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I believe in having political debates but to the tune of $5 million dollars???? Ole Miss is said to have spent that amount for tonights debate between McCain and Obama. Think how many students could go to college with that $5 mil! What is wrong with people today and the amount of money they spend on stupid things. The two candidates could have their debate in Central Park for free or on the steps of the Capital Building in DC. Just think, per OpenSecrets.org these are the amounts the candidates have spent campaigning:

194 million John McCain (R)
377 million Barrack Obama (D)
796 thousand Bob Barr, (L)
0 Cynthia McKinney (G)
3 million Ralph Nader (I)

See how many millions Obama has spent on such things as his speech about how McCain will be another 4 years of Bush (over and over and over and over again). I am so sick of the same things coming out of everyones mouth. You hear it once so you don't need to hear it 60 more times! I am beginning to wonder if the candidates will be good presidents when they can't tell the truth about what they plan to do in office. All America knows we are in the toilet on economics, thanks to some Wall street people who bet on who will not pay their mortgage (and they want to bail these people out!) We don't need to be told 100 times. We know we are in a war in Iraq, we don't need to be told that. We know there are people without health insurance (some of that campaign money would have paid for health insurance for a lot of people) we don't need to be told that. America is having an energy crisis, duh, like we don't already know that. Look at my check book for gas entries! Now why don't they tell us what they want to TRY to do about those things. America is getting really frustrated.......... If we weren't sending so much money overseas for gas and jobs we'd have enough money to keep some of the mom and pop businesses able to borrow for payroll if they need it. Keep jobs in the US! Not only for money but how many of you are sick of getting people on the phone that you can't understand? Ok, OK, I'll get off my soap box....at least for today.

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Have you read the Baby Talk in your local newspaper lately? Have you seen some of the names people have given their children? I feel so sorry for some of the kids that are stuck with names that no one can pronounce let alone spell. Can you imagine how many times in their life they are going to have to spell their name for someone needing it? I looked at today's paper and check out some of this weeks baby names: Salil Rayann, Tracton Makai, Aubreeana Irene, Aaliyan Briona, Rosedina and Salestriest. Can you believe those names? Why do people do that to their kids. When I was growing up, my friends were named Dennis, Glen, Beverly, Nancy, Ruth, Clara Lou, Gary and Jerry, to name just a few. My children's names are Connie and Curtis. I really don't understand the need to spell some of those names to the point you can't figure out how to say it. I feel for teachers who have a room full of kids with names like that. We also have periods where every other child has the same name. I know my son wanted to give a name to his girls that wouldn't be the same as five other girls in their class, but he didn't go to extremes. Their names are Piper and Chaney. Chaney is a bit unusual but surely isn't hard to spell or pronounce. Celebrities are some of the worst at naming their children. How many kids do you know with a name like: Anals, Lyric Chanel, Moon Unit, Moxie Crimfighter, Diezel, Dweezil, Fifi-Trixibelle, Pilot Inspecktor, Jigme, and Sossie Ruth. Can you imagine having a Dr. Pilot Jones or a teacher named Moon. How about a President of the US named Dweezil Smith. Gads!!! Give me a break or rather, give your kids a break and think about what you're doing when you give them a name.

How long has it been since you were on a train? I have been watching ABCs whistle stop series on the morning news. I wish I was on that tour, 50 states in 50 days, WOW, what a treat that would be. I'd like to take my grandkids on a train trip. They would love that. I often think about a trip I took on a train back in the 60s in Germany. I was going to a conference and we had to take a train from Frankfort to Munich. It was so great because it was one of those trains like you see in the old movies, with the hall on one side and the little rooms on the other, with the sliding doors. You would expect to see Humphrey Bogart coming down the hall with his hand in his pocket and his brimmed hat down over his eyes. We were going from Munich to Berchtesgaden which is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. It is in the mountains and from the hotel we stayed at you could see the Alps of four countries and it was breath taking. All Aboard!

I was really disgusted with the latest Obama ad on tv, insinuating McCain is old because he doesn't use a computer. Well you know, I just finished having my 50th High School reunion and I put together a website and a booklet as a handout. I found that a lot of my classmates, most having college degrees, don't even know how to send an email or use a computer. So what!!! That certainly doesn't make them "Out of Touch" or too old to express their concerns. I am not far behind McCain and I am really insulted. I am also really sick of all these negative ads on tv. Why doesn't someone just list the things they want to TRY to accomplish and how. We all know that unless congress passes the proposals, nothing is going to get done. Its not like the president can just say do it and it gets done. Perhaps some of the candidates need to get in touch with how things work at the White House.........

Chicken/Cheese Spaghetti

3-4 pieces boneless chicken breasts
1 regular can of Rotel
1 regular package of spaghetti
1 regular block of Velveeta cheese


Boil your chicken until done, then dice it up.
Bowl your spaghetti until soft.
Melt your Velveeta cheese in the microwave.
In a casserole dish add diced chicken, spaghetti, Velveeta cheese and
can of Rotel. Mix together and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees,
until the top gets slightly golden .

My daughter makes this frequently and it is delicious. Add a salad
for a quick family meal.

Have you ever noticed that a word pops up from either the past or from phrases not heard much? I imagine I have totally confused you, but do you remember the Amazing Flying Machine? Have you ever been to the amazing Carlsbad Caverns? Have you ever seen the amazing pyramids of Giza? What am I leading up to? The word "Amazing". Being a grandmother I have been around a long time and it amazes me how all of a sudden everyone uses an amazing word and then for the next few years it is used to emphasize everything. Just this morning on tv someone was talking about his latest movie and the two main stars. He said the word "amazing" three times in about one minute. Have you seen an interview with a female movie star or singer lately. They will use the word amazing about twenty times, i.e., that director is amazing, the cast is amazing, the characters are amazing, my co-star is just amazing, the clothes they designed for me are just amazing, the dances are really amazing, my role is thoroughly amazing, the location was really amazing.........and on and on and on. Are the brains of some people limited to a few of the most popular words of the time? Gear your listening for the word "amazing" and see how many times you will hear that word in one day or one evening of watching tv (needs to be live because no good writer would use it more than once in a movie). You will hear it most in interviews with entertainers, that's about the only word they know these days. I guess I can definitely say that the word "amazing" is the word of the decade and I'll sure be glad when some amazing person finds another word!

Ever have one of those "No excitement" weekends? I have one almost every weekend. This Labor Day weekend was beautiful for weather, a little warm in the afternoons, but perfect mornings. We did some garage saleing. There weren't very many because of the holiday but we always use that as sort of R&R and enjoy getting out. I take my camera and try to get pictures of anything I think would be good for our family website, www.enidbuzz.com. Enid Buzz is a website totally about Enid, Oklahoma. When you go garage saleing, you pretty much cover all of parts of town and most of the time you can find something to take pictures of. We were out by the local cemetery and had just missed actually seeing someone drive through part of the cemetery fence, hit one tombstone, breaking it apart and scattering it around. See the large bottom over by the tree and the black stones toward the front of the picture that were the middle and top. That was one huge stone so what ever they were driving, definitely has a smashed front end.

We ran a few errands, had some lunch and my grandson and daughter did some yard work for me. For an "almost 5 year old", that is one hard working kid. He scooped some leaves and put them in the trash and hauled some trash to the front. Mention money and he is off and running. He does help me without being paid but he likes to earn money so he can buy things at a garage sale. He makes me laugh when he is shopping. He really looks things over and sometimes he bargains for a lower price. Hopefully this will give him some shopping values when he grows up. My daughter likes to find things she can put on eBay. If you have never been to a garage sale, try it sometime. It is so much fun and you can find some really great bargains plus it is a chance to get out with, perhaps a family member, and enjoy the morning.