with it for a while, then move on to something else; lately, I've been stuck on Trixie Belden books. For those of you who don't know who/what she is, she's a younger, but much cooler, Nancy Drew type. I never did like Nancy Drew; she was too feminine & frou frou for me; I was more of a Hardy Boys fan (even before the TV show...Shaun Cassidy, yum, yum!). Anyway, Trixie Belden was a series of books which was originally published back in the 50's (I think)--my mother in law remembers reading them when she was growing up then. She was 13, lived on a farm (Crabapple Farm), had 2 older brothers (Mart, 11 months older) & Brian (2-3 years older), and one younger brother, Bobby (6 years old). She meets her new next door neighbor, Honey Wheeler, a girl who's her age & the exact opposite of herself. Whereas Honey was tall, thin & had "honey" blonde hair, Trixie was short, "sturdy" & unruly curly blonde hair. During their traipsing through the area around their houses, they come upon a young boy, Jim Frayne (15). He's escaped his cruel stepfather & has come to look for his uncle who lives in the neighborhood; however, the frail old man was transported to the hospital earlier & eventually passes away. To make a long story short, Jim is adopted by Honey's rich parents (who actually knew his real parents), Brian & Mart come home from camp, & the group is eventually joined by two other kids: Diana Lynch (13) & Dan Mangan (14-16). Can you tell I got really involved in these books? :-) Anyway, I've recently discovered them again, after buying about 15-20 of them on Ebay (wonderful invention). Now, I've discovered that there are fanfic sites about them! I always love discovering people who are more obsessed about things than I am! I don't have much room to talk, however...I've got 2 websites up devoted to Law & Order & Homicide:Life on the Street! I refuse to give hubby the links because I don't want him to see the horrid writings I did before we got married. I had to be the sappiest writer ever to write anything. I think I used writing in my younger days to escape from reality safely, as a retreat from the world around me when I got tired of reading. I'm good now at coming up with little scenes in my head, but not being able to put them down on paper. I have a couple of books that are supposed to help with writing, but I just get writer's block when I pick them up...oh, well, I guess I should start & see what I can come up with! I figure even writing on here helps! I know when I used to write on a regular basis, it was great therapy, so I might have to try it again with everything that's going on in my life.

Sorry this post isn't as deep as my previous ones, but I guess I'm just not feeling real deep at the moment.

A little disappointed, but focused on the future

We attended what may be our new church for the 2nd time yesterday. Hubby & I both have good feelings about it, but we're (okay, me especially) trying to be cerebral about out. I come from a charismatic background (who knows how I got mixed up in that?!), so I tend to put TOO much emphasis on feelings (plus the fact I'm a female) & hubby is logical & tends to discount feelings; so, hopefully, like the Diamond Rio song, we'll "meet in the middle." Hubby had a nice talk with both the pastor & his wife (wife Friday, pastor Saturday). The best part is, there seems to be places both he & I can get involved. He plays the soprano sax & they do have a small band/orchesta (2 guitars, drums, piano, keyboard) & he has a heart for divorced Christians. The pastor is very open to starting up a divorce group at the church, which is something hubby did at our previous church & quite enjoyed it. It's always a blessing to see people with new outlooks on life! I asked the minister's wife Sunday (they're our Sunday school teachers, so they're easy to reach!) if they ever had women's Bible studies. She said they do throughout the year, then asked me if I taught! I told her I hadn't, but would be willing to. After the service, she said she would introduce me to the head of the Women's ministry after Barbara returned from eye surgery. Here's another God thing...I'd mentioned to hubby Saturday night that I wondered if they ever had women's retreats and, lo and behold, what do they mention in Sunday school? A women's retreat at the end of the month! I'm looking forward to it so that I can get to know other women in the church better...and I'm getting a new CPAP mask sometime this week, so I'll be a pro at the sleep machine by then!

The reason I'm disappointed is...no one else ever responded to hubby's email to our previous church. Do they not realize this is when we needed them the most? His mother's dying of brain cancer, & no one through this process (with the exception of maybe 2 people) ever asked how she was doing!!! Heck, in our Sunday school class yesterday, the pastor's wife asked him if he had a update on her!!! For those of you who read this (yes, right now I know it's only 2!), here's the update (of course, hubby's one of them, so you already know the update). She's completely bedridden, has lost the use of both her legs & her left arm (she's left handed), and has not had a bowel movement in 2 weeks. It's sounding to us like her body is shutting down. Please continue to lift her up in your prayers, that God will comfort her & my father in law during this time.

Well, almost time to go home now. Have a good evening, y'all!

Me

Well, it's official

We have officially broken ranks with our church. My hubby sent an email to the prayer distribution list, hoping to open some eyes to some of the problems, but all he's received is one person asking him to remove her from "his" list as she didn't give permission for her email address to be distributed, another one that was heartfelt but didn't seem to recoginize there WAS a problem, and a third from someone who wasn't even in our Sunday School class! Hers meant the most, as it seemed to make her see that she might not have been the best Sunday school member. Now, I'm not saying that DH & I are perfect; we have our misgivings, too. Our problem seemed to be that we didn't fit the mold of what "they" thought a Sunday school member should be: Hubby's been married once before, I can't bear children, he has a daughter from his first marriage who doesn't live with us, we BOTH work outside the home (apparently I don't work in the proper profession - teacher, day care, etc.), we didn't grow up in the church (well, he did, but didn't get saved until he was a teenager; I was saved as an adult), we don't live in a 4 bedroom, 2 living room house, we drive a beat up used car, etc. Mind you, we're not the only ones who don't fit the mold, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to God's grace? A friend of my husband's put it well...Jesus died for you, so that means I have to tolerate you. Is that really what being a Christian is all about? Again, hubby & I take some of the blame, as well, but no one else seems to want to even admit that there's a problem. I'm beginning to wonder if he & I should just start our own 2 member church, but then the Bible says don't forsake the assembling of believers, so I just keep the faith that there is a church out there for he & I. Yes, G & E, yours is on the list!

If I don't get another chance to blog today, have a great weekend & we'll see you back here on Monday, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!

Not much to say

For those people who know me, the above statement is something new to them. I'm usually a real gabfest, but I don't have a whole heck of a lot to comment on today. I think it's probably due to my allergies/cold/sinuses (take your pick, I can't ever seem to tell the difference).

I have sleep apnea & am supposed to be sleeping with a CPAP, but I'm having trouble getting used to sleeping with something stuck up my nose. Last night I just skipped it all together since I was already having trouble breathing. It's frustrating when you can't sleep through the night. My usual habit is to go into the living room @ about 10 pm (when hubby goes to bed, cause he can't sleep with the TV on & that's the way I go to sleep), stay there till about 11 when I get sleepy, go to be for about an hour, get back up for 30 minutes to an hour, go back to bed & sleep for a couple of hours, wake up when Maggie, my miniature dachshund, jumps off the bed & decides she needs to go do her business, then it's back to bed until 5 am. Man, I'm exhausted just reading that! I did actually notice over the weekend that, when I did sleep with my CPAP on, I felt rested, even with the about sleeping schedule. I know, most of you don't care about my sleeping habits, but it makes me feel better writing about it. Besides, I'm not putting a gun to your head to make you read this, now am I?! Unless your my hubby, of course...:-)

Questions

I attend a weekly Bible study knows as BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). This semester we're studying Genesis, so I pose this question: Was the earth created in 7 literal days, or was it over a longer time period? Personally, I believe that God could've spoke it into existence in an instant, but He wanted to set an example for us. No, not that we can speak things into existence (I'll save that for a later rambling), but that we are to take one day out of the week to rest, give ourselves a chance to recharge, and focus on Him. After all, don't you think there's no one that knows us better than our Creator? He's made the world to show His very existence, His very being, and so many of us choose to ignore what's right in front of our face. I heard it said in a sermon one time, something to the effect of "The rocks will cry out if we don't, and I don't want to be outdone by a rock!" Think about it, our God chose to create us to have a relationship with Him. He wasn't lonely, He's God! Then, when we screwed up the plan, which He knew we would do, He chose to send His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to come down to earth and die in our place for our sins, and be resurrected, so that our relationship with our heavenly Father could be restored...and the best part? Jesus willingly did that! Actually, the best part is that it's a free gift, He won't force you to take it; all you have to do is ask Him for it.

First entry

I know, real original title...sue me, I'm new at this!

Well, a little about me. I'm 40, married, 1 step daughter, a Christian, work for a car rental company...that's about it for now. I'll figure out later on where I can put this on the blog. I'll be using this to vent. What would an Okie have to vent about? Gee, our mayor (Mayor Misfortune, as my darling hubby--otherwise knows as DH--likes to call him), the bought & paid 4 1/2 members of our city council, our family's church situation...and the fact that my mother in law is dying from terminal brain cancer.

We went to see my MIL this weekend. She was diagnosed back in May, went through a round of chemo & radiation, but it didn't stop the growth. In the past 2 weeks, she has lost the use of both of her legs & is losing control of her left arm (she's left handed & the tumor is on the right side of her brain). The blessing in all of this is that she is a Christian, so we know that God is in control. I wish we knew what His plan was, but I just try to keep in mind that He has one.

Well, time to shut it down for now...part 2 tomorrow.

God bless y'all!

Shel