A senior’s perspective on “free” health care

By Valerie | August 6, 2009

(written by my husband’s aunt) This is a copy of an email that I sent to Nancy Pelosi today.  Thought I’d go right to the source.  What do you think?  Dear Congresswoman Pelosi, I saw a portion of your interview regarding your thoughts on the grassroots protesting on the Obama care HR3200 health care bill.  You…

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545 People – by Charlie Reese

By Valerie | August 6, 2009

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and…

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Another cool thing about Google Voice

By Valerie | August 5, 2009

Google Voice Widgets! I put one on my Computer Design Graphics web site (down at the bottom for now), and visitors can enter their name and phone number and click connect — it will ring their phone and my phone. Then I have the option of answering or screening their voice mail, etc. I also…

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Google Voice

By Valerie | August 5, 2009

Yipee!! I got my google voice invitation this morning. And I even got a very cool phone number: 405-4CUDNIK. The hardest part was choosing a phone number. One permanent number that I can give out and it will forward to any or all of my phones. I love it! The best part… it’s free! And…

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Isn’t Roxie Just Precious?

By Valerie | July 13, 2009

Snapped this on my last day in California. I took several of Roxie, several of Jack… Bubbies was hiding. I got one picture of me and Becky (taken by her friend Merle) and I look like a cow. Julie and I each took a picture of each other with my camera while on the wine…

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CAUSA – ‘Cause breaking the law don’t matter

By Valerie | June 15, 2009

Immigation Reform "ideals" A rational and humane approach to the undocumented population. We must address the more than twelve million undocumented immigrants living in this country by creating a rigorous registration process that leads to lawful permanent resident status and eventual citizenship. What is rational to many Americans is deportation. Amnesty didn’t work in the…

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Dog Whisperer Fan – Walking the dog

By Valerie | June 15, 2009

I’m a fan of the Dog Whisperer. Both the show and the books. Cesar Millan knows his stuff — he trains people and he rehabilitates dogs. Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems (Paperback) Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar’s Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and…

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Honor Your Veteran

By Valerie | May 25, 2009

HonorYourVeteran.com If you’d like to honor someone who has served in the armed forces, visit this site! You can post a little about them, when and where they served. Sections of the memorial wall are divided by war, and there’s a section for peacetime service as well. For security reasons, don’t post anything about active…

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The USPS Rate Hike Hustle

By Valerie | May 11, 2009

January 1999 33¢ January 2001 34¢ June 2002 37¢ January 2006 39¢ May 2007 41¢ May 2008 42¢ May 2009 44¢ That’s 11¢ in the past 10 years. That’s a 33% increase!!! And that’s just on the basic first class stamp. We’re paying much more, and I can’t tell you how many people have commented…

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When is enough enough?

By Valerie | May 10, 2009

$30,000 for a research report on prairie dogs? http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=47282 Must be for the vast suburban development going on in Montana. In the grand scheme of things, $30,000 out of the federal budget doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but I want accountability! Is this expense REALLY necessary? Montana is just about as rustic and…

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Property Tax Appraisals

By Valerie | April 28, 2009

I’d been “eagerly” awaiting my annual property tax assessment to make sure the city wasn’t overvaluing our house since the market is in a slump. If one intends to contest the amount, it has to be done by May 1st. Having not received it in the mail yet, though I got a “bill” for the…

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Hampton Roads Tax Day Tea Party

By Valerie | April 15, 2009

I really enjoyed participating today. Even though *I* couldn’t hear a lot of what was being said, it was great to be surrounded by like-minded people. Here’s a little of the action: [flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157616817971896″]

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Quote For Our Time

By Valerie | April 6, 2009

“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they…

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Almost a million dollars for potato research!

By Valerie | March 27, 2009

No wonder our economy is in trouble. This kind of thing just makes me shake my head. $900,000 to fund potato research. Last I heard potatoes were farmed for profit… so why is the government paying for the research? http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=46134

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Spring Fever

By Valerie | February 17, 2009 |

Since we still have a month of cold weather, I’m itching to do some decorating — my master bedroom is in need of an overhaul: linens, paint, curtains, carpet, the whole ball of wax. I’ve actually been looking for linens that I LOVE for a couple of years. The problem is, I want spring colors…

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Humbled at Arlington

By Valerie | February 9, 2009

I was in the DC metro area over the weekend and had the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery (it’s actually located in Ft. Meyer, Virginia, not the city of Arlington). I’ve been there before, but once again I was humbled to see the over 200 acres of graves and monuments. More than 300,000 people…

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