A Love Worth Giving.

Maxi-Pads Hysterical Letter 
This is an actual letter from an Austin , Texas woman sent to
Proctor and Gamble regarding one of their feminine products. She really gets
rolling
after the first paragraph. This was PC Magazine's 2007 Editors'
Choice award-winner for the best letter sent via e-mail.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'A lways' maxi pads for
over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the
LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go
horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of
running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.

But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary
Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough
to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I
can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a
little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm
guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now.
As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through
my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be
transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.'

Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no
doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your
customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know
about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our
intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You
surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize th at America
is just crawling with
homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings
me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of
cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my
uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive
backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of
your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling,
laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything
mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James?
FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be
anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and 
Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march
down to
the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to
end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to
slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say 
something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or
'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong'.

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective
immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I
have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though
I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss
your brand of condescending bullsh!t. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always. . ..

Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

Why did we move to Mississippi? So we could be closer to my dad and his wife. So Tristan could have a relationship with his grandparents. So I could go to school and not have to worry about where we were going to live.
What hasn't gone as planned? My dad's wife doesn't even live with him. Wierd situation there but she's only here on the weekends. Tristan doesn't really get to spend much time with his grandparents because they're never around. And we certainly have to worry about where were going to live because they waited until I was enrolled in school full time to decide to kick us out and make us homeless. Now we're in a camper that doesn't even have enough room for Tristan to stay with us in. So he stayed with my dad during the week. We decided to take an efficiency apartment right next to where my dad's RV is located so we could be closer to where Tristan sleeps. What is an efficiency apartment you ask? It's a glorified hotel room with a kitchenette.. Basically a studio apartment. Now my dad says he's moving his RV closer to the coast so Tristan will have to start staying with us again... Nice.. we already paid our deposit and signed a ONE YEAR LEASE on the apartment and I can't get out of it without losing the deposit. Only if I don't get the deposit back then I don't have any way of paying to go anywhere else!
This is bullshit! The longer I stay here, the more I hate my father and his stupid wife and I don't want to be ANYWHERE NEAR THEM ANYMORE!
Upside... I can transfer to the technical college in Manhattan Kansas, be closer to people that actually WANT US AROUND, and get into more affordable housing where my son will actually have a BEDROOM! Downside... I have to wait until the end of the semester to transfer or I lose my financial aid!

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 2 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked their unit using small arms fire.



Killed were:



Sgt. Aaron M. Smith, 25, of Manhattan, Kan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.



Pfc. Brandon A. Owens, 21, of Memphis, Tenn. He was assigned to the 118th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

I finished my first class and graduated with my first certificate. I'm now officially out for the summer. All I have to do is take my state boards so I can start working ASAP before the fall semester begins..... Oh the stress.. of the boards....

I have to go to Tristan's school this morning for a conference with the Principle and his Teacher. There was a note sent home with him the other day saying that he punched a kid in the stomach and chest and that he was being placed on ISS (In School Suspension). Of course he denied the incident completely. According to the teacher there were 2 other boys that saw it happen but according to Tristan, this boy hit him and the 2 other boys were nowhere around. Not sure how to handle the situation, we sent him to his room to 'think' about what happened at school and the consequences of him telling us a lie about it. My father suggested that we have him read Matthew chapter 5 (turning the other cheek) and ask him again what happened at school. Again, he told us the same story... that the boy hit him in the stomach and shoulder and that when he got up to go tell the teacher, this other boy ran past him and said that Tristan had hit him instead. The story didn't change.. neither did any of the occurences in the story. So far, he's been very convincing.
Next day... Tristan comes home from school and says that this same boy was picking on him again at school and that he didn't do anything to him. Again he brought up the incident of the day before and said "Mommy, I need to tell you something." Of course I figured that he was about to confess his guilt so I prepared myself for the fact that my son is becoming a bully, something that I try so hard to raise him against. He said "I was thinking today and praying to God about what I should do about that boy at school. And I realized that if I tell you that I hit him.... that it would be a lie. And God doesn't want me to tell you a lie. I DID NOT HIT THAT BOY AT SCHOOL." I don't know about you... but I believe him. That was enough to convince me. So we are going to meet with his teacher and principle at school today to convince them also and have the ISS removed from his school file.

I don't know if any of you know who Ray Boltz is but he played a huge part in my life as a gospel singer when my mother passed away many years ago. I first heard his music at church camp in '94 and became a fan. My brother used to use many of his solo tracks to sing Ray Boltz songs at churches and such. And the song "Thank You" was played at my mother's funeral. I ran across a news article that shot down all my love for this gospel singer.( here )

The link is at Christianity Today if you're interested in seeing comments that were left to this article.

But we are no longer in Kansas. Abilene is too small of a town for us and Kansas is boring after spending majority of my life there. So we moved back to the south. We've been homesick for Mississippi since we left there 5 years ago and decided to go back. For good this time. My father and his wife are still here in Perkinston, MS which is about 30 miles north of Gulfport so that's where we've decided to go. It's in the south, but far enough north that we won't have to evacuate in case of a hurricane. So it's perfect in my opinion. We got here the on Friday the 13th... But nothing bad about it. We're staying with my dad currently and I'm going to be starting nursing school in a few weeks. The weather is perfect here... not too hot... not too cold... and I'm sorry to say that we left in the nick of time... we saw on the weather channel the day after we got here that there was a snow storm going through Nebraska. To navygreen : I'm glad you're boys are enjoying the snow! Sorry I missed it. :)

Tristan did this with his 3rd grade class at school the other day and I thought it was a cute way to make ice cream for those of us looking for something fun to do with the remainder of the summer...

ingredients:
1T sugar
1/2c milk
1/4t vanilla
(add chocolate if you wish)

Mix the above ingredients and put into a small ziploc bag.
Fill a large ziploc 1/2 full of ice. Add 6T of icecream salt. Put the small bag inside the large bag and shake for 10 to 15 minutes. Empty small bag into bowl and enjoy!

Well we moved back to Kansas.. as you all knew. But we've been here for a few weeks now and my internet just got turned on today. So just a quick update... things are going great. Tristan started school ontime here (didn't start here until the 18th) and I've been working since right after we got here. I was able to get on at the McDonald's here in town. Things are going great though. And it's nice to be back somewhere that we know people and we know our way around. But I'll update more later.

Danny and I drove down to Kansas the other day and put down the first month's rent on a trailor in Abilene. It's not exactly where we wanted to live, but I've already got a job interview lined up next week after we get all moved in. So I think it'll work out. And it's cheap there. The trailor isn't as bad as I was expecting either. It's 2 bedrooms, but the landlord said he would move us into a 3 bedroom as soon as he had one open, but we have until next summer to worry about that. I called yesturday and got all the utilities switched over so they'll be ready when we get there. Now it's just packing the last of our stuff and making sure we're ready to go when the truck comes.

Well it's done. I reserved the truck today for this Saturday. I talked to my brother last night and let him know that we all had to move. He's also planning on going back to kansas and getting his own place there. We're leaving sometime Saturday after the truck gets loaded. The biggest problem was just making sure that we had a place to go to once we got there. It's a little hard to do with a 3 hour distance between where we are and where we're going. But we managed to secure a place today. Tomorrow Danny and I are driving down to pay the deposit and sign the lease on the new place. It's a mobile home but it's cheap and easily affordable. And the landlord said that it has new central air. (and I think it might be all electric which is a bonus) So after tomorrow, when we sign the lease, we'll have the actual address and will able to have the utilities (internet included in that) on by the time we get there this weekend. No we're just trying to get the house packed and motivate ourselves to carry everything down this steep driveway once the truck is here...

So my step-daughter was here for 3 weeks last month. It was the first time in 10 years that Danny has gotten to actually see her and my first time meeting her at all. It was really great. She's a wonderful kid, got a great personality and is very pleasent to be around. Not what I was expecting for a 15 year old. It was really hard to let her go back, but that's another story for another time when I don't have to get ready to go to work.
While she was here, we weren't really able to do much. My brother had originally sent his girls to spend the summer with their mother which would make it easier for us to be able to spend time with Tina, Danny's daughter. At the last minute, a few days before Tina got here, he decided that he wanted the girls to come home early. So they got here 2 days before Tina. The problem with that, he works all day during the week and we get to be at home babysitting. My car isn't big enough to carry 2 adults and 4 kids so that meant that we weren't able to go out during the day. We all got to sit around here, being bored while my nieces were throwing themselves at "the teenager" as they kept calling her. When he would get home from work we had to practically BEG him to watch his kids so we could go out with just Tina and Tristan and try to take advantage of what little bit of daylight was left in the day. She originally came out to spend some time with us because she hasn't seen her father in 10 years and was thinking of seeing if she could stay with him full time. Well, we didn't find out until after she had gotten off the plane back in Virginia that she really didn't want to go home, but didn't feel comfortable staying with us because of my brother's kids and the fact that she didn't feel welcome by my brother in the house. Boy was that ever a heart breaker. If we would have known that then we could have worked something out. We've been talking about moving into our own place for quite a while now anyway. So we called and talked to her a few nights ago and let her know that we were looking into another house that would just be a family home, in otherwords 3 bedrooms (one for me and Danny, one for Tristan and one for her for when she decided to come visit or move in). She was excited about that and started talking about moving in with us again. So it's something to work for. That and the fact that we've always made it a point to pay our bills on time. it's always been an understanding that my brother covers half of the utilities and rent. Which he usually does but it takes him a while to get around to paying it. Either I have to pay everything in full and wait for him to pay me back or he puts it off until there's a disconnect notice. Well I don't like being late on everything so it's usually the first option. And then I'm always broke. And when it comes time for him to pay back then he complains about being broke and I'm sick of his moping around. He doesn't spend time with his kids, he doesn't take care of them. If it wasn't for us, then they would never bath or eat and they wouldn't have clean clothes. It's really disappointing. I honestly think that he's never going to learn the responsibility of being a single father until he ends up falling on his face. It's easy to just sit back and do nothing when you know there's someone else there that will do it for you. But they're kids and it's not like they can take care of themselves.

But Danny talked to his mother the other day and found out that there is a house in Kansas that we can move into anytime. It would just be ours, no more living with anyone and that's what we're wanting. Especially if it means getting Tina on a more permanent basis. We have to think about our own family now. I just don't know any other way of going about it.

We're probably going to be going back to Kansas within the next few weeks. This isn't a decision that is thought upon lightly... We've been having some problems here with my brother and his kids living with us and have been needing to part company for a while now. To make a long story short, Danny has family, mainly his biological mother, living in Manhattan, Kansas that has found us a house to move into.. and I think we're gonna do it. I'll elaborate more later for anyone that actually wants to know or that actually reads my entries (which I'm assuming isn't very many at all).

So this has been the most eventful month. Danny and I got a phone call a few weeks before the 1st from his daughter whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. She wants to come spend the month of July with us and would like to see about making it a permanent living situation. In other words, she is old enough, now that she's 15, to make the decision where she would like to live and her Aunt, who has guardianship of her in Virginia, has agreed. So she arrived here on the 9th. We picked her up at Eppley that afternoon and brought her home. I was a nervous wreck considering I had never met her before but had talked to her on the phone a few times over the past 9 years. Of course, I recognized her immediately (she looks alot like her father). When Danny saw her walking up the ramp after getting off the plane he had the biggest smile across his face and a single tear running down his cheek. I started right then with tears of my own. She was shy at first of course. What did we expect from a now teenager who was just seeing her father again after 10 years. It was like they were getting to know each other all over again. But it didn't take long for us all to loosen up to each other. We've been fishing, hiking, to the zoo, shopping... She has the greatest personality and she makes everyone laugh on a regular basis. Of course, Tristan has become rather attached to her also. We've made a point to let him know about his sister since he was really little and he's always had a picture of her hanging in his room. She really wants to come live with us but there just isn't enough room where we are right now and sadly she has to go back to Virginia this coming wednesday. She has school starting in only a few weeks and she's going to be a sophomore this year. She's a cheerleader too so there's alot of responibility. So we decided to splurge and go get family portraits done. Of course, it's been a long time since dad and daughter have had pictures together, so we got the big $199 package... it'll be worth it though. Plenty of prints for her to take home with her and for us to send out to other family and friends. So I thought I'd share a few with whoever wanted to see. ( I'll be nice and hide it all behind a cut though! :) )

Another year gone by. Just another day of the week. Another year without a single card in the mail. Danny was the only one that even remembered to say anything without being prompted. I love him, so flawless. No phone calls. This happens every year. And I'm not telling. I'm not reminding them of what they forget. Every year. It's just another day afterall.

I'm 30 now. And after 30 years, you don't expect to get anything. No special dinner. No beautiful cake. Not even a cute little card. Those are for children. But not even one phone call or card in the mail. Not even from family. Not even from my father. But it's over now. The kids are in bed. Danny has fallen asleep. And now it's just me, sitting here, remembering... when was the last time I actually got anything for my birthday?

( my valentine postbox )

Have I mentioned how much I hate the snow?