Quick Quote!

"Of all the creatures, man is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot."--Mark Twain

Roxie in all her mouthy glory...lol

Roxie is so funny. She loves to mouth us off and although its not the best trait it is really funny.

Book Sale

Was going to town to rent some movies and talked John into going to the Friday book sale. He likes going to the book sale we just don't have really any shelf space left to bring home the number of books we like to pick up. But I didn't bring home a box full this time... Probably close though. I love going because you never know what you are going to find. This time I found some magazines that I have been wanting to buy for a long time and wouldn't pay the $5 each for them. Call me cheap I don't care. But I got them for .5 cents each today!!!! Loving it. I was so excited! :) And being that they are the Mother Earth New Magazines... I Reused what was already in circulation and didn't add to the mess... Remember Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. :)

I also brought home some other magazines that I had been wanting since last Fall. I love fall magazines. And we bought I believe 13 books. All for $3.75. I would have been happy just with the magazines though! :) Lets see if this book can really help pay down our debt..lol..Lets see I am already down .25 cents... :)

A book I purchased last time I went to the sale has become a good companion product safety. The safe shopper's Bible tells alot about what comes in products that people purchase everyday. I wish they would make a newer version. But it has really come in handy. Just to learn about stuff like the Oranges from Florida are dyed and the dyes used on them have Known carcinogens in them, and milk is one of the prime routes of exposure to radioactive contamination from nuclear power plant, cucumbers used for pickling accumulate carcinogens pesticide residues. So you should always buy organic pickles!, & sesame seeds & cashews from outside the country hold alot of pesticide residues and they are on the purchase organically list... But there is alot of information about most household items, food, and cosmetics.

I checked one book out from our local library also Its called Reader's Digest Homemade. I will let you know what I find that is interesting.

REMEMBER CHECK OUT YOUR LOCAL BOOK SALE & LIBRARY!!!
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Michael Vick TV show on BET

Sponsors of the Michael Vick Reality Show some are "getting it" other are slow to come around keep sending in your letters

Body: Sponsors of the Michael Vick Reality Show some are "getting it" other are slow to come around keep sending in your letters

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SPEAK WITH YOUR DOLLARS ONE THING CORPORATE SPONSORS UNDERSTAND IS DECLINING REVENUES!!!!!!
Dear Friends,

Please e-mail the sponsors of the Michael Vick Reality Show and express your opposition to their financial support of the program. As a result of their advertising, Vick is profiting from a lucrative reality television contract. This show is beyond the pale of depravity and must be canceled. Please also stop buying these companies' products and tell your friends and family to do the same until they withdraw their support.

Checkers
http://checkers.com/contact.html

Hotwire
marketing@hotwire.com

Ford
https://secure.ford.com/footer/contact-ford/contact-us-email?contactMainTopic=PublicAffairs

McDonalds
http://www1.mcdonalds.com/contactus/navigate.do?link=marketing

7-Up
http://www.econsumeraffairs.com/am_bev/contactus.htm?F1=7up&F2=7up

Lysol
http://lysol.com/corporate/contact-us/contact-form-s/

Subway
http://www.subway.com/Applications/CustService/frmCustomerService.aspx

KFC
http://www.kfc.com/contact/

Overture Films
info@epk.tv

Buick
http://www.buick.com/pages/mds/helpcenter/contactUs.do

PLEASE DO NOT SEE THE FOLLOWING MOVIES WHO ADVERTISED DURING THE SHOW:
From Paris with Love
Shutter Island
The Crazies

Hershey's
http://www.hersheys.com/contactus/contact-us-date.asp

Footlocker
http://www.footlocker.com/customerserv/help:contactUs/

Chevy
http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/mds/helpcenter/contactUs.do
CHEVY HAS EXPRESSED THEIR SUPPORT FOR MICHAEL VICK'S SHOW. PLEASE CONTINUE TO E-MAIL THEM UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE.

Sprint
http://www.sprint.com/contactus/
SPRINT HAS EXPRESSED THEIR SUPPORT FOR MICHAEL VICK'S SHOW. PLEASE CONTINUE TO E-MAIL THEM UNTIL THEY GET THE MESSAGE.

Broadview Security (formerly Brinks Security)
http://www.broadviewsecurity-home.com/contactus.htm

Please also contact BET and tell them what you think of the show:
https://bet.wufoo.com/forms/contact-us-bet-programming/

2/4/10 Update: Nivea ended their commercial sponsorship of the show after being inundated with customer e-mails complaining about their support of the program.

2/5/10 Update: Pizza Hut issued a press release informing the public that they asked BET to end their commercial support of the show.

2/5/10 Update: Denny's Restaurant contacted BET and ended their support after receiving e-mails from concerned customers expressing their opposition to the show.

2/6/10 Update: L'Oreal issued a press release that they have terminated their support of the Michael Vick "Reality" Show and apologized for offending L'Oreal customers.

2/8/10 Update: Nationwide Insurance issued a press release announcing that they asked BET to pull their ads from the Michael Vick Reality Show and that they do not support the program and do not wish to have any association with it. They stated the huge volume of calls from customers prompted them to change their position. Initially, they stated they were not in the business of judging shows that aired their commercials.

2/9/10 Update: I spoke with a representative from Customer Relations at Dave and Busters today. She told me that they contacted BET and insisted that they pull their ads from the show. She stated they have been receiving calls all week and got the message.

2/10/10 Update: Walden University, Ballys, Applebees, and TurboTax all ended their sponsorship with the Vick show today citing that it is inconsistent with their values after receiving countless e-mails and phone calls from irate customers.

2/11/10 Update: Maybelline and 5-Hour Energy pulled their ads from the Vick show.

2/12/10: Progressive and Avon contacted BET and told them not to play their ads during the Vick show.


(I will DVR the next episode and FF to the commercials to confirm these
advertisers' commitments and identify any new advertisers who may have
filled their shoes.)

If Vick hadn't killed dogs, he would never have this show. He's making money
off his killing spree. He recently said the reason for the show is to clear
his family name. He also said that he will not speak about dog fighting
anymore after the show. When Vick said he was going to dedicate his life to
speaking out against dog fighting, apparently he meant he would do it twice
per month for a year until people forgot about it and it was safe for him to
be rich and famous again and profit from his crimes. He did a masterful job
of using the HSUS to help him re-enter society. He was never sincere. He
still thinks he's a victim as evidenced by his arrogant and callous remarks
after being nominated for the Ed Block Courage Award:

"I've overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can handle or
bear," Vick said. "You ask certain people to walk through my shoes, they
probably couldn't do. Probably 95 percent of the people in this world
because nobody had to endure what I've been through, situations I've been
put in..."

Some people argue "everyone deserves a second chance...it's time to move on"
and "everyone makes mistakes". Vick did not make a mistake; it was a
conscious and calculated decision that he knew was wrong. He is diabolical,
transparent, and evil. There is no cure for evil. He doesn't deserve a
second chance for his heinous and unspeakable crimes against animals. Those
of us who speak for animals will not "move on" as Vick is emblematic of a
larger problem in a society that shows disregard for the welfare of animals
and believes lenient sentences and fines equate to justice. They do not.

If people want to idolize this sadistic killer, cheer for him from the
stands and wear his jersey, they can do it. We draw the line with a reality
show that allows him to profit from his felonies. Let us send a clear
message -- if you brutalize helpless animals, you will not be accepted back
into society and return to fame and wealth without opposition. Our silence
allows the opposite message to be sent. Complacency breeds acceptance.
Acceptance leads to continued violence against animals. We do not have to
accept things as they are and we will not.

Please help us send a message to the shameless sponsors of this show that we
will boycott their products until they end their support of the program.
Thank you.

On behalf of the dogs Michael Vick fought, kicked, shot, hung, electrocuted,
drowned, and tortured.

Andrew Kirschner

I wrote many of the sponsors and BET these are the responses I have received.
Hershey Company Responds to my letter:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about our advertising policy and
practices for television programming.

The Hershey Company has a long-standing policy of placing its advertising in
programming of high quality. We monitor programs closely and our agencies are
aware of Hershey's strict programming guidelines. Those guidelines would
include not supporting programs that feature or incite excessive violence and
antisocial behavior. If a change in format causes one of the previously
acceptable shows to become unacceptable, we contact our agency immediately. In
fact, this policy has not changed since Hershey's advertising program was first
launched in 1968.

The Hershey Company believes the public is the ultimate judge of our advertising
policies and our ability to implement them. Comments such as yours provide
valuable input in planning for future advertising campaigns. Your comments will
be shared with the Marketing Department.


This email address is restricted for outgoing messages only. For that reason,
please do not respond to this email as the inbox is not monitored.

We appreciate your loyalty as a consumer.



Pamela Tompkins
Consumer Representative

A Vegan Valentine

This is the Mint Chocolate Chip recipe from Sinfully Vegan. It turned out really good. So I have heard. I am not a big fan of MCC. So John gives it two Thumbs up. I didn't use the Mint icing. I thought it would just be to much mint all together and John agrees.

I just tried it and it actual was really good & very moist. I had a weird craving for Peppermint patties. Probably because I have been smelling Mint for 2 days. But it took care of that craving. and even though I didn't put mint in the icing, the icing had taken on the taste of the mint from the cake. Very yummy! :)

The hearts I used some chocolate chips and melted then with a double boiler. Place a printed heart under some wax paper and traced it with the chocolate.

Snow Storm ...

We have had so much snow this year. It has been gorgeous but growling at times. This latest system came through with really really heavy wet snow and lots of it. Actually only about 14 inches. But it was enough to bring tons of trees down and cause alot of damage around the state. But especially in our county. I stood outside and listened for a while that night. It was peaceful and quit until you heard the very loud cracking sounds of the tree branches. It was still beautiful to see what mother nature can do but scary because we have tons of trees around our house and a good many growing above our chicken coop. It started snowing ithe evening and by about 11pm we had 8 inches and about 12 inches by 1am when the power finally decided to give. So we spent the night and the next day w/o electric. We did have heat in our house from a small Kero heater. But I was so afraid of Carbon Monoxide poisoning I couldn't relax. Then it was so quit w/o the electric and everything running, plus just the sound plain electric makes that I could here every tree that cracked that night. We was some of the lucky few that got around electric back the next evening. I was just breaking down because it was only 6pm John was going to go to sleep and I hadn't had any sleep from the night before and he had. So I was...pissed... that he wasn't going to stay up with the heater while I took atleast a short nap. So just as I break down and start to cry the power comes back on!!!! I was so happy! I got a good nights sleep that night.

Luckily no real damage from trees. More from the weight of the snow. Our roof in leaking in certain spots, The chickens hawk enclosure needs the roof fixed, a couple of our trees behind the coop & enclosure fell into the creek along with some huge branches, so we will need to clean that out so stuff doesn't build up on them and flood us in the spring. So we made it out lucky that times. That is the most heavy snow we have had since I was little and we had a good sized snow storm that brought a huge tree down into my parents front yard. It took out my swing set, my dads truck bed, messed up part of the roof, and cracked the driveway. So the trees around us cracking the night of this storm really had me on edge. Anyways here are some pictures...

Moms Flowering trees are normally atleast 12 to 15 feet tall. They have now become about 5'.

Pine Trees look so pretty but alot of them across the road from us have uprooted. This is one that had been topped this summer in my parents yard.

Alot of trees are just bowing and bowing then breaking under the massive weight of the snow.


Our Chicken enclosures roof is sagging about 2 feet now.

Branches laying on the coop

More Pine Trees

The Trees behind the coop:
This one partially into the creek

These are some huge limbs that don't look big in the picture but they are good size

Treding through the snow. The snow was as tall as my Chloe

The Sky was gorgoes after the storm passed


2 days after the storm we had to go pick up Johns work van. There was trees down everywhere. Alot of places there was still only one lane of roadway and tons of snow still one the roads.

Just a day or so ago most people got there power back that is about a week and a half w/o power for alot of people!