I just received this e-mail message (see below). Guess this is my lucky day! ROFL
Deann

Subject: Hello Dear am a dying woman


"My name is Jenny Maria Heman. I am a dying woman who has decided to donate what I have to you /organisation. I am 69 years old and I was diagnosed for cancer about 2 years ago immediately after the death of my husband who has left everything he worked for me, and because the doctors told me I will not live longer than some weeks because of my health. I decided to WILL/donate the sum of $2,500 000 two million five hundred thousand dollars to you for the good work of my Hand and as my spirit leads me to do so, and also to help the motherless and less privilege and also for the assistance of the widows.I wish you all the best and may the good things bless you abundantly and please use the funds well and always extend the good work to others.

Contact my lawyer/Abogado Sr Barrister; Hector P.
Kelly. with this Email address:( advocateoffice@ozu.es) tell him that I
have WILLED $2,500 000.00 to you and I have also notified him. I know I don't know you but I have been directed to do this.

Thanks and blessing.From Jenny Maria Heman.


NB: I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until
the task is accomplished as I don't want anything that will jeopardize my
last wish."


Yeah - I bet you do!! :-))

MH

Have a great week - And don't

miss out on the latest

news at


http://fitladiesrock.com

Today is mother's day...and a special one too. We had a nasty storm coming through the Southern states AGAIN last night - killing I don't know how many people AGAIN. As usual, I was home alone and didn't think much of it until grape size hail knocked at my front bay window for about 10 minutes or so. Thank god the glass was strong enough to withstand.

I have not seen it often in my life that just a few minutes of rain can flood a whole area. After it was over, I went out back, where my patio was flooded...and raging streams of muddy waters came down the slope from the building lot backing up to me. I knew this was going to happen!

I went out again today and opened my back gate, only to see the whole mess unveiling: 8 inches of soil against my back fence already, just because they wouldn't build that retaining wall. And so far, no drainage was put in place either. The last word is not spoken yet.

It's nice and sunny again today, a bit on the windy side, but sunny. I'll go down to the river dam bridge later to walk with my Turkish friend Resat. We do that every Sunday afternoon. I have several walking buddies on different days of the week. You should try walking too some time.

I have not been feeling as energetic as usual since I got that now mandatory MMR vaccination on Monday. I was told that I can't get into college without it. I've been tired and gaines a pound or so...and don't seem to be able to lose it. Let's hope the effects will wear off soon.

I called my mom this morning, she is doing fine. My daughter called me earlier also, we will have dinner together later.

Today is mother's day...and a special one too. We had a nasty storm coming through the Southern states AGAIN last night - killing I don't know how many people AGAIN. As usual, I was home alone and didn't think much of it until grape size hail knocked at my front bay window for about 10 minutes or so. Thank god the glass was strong enough to withstand.

I have not seen it often in my life that just a few minutes of rain can flood a whole area. After it was over, I went out back, where my patio was flooded...and raging streams of muddy waters came down the slope from the building lot backing up to me. I knew this was going to happen!

I went out again today and opened my back gate, only to see the whole mess unveiling: 8 inches of soil against my back fence already, just because they wouldn't build that retaining wall. And so far, no drainage was put in place either. The last word is not spoken yet.

It's nice and sunny again today, a bit on the windy side, but sunny. I'll go down to the river dam bridge later to walk with my Turkish friend Resat. We do that every Sunday afternoon. I have several walking buddies on different days of the week. You should try walking too some time.

I have not been feeling as energetic as usual since I got that now mandatory MMR vaccination on Monday. I was told that I can't get into college without it. I've been tired and gaines a pound or so...and don't seem to be able to lose it. Let's hope the effects will wear off soon.

I called my mom this morning, she is doing fine. My daughter called me earlier also, we will have dinner together later.

That's it. Y'all have a nice day!

MH

This is cool - but it only works this year: YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT (Thanks for sharing, witchgirl)


DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!


It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read. Be sure you don't
read the bottom until you've worked it out!

This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.


1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to
go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758...If you haven't, add 1757.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number


The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times you want to go out
to restaurants in a week.)


The next two numbers are....



YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES, it is!)



THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS .

MH

Heya all, how have you been? I checked my viewer stats today and I must say, I am blown away. How on earth did I get a reader from Tajikistan? Or from Kingstown, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines.....Kongsvinger, Norway, or Durban, South Africa, to name just a few?

Some I can figure out....Sarasota, FL is a German friend, so is Chengdu, China Gell??!!

Buy anyways, that's not really what I wanted to write about today. I wanted to report my latest adventure in my kitchen: scaling fish. John, my neighbor, goes fishing 2-3 times a week, and yesterday, I got a bucket of bass, well, four actually. I left them in the bucket, on ice, over night, and today I got them into my kitchen. I never cleaned and scaled fish before, so I had to google it :-)

Scaling is a hug mess, I can tell you that. I had to clean my kitchen after I was done. I had scales everywhere...my hair, my clothes, the counters of course, and many on the floor...everywhere in the house!
Next time I will do it on the back patio ;-)

All in all, it was a lot of cleaning and prepping, but in the end, when they came out of the oven, those fish tasted just awesome! Well - after the bones were out :-0

I found the livers in two of them, and they were great too. I ate very healthy today!

So there - it was a free meal (or two), and it was FRESH. However, next time I will ask John if he could scale and fillet them for me ;-)

That's it for today, my friends - where ever you are...in Stuttgart, or the black forest...in Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Luxembourg, Holland...Switzerland, Croatia....Turkey and Syria even...and all the others - I wish you all a great rest of the week. I'd love to hear from you some time :-)))

Miss Helga

Since I bragged about the average German's tendency to complain about just about everything that doesn't go their way, here's some more information from Spiegel Online about what they do and what makes them tick.

Talk about living in a glass house. I am pretty sure there's similar data available about the average American or any other nation's citizens. Wouldn't you love to compare!?

I found it interesting that the average salary in Germany is nearly 6,000 US Dollars a month and of course I am wondering what that figure is in the US. I also want to mention that practically everybody has health insurance in Germany, and their system has worked pretty well ever since it was implemented - err...I believe right after WWII was over. It's not the same system like in Canada or Britain, health care in Germany is private, but government subsidized. Wouldn't you rather see your tax dollars put to good use and provide you with affordable health insurance, as opposed to financing a highly controversial war? More on the subject here.

Yeah - let's all be grateful to Mr. Bush for chosing to be a 'world leader' instead of a leader of the American people.

After all, who needs health insurance when half of the country smokes weed and is hooked on OTC pain killers or anti depression drugs - all of which cost them a fortune and possibly their freedom if they get caught smoking weed ( I want to point out that I was being sarcastic there). And how about getting paid decent money for hard work, so people don't have to juggle between 2 or more part time jobs just to make ends meet? How about enabling mothers to stay home with their babies for at least 3 years? (again, see the German example), and how about giving everybody the time they need to recover from illness, as opposed to forsing them to take antibiotics and go back to work within 24 hours because they don't get paid when they are sick? I could gon on adn on and on.

America - this once wonderful country - now invaded by criminal organizations - corporations and mafias - no wonder some older European folks describe a deja-vu experience.

Change of subject.

We have had 7 confirmed fatalities from this morning's storm front and numerous tornadoes in Arkansas. Nothing happened in Little Rock today...other than some hail and heavy rain for a while. It actually got reall reall dark outside by about 10.30am, but we're in the clear again her in the capital city.

It's 4.20pm now, the sun is out and you wouldn't think we had a bad storm front move through today. I'm gonna head out and check my veggie plants :-)

Miss Helga

Folks, I just read an e-mail and I am so pissed off about it that I am posting it here. It looks like there are people out there - educated people mind you - who believe that we ought to thank GWB for running water and electricity??!!

Here's the e-mail I received:

" No matter what your political convictions are this is eye opener. What a thankless people we are!!!

Subject: Jay Leno on President Bush (Surprising)

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

As most of you know I am not a President
Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not
about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it
seems to hit the mark
'The other day I was reading Newsweek
magazine and came across some Poll data I found
rather hard to believe. It must be true given
the source, right?
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67
percent of Americans are unhappy with the
direction the country is headed and 69 percent of
the country is unhappy with the performance of
the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry
just ain't happy and want a change. So being the
knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What
are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and
running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of
having air conditioning in the summer and heating
in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of
these unhappy folks have a job?


D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk
into a grocery store at any time and see more
food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last
year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our
cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the
Atlantic Ocean without having to present
identification papers as we move through each
state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean
and safe motels we would find along the way that
can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of
restaurants with varying cuisine from around the
world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck
our car, emergency workers show up and provide
services to help all and even send a helicopter
to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70
percent of Americans who own a home.

J.. You may be upset with knowing that
in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of
trained firefighters will appear in moments and
use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames,
thus saving you, your family, and your
belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one
of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or
prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun
and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you
and your family against attack or loss.

L.. This all in the backdrop of a
neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and
pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where
90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious,
social and political freedoms we enjoy that are
the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks
unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of
ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever
seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet
has a great disdain for its citizens. They see
us for what we are. The most blessed people in
the world who do nothing but complain about what
we don't have, and what we hate about the country
instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the
president who took us into war and has no plan to
get us out? The president who has a measly 31
percent approval rating? Is this the same
president who guided the nation in the dark days
after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to
bring an economy out of recession? Could this
be the same guy who has been called every name in
the book for succeeding in keeping all the
spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist
attacks? The commander in chief of an
all-volunteer army that is out there defending
you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is
on the news or talk show? Did this news affect
you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't
take a look around for yourself and see all the
good things and be glad? Think about
it......are you upset at the President because he
actually caused you personal pain OR is it
because the 'Media' told you he was failing to
kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have
died for your freedom. There is currently no
draft in this country. They didn't have to go.
They are able to refuse to go and end up with
either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than
honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a
''dishonorable' ' discha rge after a few days in
the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment
in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the
media. If it bleeds it leads and they
specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a
car crash with blood and guts. How many will
watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The
media knows this and media outlets are for-profit
corporations. They offer what sells, and when
criticized, try to defend their actions by
'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask
why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.
Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill
his wife, but if he did he would have done it
this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New
York Times for the bottom of your bird cage.
Then start being grateful for all we have as
country. There is exponentially more good than
bad. We are among the most blessed people on
Earth and should thank God several times a day,
or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With
hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud
slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up
the country from one end to another, and with the
threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we
sure this is a good time to take God out of the
Pledge of Allegiance?'
Jay Leno

Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people who need to read this and grasp the truth of it all."


Why do I get that weird feeling that this was fabricated by some blurry visioned baptist minister in Anysmalltown in Texas? 'Cause last time I watched Jay leno, he had a working brain. Besides, if you can't recognize sarcasm and humor...you MUST be a baptist minister :-)

Oh and yeah: The biggest complainers in this world are NOT AMERICANS....palease! The biggest complainers are - and the whole world knows that - the KRAUTS!! I should know that - I AM a Kraut! LOL

Y'all have a great week :-)

Miss Helga

Check this out and tell me what you think. Yet another example of why human decadence...and it so reminds me of why the Roman Empire may have gone down the drain, lol. And something else comes to mind, an old German saying: "Wenn's dem Esel zu wohl wird, dann geht er auf's Eis".



I'm thinking, either someone has money to burn and is bored to death...or he's a really really bad chef :-))


Later,
Miss Helga

I am still alive. No cold - just allergies due to high pollen count in the air. You know it when you park your car outside for an hour, and when you get back it's green, no matter what color it was before. Today I mowed my front yard for the first time this year - I was actually the last one to do it in my street - and I've been sneezing ever since.

I also felt adventurous and went out back into the mud and pulled some really fast growing weeds. There's no way I can mow that area yet, need to wait until the stormy season has slowed down and the grounds have had a chance to dry out. It's kinda pitiful this year, and I also blame the construction company that's building those 'luxury town homes' behind my backyard. They obviously forgot about adequate drainage, and we'll have to remind them soon.

Miss Kira is moving out this weekend. My little girl is leaving me and starting her own life. Well, well......a few nice words of encouragement from you all would be very appreciated. It's not easy to let go of being a mom. I guess I'll clean house next week and clear out clutter as much as I can.

I really ought to rent out a bedroom or two....but it's not easy finding decent people who won't bring trouble into the house. Not sure what to do yet, but once I get back to college I may need the extra income.

What else? Oh - yeah...I didn't go to Babsi's citizenship ceremony after all - just couldn't bear the thought of being locked up with a lot of other people. She's an American lady now, and that means she has lost her German citizenship. Not sure if I ever want to do that.

The website is coming along too, it looks a lot different now than it did in the beginning, and I am finally set with the color scheme. I have added more content, and keep doing it on a daily basis. I am planning to get some recipes posted soon.

Got to get going, Kira will be here soon and I will need to help her with packing.

Later,
Miss Helga

https://emp.ucsd.edu/swf/screenclean.swf

It works !!

MH

Nothing happened last night - apart from quite heavy thunderstorms - but no tornadic winds anywhere as far as I know.

Just thought I should let y'all know.

Mind you, what happened here last week was pretty unique, I believe it was even a first looking at how many areas in town were hit merely by low hanging funnell clouds. We did have one real tornado once, that was about 9 years ago, but he did follow the regular path and hit downtown in the Quawpaw area, around the governor's mansion. I know a lady that lives down there...beautiful historic homes...anyways, she was able to renovate her entire dwelling with the insurance money, so that tornado was a blessing for her. However, if I remember right, there were 3 fatalities then. When a funnel touches down, and becomes a real tornado, there almost always are fatalities.

It stopped raining now and that is a blessing for me :-)) since my backyard is totally muddy again and lots of water is running down my front yard. We may get some more rain thought throughout the day. Friday is supposed to be dry again, and we should also have a dry weekend.

I am supposed to be at Babsi's inauguration this Friday...she will officially be sworn in to be an American citizen. She has invited us to the capitol and watch the ceremony, but it takes about 2-3 hours and they apparently lock the doors after it starts (WHY?? - are they afraid someone might change their mind?!). I am not sure if I can go, with my claustrophobia and I am also getting a cold it seems.

Incubation time for a cold is what...3 days? That would mean that someone at the German group meeting on Sunday gave me the cold! Just what I needed :-) NOTT!

Have a nice hump day y'all!

Miss Helga

We've had really great weather again after the big storm passed through last week. I drove through Cammack Village on Sunday on my way down to the dam river bridge. Well, I wanted to cross through, but almost all roads ended up being closed and I had to turn around. There was still a lot of police there and fire fighters trying to restore power lines and remove heavy tree stomps. I actually drove by a house with a hug tree crashed into the roof, and another one had a crushed car underneath a tree in the driveway. It was just unbelievable how these old huge trees were uprooted like that. Good thing the funnel cloud never touched the ground, or the houses themselves would have been gone. So that's what happened: There were several funnel clouds, but not a real tornado touch down here in Little Rock. It was close though - you never know when a funnel cloud drops to the ground.

Anyways, the next round of storms is approaching and will hit us tomorrow afternoon or evening, so I decided to rake some more leaves today. Not sure if I mentioned it but ' old friend' Bernd was supposed to visit again earlier this year and take care of the leaves, but he didn't show up this time. That is why I am still working on the leaves...10 bags today, and still about 5 or 6 more to go, I would guess.

It was really hot today, I actually had to run the A/C for a couple of hours.

I do hope that we won't have that many tornadoes this week, and not the destruction in town like last week. It's kinda scary, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, my back hurts like crazy from bending and picking up leaves, and I wished I had someone here to pamper me. I got a free massage offered from one of my Yuwie friends, lol. Yeah right!

Oh - BTW....Miss Kira is thinking about going to college after all. She and her friend Mary want to become nurses. I had no idea how sought after RN's are in this country. Apparently, the hospitals pay for most of the tuition and even give nurses a sign on bonus. Plus, they can work at the hospital while going to school, and get paid $ 13.00 per hour. That means, they can still afford to live in their apartment and pay their other bills. Once they are RN's, they can make up to 100 thousand dollars a year. That's pretty darn much money here in Arkansas.

And now comes the kicker: I read about an old lady in the AARP bulletin. She is 82 I believe, and she still works part time at a hospital as a RN. Apparently, hospitals like to employ older nurses because they have good people skills and are dependable, caring workers. That particular lady graduated from nursing school at age 61!

You know.....I could probably find an interest in it myself :-) Just think about it for a minute: I would only have to pay for the first semester, and UALR is not that expensive. I could work at the hospital while going to school to pay for my living expenses. I would then get the sign on bonus of 10 grand (if I'd work at St. Vincent's) and I could then work as long as I wanted for a real decent salary and great health benefits. I could become a visiting nurse and really make about 100k. And once I go to part time, I could still make more money than what I made at my last job.

Besides - wouldn't it be fun to go to college with my daughter? ! Well, not exactly WITH her...but being in the same course. It would make me feel young again....like a college student, and once I'd graduate, I'd have that wonderful feeling of having accomplished something - just like or even more like the feeling I had when I was done with my Microsoft Systems Engineer certification. OK, that one didn't quite turn out the way I had expected....I was done in December of 1999, still on Windows NT, and those bastards in Seattle came out with Windows 2000 a month later and expected us to re-certify. That showed me right there how inconsiderate a field I was getting myself into, and it proofed to be a correct feeling.

Well - maybe I let Kira find out all about the program, and then see if I really want to do it. But I have to admit the idea has something. It would even fit in with my fitladiesrock project. Let's see what unfolds.

So much for today. I will report back after the next storm.

Y'all be good and take care!

Miss Helga

For those of my friends and readers who worry about my safety: I am fine. The tornado last night missed my house by half a mile - and I still have power - as opposed to about 19 000 families in the Little Rock metro area.

I consider myself lucky and I am grateful to be able to sit in my dry and warm house with my morning coffee.

Here's more from the news stations:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/04/04/arkansas.tornado/?iref=mpstoryview

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=63472

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346293,00.html

How did I experience it, you ask? Well, there was a strong thunderstorm over my area, and just before 8.30 last night, while I was watching TV and doing stuff on my laptop, the warning system on TV came on and reported that we had a tornado warning in several counties, including Southern Pulaski county - which is right where I live. It took a few minutes for me to realize what it meant, since I had not experienced an immediate tornado warning (it's the official term for: we have spotted a tornado) in many years.

To make things worse, the guy on TV said they could not really tell a path of the tornado yet because it was dark outside.

And then the sirens came on. I don't know about you, but those sirens are scary. Here I was, home alone, a severe thunderstorm raging over my house, and a tornado coming my way.

I called my daughter and found out she was at a friend's house in town, and they had a basement. Good - I was glad she was safe.

Then they gave us a path on TV, and it looked like it was coming towards me and also my friend Brian's location. I called his cell to make sure he was alright, but he had been in bed (he has to get up at 2.00am) and didn't even know anything was going on. No sirens in his area. I was puzzled.

I called a few more friends and they were all safe. Then Brian called me back and said they were OK, the front had passed them and the tornado was 14 miles away from his location, but heading exactly my way and to seek shelter.

Now - the next shelter I know of would be Baptist Hospital, but it was on the other side of the Tornado's predicted path. So I had no choice but to sit it out. Since I don't have a basement, I listened for the 'rolling train' noise, ready to jump into the tub in the hall bathroom.

Imagine the scenario: Lightning, thunder, heavy rain and the sirens hauling, light flickering in the house...and me ....knowing that a tornado was coming my way.

And then, all of a sudden it was over. The guy on TV said the storm had moved into downtown and towards Cammack Village - where my daughter was!

The sirens were still hauling, and now I got more phone calls from friends and finally my daughter telling me she was OK, and giving me a report of some damage around the Mississippi and Leawood areas, since her friend's dad was driving through there to get home and calling them on his cell phone. She drove home just before the next storm passed through, but this one did not have any tornadic winds. Needless to say that I was glad when she was home.

I consider myself extremely lucky today....no damage, and power lines intact.It's still raining today, my backyard is muddy as hell....but we will have 3 dry days coming up :-) Many areas are flooded today, and I see on TV that Ohio is being hit hard again in that area. I hope my old neighbors in Findlay are OK.

Who said there's no excitement in Little Rock?! :-))

Of course , on days like this, you automatically think about possibly moving, but right now is not a good time to sell a house. Even here in Arkansas the market is very slow. So I'll just have to wait for better days :-))

I wish everybody a great (and safe) weekend, wherever you are!!

Miss Helga

Unbelievable, I saw an ad for this new device on TV last night and have to share it with you. Apparently, you only pay once a year...roughly 20 bucks for the device and another 20 bucks for all the local and long distance calls you want to make in a whole year! This does include calls to foreign countries IF you're not calling a cellular device.

Here's the url: http://www.magicjack.com/1/index.asp

Let me know what you think. I haven't had a chance to read through the nitty gritty yet, but I'll read it tonight and then probably buy one.

Have a great week!

Miss Helga

I received this in an e-mail today and believe it is worth sharing with everybody
Miss Helga

    
Lee Iacocca Speaks:
   
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.

We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course'.    
   
 
    
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'     
   
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.     
   
 
    
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.   While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom! -poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.  I've had enough. How about you?     
   
 
    
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.     
   
 
    
The Biggest 'C' is Crisis !
   
 
    
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.     
   
 
    
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess! 
   
 
    
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves.  The middle class is being squeezed every which way.  These are times that cry out for leadership.
   
 
    
But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense?  I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.     
   
 
    
 
    
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?  We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.     
   
 
    
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. 
   
 
    
Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. 
   
 
    
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?     
   
 
    
 
    
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.     
   
 
    
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is  everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?     
   
 
    
Had Enough?     
   
 
    
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great     Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:     
   
 
    
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the  crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had      'enough.' 
   
 
    
Make a 'real contribution' by sending this to everyone you know and care about......our future is at stake!     

Yeah, there we go again...I received this letter today from a friend of mine, who thought I might get a kick out of it. Here it goes:

"Dear friend,

I am Mr.SANOU GARUBA, personal Assistant to the Branch Manager of Bank Of Africa(BOA) Ouagadougou Burkina Faso. I want to inquire from you if you can handle this transaction for mutual benefits/life opportunity for you and me.

The transaction is about seeking your consent to present you as the next of kin/ beneficiary of the US$4.5 million dollars,(four million,five hundred thousand united states dollars), and who is a customer to the bank where i work.He died in a Kenya plane crash 2003, with his family during their vacation journey. The Fund is currently in a suspense account awaiting claim, the bank made a public notice that they are ready to release this fund to any of his relatives abroad.

THEREFORE, by virtue of its nature as being utterly CONFIDENTIAL, top secret should be maintained please!,because i am still in the active service i do not need any form of implication especially now i'm in the verge of my retirement to endanger my carear at last!.

Since we got the information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless some body applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines and laws. In that regard, i decided to seek your consent for this prospective opportunity.

Have it at the back of your mind, that the transaction does not involve any RISK, and does not need much engagement from you, since i am familiar with this kind of transaction being an insider. Necessary modalities will be worked out to enable us carry out the fund claim under a legitimate arrangement. I have resolved to offer you 30% of the total fund, 10% for sundry expenses that may be incurred during the process of executing this transaction and 60% percent for me.I will give you more details about the transaction when I receive your affirmative response,more clarification information.

Contact me through my private e- mail address:(garuba_sanou@hotmail.fr), I'm waiting to hear from you soon.

Thanks and God bless.

Mr.SANOU GARUBA "

Did y'all notice that our samaritan has reserved 10% for his expenses and 60% for himself, no explanation. And the e-mail address is located where?

Holy Moly! :-))

I wish everybody a great weekend,

Miss Helga

PS) When you have a minute, take a look at my new website again, please. I changed colors and stuff....and I would like to get your opinion. Thanks!

I think this was the longest server outage I have ecer experienced since I started writing on easyjournal 5 years or so ago. It was too long in my eyes..someone should have taken care of it Good Friday.

What is new since last week, you ask? Well...not too much, I have to admit. I did however start a new blog on google...I am using it for fitness related issues, and I will keep this one purely 'private' from now on...meaning, I will write about private issues like I used to. The google one can be read via my new website http://fitladiesrock.com

Other than that...it's gardeing time again...I need to get the rest of the leaves out and plant veggies and herbs this week, or it will be too late. I should also buy some high bushes or treed for the border to my new neighbors out back...well, the 'luxury town homes' that are being built there right now. I really don't care to see them when I have a BBQ out on my back patio. It will cost me somewhat..but without that investment it may be hard to sell the house one day.

I better get going...it's discount day at my new wine shop, and they sell some good Alsace wines. Makes me feel like home......

Later,
Miss Helga

OMG, I just now realized how long it has been since I last wrote something on here. That new website is more work than I had anticipated, but I am slowly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After 2 weeks of sitting here for 12 plus hours a day....my back is hurting and my vision is blurry....I feel like a NERD!

Well, actually...I met my old friend Bob for a drink last night, and it was great getting out and away from my couch and the laptop. I will do that again this Friday. Josh Green is performing at Cajun's and I will meet with some friends and have fun. It'll be 73 degrees on Friday, yippie!

I am so ready for summer...we actually had 81 degrees yesterday..of course that was pre-thunderstorm temperatures. I just knew that somewhere, someone had to pay for it. And it did. My friend Pete tells me that there was a touchdown on the runway at the airport in Dallas and they could not land. They had to return to El Paso. I don't think he was too happy about it, LOL. He just got home a couple of hours ago.

Boy I'm tired....I better head towards my slick Japanese style resting place.

Later,
Miss Helga

I finally sat down and started setting up my fitladiesrock website. The url is http://fitladiesrock.com. really really tried to get around doing it myself....and I had almost persuaded two of my friends to do it for me for free....well, almost, LOL. Both chickened out after initially agreeing to do it, so I decided that I can do it myself.

Go look for yourself and send me your feedback please, I do appreciate every well meant and polite critique.

There is still a lot to do though, I am actually adding new pages and content every day. Next week I will implement my e-store, which will allow me to process credit card payments for my online weightloss concepts and whatever items I want to sell down the road.

I have also started my outdoor activities again last Sunday - since temperatures have gone up and we're practically in the spring season now. My favorite hangout is the new River Dam bridge down by the Arkansas River. Come join me if you're local, it's fun moving your body in fresh air.

Oh, before I forget to mention it again: I only have one more pound to lose to reach my original weight loss goal, but now I have a new goal: 120 pounds (US pound = metric pound minus 10 %)....and that means, I have to lose 9 more US pounds.....or roughly 4 kg.

Yep - life is good again!

Miss Helga (a.k.a. Deann)