what's everyone bringing?

so what's everyone bringing? i think i'll be making eggplant parmigiana

MM-Good

So check it out.

I was thinking of putting together a family recipe book. Anyone interested in contributing summit their recipes in instructional format. Nothing is out of bounds. Drinks, appetizers, main courses, side dishes, gravies, sauces, desserts, etc.

Pics from Naomi's Party

Enjoy punks!
http://joeandrenee.smugmug.com/gallery/6828541_vkJpe#436428714_zjTdq

Cheap bastard

Considering how expensive things are today, I was thinking we should put a dollar limit to our pollyannas instead of a dollar minimum. Let's face it, as we get older the whole present-thing really doesn't matter, at least to me. Sure it's fun, it's a good way to spread some holiday cheer, but in the end is it really worth fifty bucks? I know, it's the thought that counts, which is why a limit would be more conducive to the idea.

If we were to forget about the dollar minimum and focus on the idea of the gift, I think it would be more fun. Perhaps include themes every year to the type of gift, like; items found at a grocery store, or products made in Honduras only, or literature, or things not found in stores, or ebay items, or liquor, or items of the 80s, or 'as seen on TV' products.

The limit could be no more than $50.00. I think this would relieve some of the buying stress and the 'obligation factor.'

Another idea would be a family lottery along with the pollyanna. Anyone who wants to be in the lottery contributes $20. Names are put into a hat, the winner takes all. Cha-ching!

Verizon FiOS

so much better than Comcast. Channel guide is not ancient, DVR is awesome... I strongly suggest you check it out and switch if it makes sense

Sahng Dah Lahng Dahng

So the latest is that eemo and sahng dae (Teem) have made melinda sign a contract promising that she will no longer complain or call anyone in OUR family regarding their marital issues. They even took her cell phone away! If she fails to comply she'll be "thrown out on the street" with out the kids. According to mom, Since Melinda has no family she felt scared and had no choice but to sign. The contract is not a legal document.

Eemo is now thrilled that she won the "war" (and is probably thanking Jesus) and hates mom and our family

Christmas time is....where??

So..... "where should we play?" Will our annual get together on Christmas Eve be at our usual spot this year?? if so, Pillpusher- can you post the details? if not, who wants to host?!

"Ugly cars that don't work"

i wanted to bring back the topic of Bubbles' comment on the American Car industry. It is amazing how far behind our country is with design in general. American cars for the most part are big and ugly. Put aside eco friendly, green progressive ideas (which America is behind in too) the designs of these cars are so entrenched in a "type"

Take Chrysler for example. The current emblem is from a time during the Art Deco period. Instead of maintaining the original design, it has been bastardized to a watered down contemporary version that doesn't hold its design roots nor portray the car company to be a modern competitor to its foreign rivals. To me the emblem and the cars have connotations of "old" and "outdated." Chrysler continued this theme with the PT Cruiser....i'm sorry if anyone of you own one, but that is FUGLY! The Ford Taurus is butt ugly too

American car companies seem to have ignored the ideas of progress, innovation, and function and put their efforts into bringing back the "Charger" the "Mustang" and the "Challenger"

These reasons run parrallel why many Americans still desire "Colonial esque" homes...more on that later

Our Healthcare System is F*%ked Up!

So as you all may know by now, I really hacked up my thumb, but what's more hacked up is our healthcare system. I'm not talking specifically about health insurance, as this can be debated and argued as well. What i'm talkin' 'bout is the actual treatment you get when you need it. I would like to retell my story at the ER.........

It's 12:45pm
With a bloody hand and a wad of Marcal around my thumb, Mike Ryan helps me to a chair in the ER waiting room. Half conscious, i give Mike all my identification, including my insurance card. I can hear him urgently pleading with the secretary that i need immediate assistance and she tells him to sit and wait for the next available nurse.

15 minutes pass......30 minutes pass......by now, i am fully conscious and out of my initial shock. What replaces it is pain....lots of pain and eerie thoughts of my severed thumb. I look around and notice a half a dozen other sick people. But not at all what I imagined an ER waiting room to be... the other people were tame a little sluggish and all on their cell phones. The decor was was very well designed, including cherry and maple wood ceiling and wall panels, high end recessed eco friendly CFL lights, a 50" flat panel lcd tv, and two dozen cushy arm chairs......I had to double check the LED "Emergency Department" sign behind the front desk to make sure I wasn't in the Returns Department at IKEA........still unable to see a medical proffessional, I'm wondering, " does my insurance pay for this fabulous interior design?!"

About 45 minutes later, i'm finally escorted to the back room. I tell Mike as I leave him, "if i don't make it, tell my wife and kids I love them!" we laugh and then I tell him to get back to work, "keep my job warm! we can't afford this right now!" we laugh some more and I see the nurse. She's a little apologetic and tells me she didin't realize my condition because the scretary did not pass her my information....i'm thinking, "she's 12 feet away from you...and i'm the only one in the waiting room with a bloody arm in the air, squirming in my chair....what???!!!"
She tells me she's going to unwrap the paper towel and i tell her "this is very absorbent paper towel i think it's sticking to the wound"....i whimper like a girl, "please be gentle"....i turn my head away as she begins to unwrap.....it's sticking, i'm yelping, it's sticking, i'm yelling, she's apologizing, and i tell her to "knock me out! punch me in the face!"

She calls another nurse and asks if i should be taken upstairs....i'm thinking "upstairs?is this floor for amateur doctors? what's the difference?"
i later realize that "upstairs" refers to a fast track department, where "real" emergency care is administered, basically sifting out the people with a tummy ache to those who have lost limbs. i wish Starbucks would handle their coffee lines this way: people who want a "grande decaf soy macchiato with chocolate shavings" in one line and people who want a medium (not "venti") cup of coffee in another line

The other nurse tell the other that, "we can handle it here, it's booked upstairs"....i'm thinkng great let's get this thing sewed back up and I'm out of here......she rewraps my thumb in what she claims to be non stick bandage and tells me to sit back in the waiting rooma and i will be called shortly

15 minutes later a large black woman with blonde hair and glasses calls my name and tells me to meet her "at the second window on the left"....what! more paperwork?!...groaning now, she asks for my ID....i say, "I gave all my info to the secretary" she tells me she needs it again.....that lazy bitch!

i give it to her and almost immediately she asks, "full name please" i tell her my name"....K I M- m as in mary"....she asks for my home address ...i tell her "it's all on my ID!" she snaps like i'm an idiot and says, "oh I can't read that! it's too small!" what?1?>!?1...so for the next 5 minutes i'm telling her all my info again, spelling out the word "architect" and "michael" for her trying to keep my thumb elevated.....finally she tells me to be seated again and a doctor which she promises will see me

I enter the waiting room again...Mike's still there....."all sewn up!?" he assumes......"nope, i haven't even seen a doctor yet
we're both bewildered. it's 2:30 now...still haven't seen a doctor

.....Christmas

it's been pretty tight financially for our household so Cynthia and I have opted out of pollyanna this year. In exchange, I will offer architectural/ design services as well as simple handyman tasks.

Esther, I will rehang your blinds

Raybrower, I can design your deck

Raybrower's kids, I can design your treehouse (dad will have to build) or you can get a bought present-your choice

Bubbles, i can help with finalizing any details with the sunroom/ family room

All other family members just let me know if i can help out in anyway

Please do not feel that you have to give me any gifts as i'm tired of "stuff"....i do, however, love babysitters!

Thanksgiving...

Just want to say that people should have given us a heads up if no one was coming to Martha's for dessert. Renee (who is 7 months pregnant) worked very hard on Wednesday to make 3 different desserts, enough for 20+ people, and then no one showed. Renee's mom also worked to make a homemade dessert to feed everyone.

As I hear the facts roll in (Mary bought desserts, Judah took beer back home) it was clear that coming to Martha's was not ever part of the plan and I would have appreciated it if you could have let us know so Renee could have relaxed a bit, if not in the cooking, then in the plating.

No Line on the Horizon

http://www.nme.com/news/u2/41303

...they never cease to inspire or amaze me

"I wanted to go to the Dorney Park"

So what's up with our cousin?? Any news??

Economy Hype

Just had a very interesting meeting today with a bank executive from Toronto-Dominion bank(TD bank).
This guy, Mike Peterson, came into the warehouse today to introduce himself. He arrived from Canada this week to Cherry Hill at the Commerce Bank main hub, getting "acquainted" with the local business environment. What was to be a 15 min meet and greet, turned into a 2 hour discussion over lunch on the economy.

In a nut shell, what the media is failing or hiding from us is the reality of just how bad this downturn is. The source of the global recession is trillions of dollars in bad assets(mortgages).
The ONLY way to revert this is not artificial liquidity(bailout plan), but liquidity through economic stimulation via tax relief.

According to Mike, the reason why the market is so volatile has not so much to do with the current situation, rather speculation of future market conditions. He pointed out that since this downturn, the market reacted positively every time a stimulus or bailout plan was rumored, and tanks every time someone from Capitol Hill holds a negative press conference.

The TD bank merger with Commerce almost dissolved due to this. Luckily, this bank,(Commerce na), unlike most, had very little asset attrition mainly due to its 'high volume' approach to individual accounts and small local business investment.

All this 'bailout' talk is frankly, a CYA for everyone involved in this mortgage debacle. The auto industry, believe it or not, fell into this scheme as well. Most don't realize that since the late 70s, GM, Ford,& Chrysler, got into the baking industry, not just to finance vehicle loans, but to engage in asset investments, and mortgages, in order to leverage liabilities like pensions, health care, salaries, bonuses, etc.

The market would be better off if congress does nothing, but announces no tax, dividend, cap gain increases, and follows up with legislation extending the tax cuts beyond 2010.
He, (Mike), was even so bold to suggests that all Obama has to do as pres. elect, is to announce a press conference and declare no tax increases during his first term, "...and watch the market rally." He then admitted that because TD bank is forecasting cap gain and dividend rates to increase by 2010, that the $1,000,000.00 revolving cash account for SunEPS, will no longer have a 30 day no interest period for the first 500K, and instead of a 6%apr, it would increase to 9%.
He suggests to counter this with increased surcharges, "that's what we're doing,"he says.
Not so easy when 99% of your ATMs are in the ghetto.

Some things to look out for according to him;

increased service fees from your bank
gas stations going back to cash/credit pricing
businesses dishing out unprecedented extravagant deals and discounts this Christmas
Circuit City to go out of business by end of 1st quarter next year
credit card companies increasing interest rates(duh)
I like this one...car companies giving buy one get one free or half price on a second vehicle, along with 0% interest!
Pharmaceutical companies migrating to Canada
possible DHL/FedEx merger

I finally asked him if the government is looking into a possible new GSEs in the investment/pension industry.
His response..."be careful what you wish for."
I guess we shall see.

Sangreal

What does everyone make of the DaVinci code stuff? Lost gospels, rose line, etc.?

Sweet and Salty

So there's been a lot of discussion on Heaven...the eternal bliss...the place where we meet our Maker and Love is all encompassing. I do beleive there is such a place, but I can not define it...it would be like trying to explain to a dog that the world is not in black and white, but full of color...or trying to explain to Brother Moody that a Speak and Spell really does "know nuftin" and that it's just a simple computer program geared for toddlers

I agree with Mary that everything as we know and cherish changes once we get there, with or without loved ones

...but what i'm still trying to grasp is how can there be

good without evil?

light without the darkness?

the sweet without the salty?

if we leave our world behind and forget our problems and sins of the earth, then how do we appreciate the greatness of Heaven?

Our New Octagon

If you are reading this, then you've made it to the start of a new arena for discussions within our Family.....I'm looking to our new authors for ideas, revisions, comments etc for our new blog.....including the title, typeface, description and anything else you may want to see on the blog...."everybody to da field!"