August 19, 2008

  • So Here I Am … Still Breathing…

    My business is starting to grow. Things in that department are looking up! Thank god!

    I just rented a smaller apartment so my expenses are less. Just me and 2 kids now – J is moving in with his dad soon. Yes we are still together and I hope it all works out but it is weird wrapping myself around not waking up next to him everyday. In some ways it may be for the best, but my heart is screaming that that is not possible. However, I have faith and until that is shaken loose I will pray that he comes to his senses. I have given him a year to get his shit together and if he is still indecisive then… who knows. None of us are getting any younger.

    I move labor day weekend.

    Moving is supposed to be something to look forward to – a new place… a new start… I am not looking forward to it at all. I will miss the home we had together.

    Oh well. I have never been one to hold someone back and I am not starting now.

    But you all know what he means to me and this is hard and scary.  But I am strong.

July 14, 2008

  • Hey Everyone

    I am still around just soo soo busy and not making much to show for it. Soon. With the calendar project coming up I am hoping to make some $$$ right Andy? LOL.

    Go check out Andy’s latest shoot!

    Love you all – pray I get tons of graphic work really soon!

    In the mean time if you are interested in sending a free greeting card to someone email me at christy@citywidegrpahics.com with a subject of “I want a free card!” Then I’ll send you a link! No cost – just fun!

June 15, 2008

  • Question

    Should you keep secrets from the people you love even if it is with good intentions?

    Think on this:
    One good action does not make a person good. Nor does one bad action make a person bad. Where is the balance?

June 4, 2008

  • How Can a Mear Comment Affect Your Day?

    Thanks for all your great responses!

    I did have someone make a comment that got to me a bit. It was J’s ex wife at a softball game over the weekend. Actually the comment was to him about me and I know she meant no harm. We were all sitting in the bleachers and I had asked him for a bite of his pretzel and he looked at me and said “no” with a smile on his face. He was reaching for the pretzel at the same time, to give me a bite, when the ex turned around and hit him. She said “She may take your shit but I don’t have too!”

    I was not sure whether to laugh or get mad at her. Since we were at a kid event I let it go and let him handle it. He looked at me like she was nuts and shrugged. Then I did laugh. She had no clue what had really occured.


    Original Post:
    Let me count the ways!

    Have you ever had someone make a comment to you that totally changed the course of your moment or even your day? How about your life?

    Tell me about it!!

May 27, 2008

  • What a Great Weekend!

    J and I spent the weekend at the lake. So relaxing. I about had a mental breakdown Friday night and on the way to the lake Saturday night. Stress is such a bitch. J handled it very well considering he is the one my hormones and stress level blew up all over. God I just let him have it and really he did nothing wrong. It is in my nature to be argumentative but I rarely yell and scream like I did Friday night. He knew why… He knows it is hard for me to be semi dependent on another person. Granted he could have communicated that he was not coming home til 10pm cause he was working, but I did not have to beat him as he walked in the front door either. Yeah it was 420 time only I did not get that relief. Luckily he did not beat me back – at least now I know that is not in his nature either and I deserved a smack at the least.

    The man has put money in my bank account several times to help me with groceries, bills etc. He is paying most of the rent. He is keeping my jeep going, buying all my gas, holding me when I cry and taking abuse he does not deserve. What was I thinking to explode all over him? Today I feel great – I think I got it out of my system.

    While I start my career all over I will be stressed. It is hard working a job for 21 years and then having to endure a layoff – and it’s a family business – my families – so naturally I am still helping them try to rebuild… for nothing. I am losing faith in something I depended on and loved for most of my life and really it is only a company and a job. Starting my own company is slowly but surely getting me income.

    Hang in there J – I love you and so appreciate every thing you have done for me lately – especially the patience you have that I am lacking. I promise to try harder.


    Yes I changed my user name. Same content new name. Graphics will change soon too! Trying to advertise a little bit!

May 19, 2008

May 12, 2008

  • Mothers Day.

    My mothers day started out great. At midnight J kissed me and said happy mothers day! In the morning J made a huge breakfast and my son CJ cleaned it up. We only had the one kid here and I was thankful to have him! My others were all somewhere else. Ashley is grown and doing her own thing at college, Sammi is finishing high school where we used to live, Maddi was visiting her father who would not give me the whole weekend but only yesterday – we live 2.5 hours apart…

    Sammi was the first one to call and we talked for quite a while. Ashley called a little later. Maddi called after that but only wanted to talk for about a minute and never said happy mothers day. Oh well – she is only four.

    J and I watched a movie snuggled up in bed and then celebrated mothers day loving each other. Later on he had to go work for the afternoon. CJ and I decided to watch a movie but he did not like it and bailed on me – lol (it was “August Rush” which I recommend). I figured the three of us would do something for dinner so I let him go play. J came home around 3:30. I was reading a book out on the front steps soaking up some sunshine when he pulled in. Honestly I figured he would be another couple hours. Then I looked at the back of his truck – he had a huge projection screen TV int he back. Found out a friend had sold it to him cheap and he figured it would make a good mothers day present. Was I surprised? Um… Yeah. Last thing I expected though and just between you and me… I think it was more for him than me. LOL.

    It is way to big for the space it is in so we will need to rearrange our furniture soon. Thats cool.

    About 4 I asked if he wanted to go out eat and he suggested I just go pick something up and grab another movie. He was doing paperwork and billing customers and getting his week scheduled. Since I am mostly flat broke I decided to cook. Did not really want to cook my own mothers day dinner, but hey – thats what mom’s do. Sooo I made shredded chicken spiced mexican style, homemade refried beans, fried some tostadas and all the trimmings. It was really good IMHO, but I was the only one that ate – alone – on the sofa. My son and I then watched “Cloverfield” which I do not recommend – it will give you a headache and piss you off at the end.

    I also ended up putting dinner away when I realized no one else was going to eat.

    About 7pm I started watching another movie “How To Lose a Guy In Ten Days”. I have always enjoyed that movie so I enjoyed it again! About 7:30 j came up for air and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. That sounded awesome!!! It was very nice to stretch my legs and put my hand in his as we strolled leisurely around looking at the swans and ducks. We chit chatted and eventually headed home. I asked him how much longer he was going to work and he was not sure. Went back to watching my movie and around 10 I headed up stairs. I felt pretty much deflated as I had hoped to spend the evening with him – not even my son was interested. But he is 13 and had his own stuff planed for the rest of the evening – video games!

    Fell asleep around 11:30 waiting for J. Woke up to an empty bed. He had fallen asleep working downstairs. Guess I can not complain about him working so hard. But I guess I am huh?

    Guess what I am having for lunch today?

May 9, 2008

  • I Know… Not ANOTHER Photo Contest

    I’m addicted to photo contests – what can I say! It is something you will see regularly here from now on I think. I would sure appreciate your votes as winning helps me with much needed grocery money. I know registering is a pain in the butt – BUT there are some really cool pics to see besides my own and who knows… you may want to enter too. Some of you are Awesome photographers (Panther and SeedSower come to mind).

    These pics are supposed to be black and white. I always add a splash of color to my B&W’s hopefully it does not disqualify me. If it does… oh well!! Both of these pics were taken in the townhouse community I live in BTW. Lots of water here.

    Click pictures to see them bigger!
    http://www.competico.com/photo/one-swan-a-swimming

    http://www.competico.com/photo/sunning-goose

May 6, 2008

  • I am having to much fun with responses to quit…

    http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/wichman.asp

    Professor Wichman E-mail

    Claim:  A Michigan professor sent an e-mail telling Muslim
    students to leave the country. 

    Status:   True.

    The story begins at Michigan State University
    with a mechanical engineering professor named
    Indrek Wichman.

    Wichman sent an e-mail to the Muslim Student’s
    Association.
    The e-mail was in response to the students’ protest
    of the Danish cartoons that portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist.

    The group had complained the cartoons were ‘hate
    speech’

    ============
    Enter Professor Wichman.
    ==========================================
    In his e-mail, he said the following:
    ===============================

    Dear Moslem Association,
    As a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at MSU
    I intend to protest your protest.
    I am offended not by cartoons,
    but by more mundane things like beheadings of civilians,
    cowardly attacks on public buildings, suicide murders,
    murders of Catholic priests (the latest in Turkey ),
    burnings of Christian churches, the continued persecution of Coptic
    Christians in Egypt, the imposition of Sharia law on non-Muslims,
    the rapes of Scandinavian girls and women
    (called ‘whores’ in your culture),
    the murder of film directors in Holland,
    and the rioting and looting in Paris France .

    This is what offends me,
    a soft-spoken person and academic,
    and many, many of my colleagues.

    I counsel you dissatisfied, aggressive, brutal,
    and uncivilized slave-trading Moslems
    to be very aware of this as you proceed
    with your infantile ‘protests.’

    If you do not like the values of the West
    – see the 1st Amendment -
    you are free to leave.

    I hope for God’s sake
    that most of you choose that option.
    Please return to your ancestral homelands
    and build them up yourselves instead of troubling Americans.

    Cordially,
    I. S. Wichman
    Professor of Mechanical Engineering
    =============================
    As you can imagine,
    the Muslim group at the university didn’t like this too well.
    They’re demanding that Wichman be reprimanded
    and the university impose mandatory diversity training for faculty
    and mandate a seminar on hate and discrimination for all freshmen.

    Now the local chapter of CAIR has jumped into the
    fray.

    CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
    apparently doesn’t believe that the good professor
    had the right to express his opinion.

    ==========
    For its part,
    the university is standing its ground
    in support of Professor Wichman, saying the e-mail was private,
    and they don’t intend to publicly condemn his remarks.
    ============================================================

    Send this to your friends, and ask them to do the
    same.
    Tell them to keep passing it around until the whole country gets it.

    We are in a war.

    This political correctness crap is getting old and
    killing us.

    END.

    ==================

    POST POST NOTE

    First: I did not write this!

    Second: I, Christy,  do not believe that
    Muslim people as a whole are any better or worse than I am, BUT this does
    have some validity in the free speech arena and we are AT WAR. If one side
    can say whatever they want then both sides should be protected equally. No
    matter who they are or where they work. Just be careful what you put in
    writing people and make sure you believe every word.

    IMHO.

May 5, 2008

  • I did not write this but its GREAT!!!

    WOULDN’T
    IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY
    U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR
    REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH? My Fellow Americans: As you all
    know, the defeat of the
    Iraq regime has been
    completed. Since Congress does not want to spend any more money on this
    war, our mission in
    Iraq is
    complete.                

    This
    morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from
    Iraq This action will be complete within 30 days.
    It is now time to begin the reckoning.                   

    Before
    me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood
    by our side during the
    Iraq conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom , Spain , Bulgaria , Australia , and Poland are some of the countries listed
    there.                        

    The
    other list contains every one not on the first list. Most of the world’s
    nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of
    both lists later this
    evening.                    

    Let me
    start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on
    List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first
    year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.

     

    THEN
    EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER IT WILL GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WONT GO
    BROKE IN 20 YEARS.

     

    The
    American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hellholes
    and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.  

    Need
    help with a famine ? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call
    France
    !                        

    In
    the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward
    solving the vexing social problems we still have at home .. On that note, a
    word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and
    eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth!                

    Thirsting
    for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try
    France or maybe China !                            

    I am
    ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with
    France , Germany , and Russia . Thanks for all your help,
    comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bon
    ne chance, mez amies.       

    I have instructed the
    Mayor of
    New York City to begin
    towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in
    Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to
    sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don’t care
    about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of
    unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes,
    Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world.
    I love
    New
    York

                   

    A special note to our
    neighbors.
    Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be
    seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off
    for a change. 
                      

    Mexico is also on List 2 its
    president
    and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude
    adjustment. I will have a couple extra thousand tanks and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess
    where I am going to put ‘em? Yep, border security.                      

    Oh, by
    the way, the
    United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty
    - starting now. 
                               

    We
    are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for oil in
    Alaska – which will take care of this country’s oil
    needs for decades to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this
    decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there.           

    It
    is time for
    America to focus on its own welfare and its own
    citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, ‘darn
    tootin.’                      

    Nearly
    a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only
    earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time
    to eliminate hunger in
    America It is time to eliminate homelessness in America . To the nations on List 1, a final thought.
    Thank you guys. We owe you and we won’t forget. 
             

    To the nations on List 2, a
    final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic. God bless
    America . Thank you and good night.