Christmas came early!

I am hyperventilating right now as I type this. I just found out that Betsey Johnson has plans to release a limited-edition line with a very popular retailer in the fall (the speculation is that it will be H & M or Target). I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Betsey Johnson!! I can't wait to be able to afford her things without having to find them on clearance!!! Yay!

newest addiction

I know it's been a LONG while since I have posted anything, and I'm sorry. Truth is that I have been busy reading. Lee and I went to see the Twilight movie a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. Absolutely loved it!! So I decided to buy the books and I am on the fourth and final of the series (that has been released so far). I would recommend the movie and/or books to everyone. They are so captivating!!

Romancing the Stone

I just heard that they will be doing a remake of one of my favorite films from the 80's--I LOVED Romancing the Stone!! I sooo wanted to slide down that muddy hill with them...

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to tell all of you that I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I will be enjoying time with my family as well as an extra couple days off work. That's a lot to be thankful for in my book!

Pure cuteness

I took some new pictures of my babies this weekend. Enjoy.

Bentley LOVES this squeaky monkey. He constantly wants to play tug-of-war and fetch. I snapped this picture as he was bringing it back for me to throw again. So cute!!

This is Giambi sitting so pretty and proper on the couch. He's my little cuddler.

Bentley turns his head at me every time I talk to him. It is absolutely adorable. I'm sure he's trying to listen better to his momma.

They both got tired and took a nap. They were so cute! Giambi is on the top of the sofa and Bentley is on the arm of the sofa. They are my little angels.

Close-up of Giambi sleeping

Close-up of Bentley sleeping

My birthday

Thanks to all of you reading this who gave me gift cards and money for my birthday. I finally made a selection and this is what I got. Thank you guys so much--I am definitely blessed to have such wonderful family and friends in my life!! Love you all!!

Linco ad

Our ad in the At Home in Arkansas magazine just came out. I think it turned out great and we are very excited!! I scanned the magazine page--the picture is below, but it looks so much better in the actual magazine than the scanned version.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

I'm sure that you have all gotten those emails about sending a Christmas card to a recovering soldier or war veteran. I support this idea 100%. I am extremely proud of our men and women serving in the military (both at home and overseas.) They display an exceptional amount of heroism, courage, and bravery that I could never match. Take a little time and remember them when you are sending out your Christmas cards this year. The information below is sponsored by Red Cross and taken directly from their website at http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

From the front lines to the home front, the American Red Cross provides service members, their families and veterans with the care and assistance they need.

The Red Cross is partnering with Pitney Bowes this holiday season for the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. For the second year in a row, we’re collecting holiday cards to distribute to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world. Pitney Bowes is generously donating technology, resources and postage to make this holiday card program possible.

Our goal is to collect and distribute one million holiday cards to spread holiday cheer and facilitate thanks to these brave individuals and families.

Please send cards to this address, following the guidelines listed on the website:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Shopping secrets

Ok, I am a huge fan of online shopping. Mainly for two reasons, I feel like I can shop around to get the best deal and secondly, I hate shopping where I feel crowded by having to literally push my way through people (probably my claustrophobia). I love the idea of black Friday but after experiencing it once, there is no deal that is worth having to fight those crowds.

Getting back to my original point of this blog, my Dad just sent me this link to online specials and coupons. It is http://www.retailmenot.com/

It is a great tool to ensure that you are getting the best deal and a lot of companies have free shipping so maybe this can help you with your holiday shopping. Enjoy and happy shopping!!

Another busy weekend!

Here's my weekend roundup for those of you who are interested. We had some friends over Friday night and just hung out watching tv. Once they left to go home, I steam cleaned our carpet. I know that doesn't sound like a very fun thing to do on a Friday night but I thoroughly enjoy cleanliness. And our carpet was nasty.

Saturday I hung out with Jared while Lee was hunting. Lee got his first deer this season. So if you want some deer meat, hit me up. As I am typing this, it has ocurred to me that I wonder if he used the deer urine to lure in that buck (if you don't know what I am talking about, see my previous posts).

Then Saturday night we went to the movies to see the new James Bond movie.

Sunday night we had Jesse, Heather, and the kids over. We all played Cranium and The Price is Right. I love board games!!

Oh and an honorable mention for entertainment goes out to Justin Timberlake for his SNL cameo which was hilarious!!

(by the way I just asked Lee about the deer urine and he did not use any.)

Very interesting stuff

I was curious as to why anesthesiologists ask you to count backwards from 10 or from 100 and it appears as though they use that as a level to measure your awareness and to see when the anesthesia actually kicks in.

Now on to the interesting thing that I found. Ever wonder why they always tell you not to eat or drink after midnight of the day before your surgery? I always assumed it was because they didn't want you to throw up anything in case the anesthesia makes you sick. However, it turns out that the anesthesia causes you to lose the reflex that covers the opening into your lungs while you are chewing or swallowing. So on the off chance that something were to not be fully digested in your stomach and it came back up, it could be inhaled into your lungs (a move that is potentially fatal).

Very important information to follow and now you know why!

Find a cure!

I got this in an email message and thought it was so adorable!

Diagnosed

I finally broke down and went to the doctor. Turns out I have an upper respiratory infection as well as bronchitis and laryngitis. Maybe I shouldn't have put off the doctor visit for as long as I did. I am finally starting to get my voice back-three prescriptions and five days later.

Halloween

What a crazy past couple of weeks! I never blogged about Jesse & Heather's party, but we had a great time! Thanks to everyone who came out--our biggest poker game yet. Sure wish I could have gotten my share of the money, but I need to work on my poker skills evidently. LOL.

Then last week we had Myra visiting. It was really great to see her! I ended up getting sick towards the end of the week so she cooked for us and cleaned for us. It really spoiled me. I was sad to see her leave, and Lee was too. I think that her injections did help her neck, but it is really one of those wait-and-see type deals.

Now, on to Halloween. We did not hand out any candy this year, but we did have some candy for two of my favorite trick-or-treaters Dylan and Taylor. They were absolutely adorable in their costumes!! Check them out for yourself.

Then we went on a hayride with some friends Saturday night which was fun, but I should not have done because all that dust sparked up my allergy/sinus problems and I have been super sick since then!! But we had a great weekend!


I didn't dress the dogs up this year. I really wanted to. I had picked out a Superman costume for Giambi and a Batman costume for Bentley but I have been so busy that I forgot to buy them. So I'll put a picture of Giambi & Bentley from last year with their little hats that lasted all of two minutes because they hated them so much. LOL.

Bentley looks so sad here!

Giambi with his Kong (and his Daddy)

Tired of waiting

I am blogging from the doctor's office. Gotta love technology (and my iPhone) for giving me something to do in my boredom. Some of you already know the situation but for those who don't, I am here with my mother-in-law. She has been having horrible neck problems but she is getting an injection today that will hopefully help ease her pain.

We are both sick of being here in this waiting room! We were here for over 6 hours on Monday and then had to come back yesterday for another hour and a half of bloodwork. She finally got to go in the back this morning after an hour in the waiting room and she has been back there for an additional hour. After the injection, we have to go next door for her therapy so it looks like another LONG day. She has been such a trooper through it all! I really hope this injection helps!!

I've read six magazines front to back and now it is back to my book (One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell) which is great!

Tragic

Wow, what a tragic past few days... The death of Anne Pressley, the deaths in the Hudson family, the UCA shootings... How can such horrible things happen? All I can say is that my heart truly goes out to all of the friends and family of these victims who are suffering.

There has been a lot of pettiness going on in my personal life lately (and this is the only public acknowledgment that I will be giving to those matters and those people) but it really makes you step back and put things in perspective. I have learned a lot in my life so far and I continue to learn things daily. The truth will come out in the end.

Birthday

Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes!! I was trying to let this one slide by but I have too many friends to let that happen. LOL. Thanks for the cards, emails, gifts, and cake!! I am surrounded by the BEST people in the world and I am thankful every day for all of you! Lots of love, muah!

Las Vegas

Lee and I just got back from Vegas. We had a great time! Unfortunately, there was not a lot of extra time after the granite convention, but we did squeeze in a couple of fun events. First, we saw Cirque Du Soleil KA. That show was AMAZING! I thought for sure that a couple of people might be seriously injured and/or die on the wheel of death, but they are true acrobats! Here's a trailer for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiHgfLAvAx8

We also saw several celebrities while we were there.

We stayed at the MGM Grand (which was huge by the way).

We asked a stranger to take our picture in front of the fountains at Paris. I was nervous they would steal my camera. Obviously, it all worked out. LOL.

This was very cool. Inside the Venetain, they had street scenes that replicate Italy. They even painted the ceilings to look like the sky. It was incredibly beautiful and romantic! We got to go on a gondola ride while we were there, too. Our gondola driver/paddler told us the best Vegas advice: "Just remember, what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas anymore, it ends up on the internet." She was great!!

This was a live man. I could never stand still for as long as he did. He gave a little thumbs up whenever someone put money down.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

FYI: The episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that we helped on will air this coming Sunday (October 26th) at 7:00 pm.

Linco updates

Well, my life has been consumed with Linco lately (big surprise, right?). We just purchased an ad that will be in the December issue of At Home in Arkansas. I'm very excited about that!! Lee and I opted to create our own ad so I am submitting it today for approval. Let's hope that the editor likes it as much as we do.

Also, we have had some website drama. Last year we had a young man come in trying to sell us his website services. I was hesitant, but hired him (for more money than I should have). We were never fully satisfied with the website, but at least we had one! We have used it in all of advertisments--the Yellow Pages, our business cards, our myspace page, brochures, the Extreme Makeover Home Edition links, etc. So imagine my surprise when I find out that the website is not up anymore! I did some investigating and the young man did not pay his hosting fees so they shut him down. This made me furious since I had paid for the whole year back in January. We put in several phone calls to him and he mostly avoided our calls so we took the matter to our lawyer. He said that it would not be worth it to pursue legal action against him on this particular matter--to cut our loss and build our own.

Not the answer I wanted to hear, but I took his advice and built a new site myself. It is www.LincoCountertops.com. Check it out and give me some feedback. You won't hurt my feelings, I promise! I am definitely not a website guru so I need all the help I can get. Any advice or comments are greatly appreciated! If you don't feel comfortable leaving me a comment on here, email me. If you are reading this, you have my personal email. Thanks!!

Anna Kate Linville

I had to put this special post up so you can all see pictures of my beautiful niece! She is 6 months old and growing like crazy!! Jessica and Jason took her to the Pumpkin Patch recently and Jessica graciously let me steal a few of her pictures to post on here. Jason, Anna, and Jessica Linville

Jessica and Anna

Jason and Anna

I LOVE her face in this one!!!

Such a cute picture of Anna holding on to the bear

She is such a cutie!!

It's a PINK month

I know most of you are already aware of this, but October is the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I am a supporter of this cause that is near and dear to my heart. I would urge all of you reading this to take a moment and make sure the women you love (wives, moms, grandmas, sisters, daughters, granddaughters, aunts, nieces, friends, etc) have taken the precautionary steps to insure that they are not a victim of breast cancer. Early detection is key, trust me I know from my own personal experience.

With all the advances in technology and research, I am happy to say that this disease is beatable and I hope one day it is curable! I donate every year to Komen for the Cure, and I always buy the breast cancer postage stamps so if you get a letter or card from me, you will know that a portion of that purchase has gone to help this great cause!! Please don't hesitate to help in any way you can--you can always buy the products at the store that have the little pink ribbon logo on them somewhere (like instead of buying regular M & M's, buy the pink ones!). A portion of the money from those products will go to support the cause. Thanks for your time on this very important matter!!

Injury

I have some sad news to break. My favorites on Dancing with the Stars (Misty & Maks) are gonna have to quit. I found out from my Hollywood Insider that Misty hurt herself on Friday. They were hopeful that she may be able to continue, but it looks like she has an achilles tendon injury and won't be able to finish the season. I'm so bummed! Who will I vote for now?

VP Debate

Politics

Let me start off by saying that I do not consider myself to be a Republican or a Democrat. I've never really paid that much attention to politics before so I am definitely a newbie in the political world. I honestly do not know who I am going to vote for. So I watched the Vice Presidential debate last night hoping that this speech would give me some clarity as to where to cast my vote.

Overall, my thoughts are that neither vice presidential candidate seemed to answer directly. They both seemed to beat around the bush. (Maybe it's my inexperience on the issues and I just simply don't understand what they are saying?) I was impressed with Governor Palin. I did not expect her to hold her own like she did, and I feel as though she is a smart, tough lady. However, I felt more of a connection with Senator Biden. I felt more comfort in what he was saying. I know that it is all marketing at this point and you have to weed out the false promises and lies. I am still undecided on my vote, and I am looking forward to learning more.

I can tell you that as I get older, my priorities have shifted. I've always been concerned with things that affected me directly such as taxes and whatnot. And I'm still concerned with taxes, but I also have my business to think about now. I'm interested in breaks for small businesses so that I can offer my employees affordable healthcare coverage. (I am interested in affordable healthcare coverage for myself, too.) I'm interested in tax breaks for small businesses, bringing our troops back from the war safely (and swiftly), environmental policies, stimulating our economy, aiding other countries that are in desperate need (Darfur), etc. I don't give a damn if our next President is a Republican or a Democrat. I want a President who will stand up, take responsibility, and correct things. I want a President that will help me to keep my business (that I work so hard for) alive and help me to make it thrive--I want to give my employees the healthcare and benefits that every working American deserves. I want--no, I DESERVE a President who will help America thrive again.

new haircuts

Giambi and Bentley just had their grooming appointment! They LOVE when they get to spend the day with Ms. Julie. I think she gives them special attention. =)

She always puts these cute little bandanas on them, too. They don't stay on for very long, but I was able to snap some pictures once I got them home.

Giambi tilting his head at me when I talk.

Bentley smiling at me. (I consider this a smile)

After playing outside, they cooled off on the slate floor.

the heartbreaking truth

I know that you all got excited reading my last post of how we could each possibly get a check for $297,500.00. Unfortunately (as most of you already know) I am a very skeptical person so I knew better than to get my hopes up. I decided to do a little investigating at one of my favorite sites (snopes.com). Here's the lowdown of what they had to say and a link so you can check out the bad news for yourself.

Basically, the math is incorrect and each person would get about $425. Even if you calculate in the larger proposed bailout, the check amount is roughly $3500. While I would love a check for $3500, I agree with snopes.com that it is not enough money for a person to buy a home or do anything substantial to help the economy.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/dividend.asp

Go ahead and send me my check

I had an email from a friend in my inbox this morning when I got to work. She doesn't send many things so I knew this had to be important. After reading the email, I agree with it. It seems like a brilliant idea. Who do I need to send it to so that it is implemented? I know you are curious so here's what it said:

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend. Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads.
Put away money for college - it'll be there.
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs.
Invest in the market - capital drives growth.
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves.
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces. If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is being proposedby one of our candidates for President. If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.' But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 BillionWe Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,
Birk
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!

More pictures from the wedding

I had a wonderful time at the wedding. It was great to have all the girls back together again--even if it was for a brief moment in time.

Melody and me

Raven, me, and Amanda

Raven and me

my wonderful husband and me

me and Meredith

me and Amanda

Melody's Wedding Day

Some wedding pictures of Mr. and Mrs. David Dundee...

I love this picture!! Meredith was trying to help lace up the dress and also create a bustle so she could hold the train on the dress up for the reception. It was such a wonderful moment!

Melody and David after they had just fed cake to each other. They were really nice about it and didn't smash it in each other's faces.

Melody and David having their first toast together.

Melody's GORGEOUS wedding ring

Melody and David leaving for their honeymoon

Melody's wedding rehearsal

After our bridal lunch, we headed over to Melody's parents' house in Greenbriar to set up for the wedding. They have a beautiful place out there, and it was such perfect weather for Mel's outside wedding!!

The beautiful bride showing off her balancing skills and her legs. I love her outfit!!

Melody and David had cupcakes instead of traditional wedding cake. There were 6 different flavors and the two flavors I tasted were delicious!!

Just a close-up shot of the crown that Melody was forced to wear for part of the afternoon.

The bridesmaids with the beautiful bride in the "fairytale forest". *NOTE: We came out of the forest in order to walk down the aisle so we nicknamed the wedding "Melody's fairytale forest wedding".

From left to right: Ashlee, Amanda, Raven, Melody, Meredith, and me

Melody's bridal shower

My weekend began Friday morning with a bridal shower for Melody at Oak Street Bistro in Conway. The food was delicious! I took some pictures...






This is Melody, me, Meredith, and Dusty (Melody's sister in case you can't tell). It was such a nice day and we had a great lunch outside on the patio.