Well, surprisingly I did not land the 'mart' job!  I must've screwed up something in the second interview, but I'm not sure what I did wrong...  No matter, pick myself up and try again, right?  How many times did Edison fail before he got something right???

Food stamps are finally here! Yea! We can eat again! The best part? The card is retroactive from October to the present!! Woo Hoo!

We're still unemployed. :''(  Volde's job may or may  not happen because of an idiot giving a bad reference, even though the law states that person was only supposed to verify employment, not offer opinions or lies.

Anyhow, we've been focusing on getting workbook work done and over with.  We're doing all the easy stuff, and will work on the hard stuff after the Christmas holiday stuff is over and done with.  She's even taking work to bed with her so she can get more done ;)  I love that kid!

We walked to and from church this past Sunday, and Diana brought along a plastic bag.  I had no idea what she was doing with it, I didn't suggest anything, but she decided to pick up the litter we found en route to the church!  She was doing the community a favor, helping the earth, and making her world a more attractive place to be in.  She did it to boost the look of our neighborhood, which is a major city!  I was so proud of her for coming up with this on her own!  And needless to say she was supervised, so we weren't picking up anything dangerous or anything.  Just candy garbage, papers, etc.  No butts or glass bottles (the bottles were all broken anyhow, and we weren't prepared for that...).

I'm proud to have her in my family.

After so much headache, heartache, wallet-ache (I can invent works, too!!) and loan-from-family-&-friends-ache (see, did it twice!) it looks like a wonderful job is on the horizon for our family!

(SIGH of relief)

In addition to the fact that I've already interviewed with a "mart" company for the holiday season (TWICE!!) and they've checked my references, there is a good possibility that I will get some work to supplement our income of zero dollars in the past few months. (Other than gifts from friends, family and church members...)

PLUS, today, Voldemort went on a job interview for another trucking company because he's not worked since just before the election.  This one is a dedicated route, and pending his drug test and corporate approval (because the job's through an owner/operator with more than one truck) he'll get the job.

What it means: We'll be able to pay back the nearly $4000 we've had to borrow between our friends and family over the past year.  ($700/month rent, $100-$300 per month for heat and lights in our crappy rental house that has more drafts than a draft pick for a football league, $200/month for car insurance that we legally HAVE to have on our car... we've not been in trouble long, but it's obviously been expensive!).

We applied for food stamp help in the middle of October and have heard nothing.  They're "really backed up" and our caseworker has been on vacation for the last two weeks.  We're busy "starving to death" because she needed a vacation?!?  Unbelievable!  Thank God for our church family and actual family, or we would have actually starved to death.  Their guidance and willingness to help us obtain food bank info really saved us.  That and the groceries, ;)

Hopefully we'll still get approved for food stamps, because it will mean that we can catch up faster, instead of spending our money on food right away, we can fend off the utility wolves, you know?  We also would need to use some of that money for gas or bus tickets so we can GET to work, you know?  Not to mention uniforms and stuff like that.

Even if we don't get approval, hopefully we'll manage.  Our family will just have to wait for that money, though it makes for an awkward Christmas season...

IF anyone has resources this Christmas season, please consider donating to things like "Toys for Tots" or something like that.  I know our kids have only $100 spent between the two of them with a points reward gift card - from Volde's moving days when he would OTR and stay at a hotel.  When you look at toy prices and look at $50/kid including tax, we've ended up with 2 decent toys per child, and no stocking stuffers.  I may have to tell my eldest that there is no real Santa this year so she's not wondering why she got next to nothing for Christmas this year, or wonders what she did to upset Santa... (And she's been SOOOO good!!!)

Is it better to believe Santa stopped loving you, or know there is no such person, and your parents did their best?????  I mean... neither one's got the spirit of Christmas in the message.  Which one is the right thing to do?  Wait and see? Hope someone at church magically hears the spirit and shows up with a bag full of toys for them?  Or do I contact my local toys for tots program and see if we qualify?  Tons of unanswers.

Hopefully, something works. I just hope we don't have to ruin her Christmas by telling her on that day, should she ask.  Maybe we will get an armfull of presents from a well-wisher, or maybe the family will cover for us by getting stocking stuffers for THEIR homes, so we can  pick up the gifts and visit for a while... You never know.

This is my adorable Chinese Crested Powderpuff puppy when we brought her home.  Tallulah loves my kids, and loves to be right by my side all the time.  I'm hoping to eventually find one of those carrying cases at the Salvation Army one of these days.  She's so quiet and demure all the time.  She accepts pets from everyone, and is just a wonderful animal.

The other pics I have of her include her "sister" Kei, who's a (comparative) giant.  They love to chase eachother around the yard and wrestle!  I adore those pups.  BUT all the good pics are on my phone and I don't have unlimited texts (wah!)

I was searching the 'net today for grooming information, or breed info, or any info on Chinese Crested Powderpuff dogs in general.  I found almost nothing.  There's the AKC and UKC standards on the respective home pages, but nothing much about personality.

I'm dedicating this page to my Tallulah for just such a reason.

She's fantastic with kids.  You would think that a small breed dog would not do well with a toddler.  However, she's extremely food motivated.  A toddler running around does nothing if not dribble food everywhere.  Ergo, toddlers = food = why growl at him for pulling my ears or hair?  She loves to go out adventuring with my 7 yr old.  White dog. Adventuring in the yard with a tween who loves to dig up worms and pretend to be an explorer.  White dog = loves to get dirty = lots of grooming.  I'm considering grooming her to look like a hairless, but will wait until the frosty weather passes in about six months (lol).

She fears almost nothing.  Big dogs make her nervous, but only during that initial meeting.  Small dogs she's instantly friends with.  She's afraid of loud traffic, and living in the city, she just has to get over it. She is making progress. She's afraid of tall strangers, unless she's picked up.  She seems to just tolerate the strange people, then gets caught giving them kisses before they stop petting her ;)  She loves to chase the leaves blowing around the yard, and loves to make me nervous by running off.  She only ever runs to the front door, and I think she does it to see that look on my face.  The, "oh my goodness, I thought you were gone for good" look.

She still has double canines, but until they give her trouble, the vet thinks it's best to just leave them be.  It's awesome, and I will get a close up sometime - she looks like the angry wolf from The Neverending Story, lol, except white ;)  Plus, she's still only 10 months old this month.  She's got time to lose them.

She doesn't eat much, less than a half cup of puppy food, but I'm sure that's inaccurate, since Dexter finds every excuse to share his food with her, and she finds every excuse to snitch it. "What? I'm not supposed to eat the nugget in his hand?"  or "I thought that hit the ground already."  Always with that look of, "What? I didn't do it" thrown in for good measure. Frankly, I don't know how much food either of them is getting.  I assume since neither one is losing weight, it's all good.

She's just as happy snuggling on the couch under the blankies as she is on the floor cuddled up next to our feet.  She's extremely smart, and will do anything for attention (like run off, haha!)

As a breed, they are great with kids, a pain in the behind to groom, easy to train but stubborn.  They will make their own entertainment if bored.  They are easy to keep in a small space, but still need a sweater to get through the colder weather.  My particular pup's ears do not stand up, which is considered a fault (I've heard.  I don't see how that faults a dog.  She is still beautiful to me!!).  I did read a site where someone detailed the process of taping the ears to get them up, but I think I'm past that deadline, and I honestly don't care about perky ears, lol.  They aren't a dog that belongs outside.  Hawks, larger dogs, owls - the outside world is fraught with danger.  They also absolutely require grooming.  You have to clip the paws so snow balls don't gather between the toes, and so they get better traction snow or not.  They require clipping around the behind, so feces aren't tracked through the house.  Everything else is open to debate on a Powderpuff.  I am kinda loving the shaggy look, but am happy to make a change once in a while (half the fun, IMHO).

The main drawback would be the attachment level to the owners and family.  She HATES to be alone.  She's anxious whenever we leave her, so she needs to be crated or she will destroy stuff.  (I still haven't owned up about the Wiimote nunchuck cord getting chucked - but I know who did it, and I know I have to replace it before Volde misses it!!).  If you're a SAHM or a bachelor or bachelorette, widower, or retired, this is the breed for you.  The kids thing is the biggest draw for me with this breed.  I've never seen such a small dog be so good with kids!

I'll put pics up later, hopefully... ;)

Okay, I live in MI, the state with the highest unemployment rating for the past three years.

If you were our pres. elect, why on earth would you do this?!

It even says in the article, "Although Michigan has led the nation in unemployment for nearly three years, largely because of the ailing auto industry, Granholm was tapped several times by the Obama campaign during the presidential election to speak about the need to create new alternative energy jobs."

Are you kidding me?  As soon as we can afford it, we're moving to another state. Hopefully one that's a little less economically strapped.

Ugh.  Who could be advising this guy on his choices?  Just wait, the entire US of A is doomed to look like MI - unless he's asking her what NOT to do to the economy...

Sorry.  It seems lately this is a political blog.  I don't mean to offend.  We're working on finishing our workbooks every day, and studying a lot of politics and economics here, in addition to the other schoolwork we need to do to pass third grade. ;)

Okay folks, settle down, settle down.  I know  more than anyone he's bad news for conservatives.  I know I labeled him the antichrist.  For all I know, he still is.  However, he's our new commander in chief in a few short months.  While I'm not happy about it, I can rest easy that the majority of the house seems to have shifted in the wee hours of the morning, which means for the bulk of Obama's radical ideas, there is the ability to filibuster.  So the changes that will happen will - hopefully - be for the benefit of the entire nation.

I would like to add a few things here.  He's not the first black president.  I'm not referring to Clinton, either.  There have been at least 2 previous men elected to the presidency who have had a greater percentage of "black blood" if you will, than Obama: Jackson and Lincoln.  Lincoln was actually half black, labelled "passing" back then. I think it's important to not forget our history.  I know these facts were glossed over in the PS history books, and the sheeple chose to believe it - because it's written in a book they had to read.  Let's keep things in perspective.  He's not the first black president, nor will he be the last (unless he screws things up worse than anyone could've predicted.)

The change I would like to see would be in regards to racism.  I don't want to hear from my neighbors how the white man keeps them down.  With a president elected by the majority (landslide, mind you) there can be no doubt that racism from white towards black is not an issue for a majority of people.  (10% of a population can't elect a president on their own, white people had to contribute...)

The same can not be said for the reverse racism.  Ignorant blacks on the news were spouting how they never voted before this election, and have said they are voting for Obama because he's a, "brotha.'"  One woman said that if Obama was elected that she wouldn't have to worry about paying her bills because Obama will spread the wealth around.  I'm not as racist as some, more than others.  I have family and friends who have different skin and cultures than I have.  Certainly.  But I have a definite fear of the ignorance of the blacks in my town.

Obama is elected, he'll look out for the black people... until he's unable to fix our major issues, then - see if I'm not right - his 'white side' will be blamed, he'll be labeled a turncoat (or worse!).  At least in Detroit, that is.

I will stand behind our comander in chief.  I will do so like I did for President George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.  I am an American. (but God help us if Obama's as big of a socialist as I think he is... and there's no way I'm using the American Euro... or getting a tattoo on my wrist or forehead to purchase goods...)

Congratulations on your win, Sen. Obama.  God Bless the American people! (We need it!)