onekidmom

I'd heard that traffic around that area was BAD all day - that's why I tried the mall area. I was pretty busy, but not stopped. Glad you ahd a good day/time of it.

Wow....are you sure you're not my twin? I was out today too - Town Center area - busy, but ok. Tried to spread a little Christmas cheer and help a couple of folks out - a dad in the rain with three kids, two need to be in a stroller except he couldn't figure out how to unfold the stroller, so I did it for him. Shared some coupons. Saw some Grinches - one was railing on a sales clerk. Have everything except two tickets to 278 theater and Texas Roadhouse - something I give my parents for their birthdays, anniversary, fathers/mothers day & Christmas. Will ride out that way in the morn t

Every bill that is passed is full of things that do not "go" with what is being touted. That is why these things are hundreds of pages long and no one knows what's truly in them. It is stupid. We'd be much better off if they stopped this type of thing - but, sadly, the only way they get "bipartisan" votes is by the old I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Remember the items on adoption in the healthcare bill?

My link Congress’ light bulb reprieve was tucked into a 1,200-page omnibus spending bill passed by Congress Thursday night. Since many manufacturers have quit making the uber-cheap incandescent bulbs, their days are probably numbered no matter what Congress does next year. America’s last traditional light bulb plant closed last year, effectively shipping 200 jobs overseas.

Thought I'd add a little here since we've brought in the west coast. Check out this link from the California government site - go to the part about the top 1% - so it seems as if the top 1% does pay the most taxes. I do not fall in the top 1%, but we do pay a high tax rate. My link "Top 1 Percent of Income Earners Pay Up to One–Half of Income Taxes The fraction of the personal income tax paid by the 1 percent of returns reporting the most income has varied from just above 30 percent in the early 1990s to nearly 50 percent in 2000 at the height of the tech boom. As the graph indica

My link The phenomenon seems to have begun in Michigan before spreading, Kmart executives said. "It is honestly being driven by people wanting to do a good deed at this time of the year," said Salima Yala, Kmart's division vice president for layaway. The good Samaritans seem to be visiting mainly Kmart stores, though a Wal-Mart spokesman said a few of his stores in Joplin, Mo., and Chicago have also seen some layaway accounts paid off.

Thank you!!

Do you volunteer with any charitable programs?

Since we're discussing this.....just out of curiosity....how many are prescription addicts & what prescription and how many are meth or other illegal substances? Four in my family - counting immediate & extended - 2 ended in suicides and all four is oxycontin.

Oh, I truly agree, LPPT. So, how to you make people more productive? Even on this board, I read where it's all about the employee. Small businesses will not grow if employees have the mentality of I'm only working for me. I know you are a sweet lady - what are you seeing with the people you volunteer with? I have delivered bags of food to trailers over in Cherokee county where the people have lived in them for years - nasty trailers, holes in the floor in places - big screen televisions (we don't have one), stereos. Have delivered Christmas trees/decorations/toys/clothing, etc., to

You know - I thought this was to open a discussion - at least that's the way I took it.....not to be nasty to each other.

My link The increase of 22,400 jobs from October was broader than just holiday hiring, the labor department said.

So where do we draw the line for "poverty"? Reading this article this a.m. My link About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. The article also states: "Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits k

For me, it's the baby in our family. Always the pampered favorite growing up, but a nice person who worked very hard, had lots of friends. Spent money on what they wanted, then "borrowed" money from our parents for what was needed. We all accepted it was that way. About five years ago, it all changed - pretty much overnight. Now, they've used up all their friends - no one will have anything to do with them. They're on disability & medicare, does work for cash here and there. This came from meeting a lawyer through a friend at a bar and telling the lawyer about falling off of a steps

My question - is this that much different from the "Presidential Fitness"? The teachers already look for abuse, lice, neglect, etc. What is your take? My link Under the mandate, a child will be classified in one of two categories: as being in the “healthy fitness zone” or as “needs improvement.” First through 12th-graders will have their height and weight recorded, while fourth through 12th-graders will also be measured on activities such as curl-ups, push-ups and aerobics. The school district will send home reports detailing how the fourth- through twelfth-grade students fared i

I agree. The thing is......you can't please everyone.......They might as well not advertise. Someone/group will always disagree.

I don't see how Lowe's can win......they're da#$ed if they do/don't My link The retail giant stopped advertising on TLC's "All-American Muslim" after a group called the Florida Family Association complained the show was "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." The program premiered last month and chronicles the lives of five families from Dearborn, Mich., a Detroit suburb with a large Muslim and Arab-American population. "The show is about what it's like to be a Muslim in America, and it touches on the

what do you think is the reason? She had no answer.

Had lunch with a friend in HR for a large company at the Galleria this past Sunday. She was telling horror stories in reverse. Said she that in the last 2 weeks, she has had people be rude with the receptionist asking why they should have to fill out more forms if they filled out & submitted online, had one guy answer his cellphone while she was interviewing him, had another bring a McDonalds bag with him & ate breakfast while waiting on the interview, had a young woman's mother call asking to clarify the compensation package being offered. She said yes, there are more people applyi

My link BEIJING – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates confirmed Wednesday he is in discussions with China to jointly develop a new and safer kind of nuclear reactor.

My link A Seattle chiropractor and his wife live in a $1.2 million waterfront home and have spent the past eight years flying to Moscow, Paris, Israel, Turkey, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. All the while, federal authorities say, the couple was collecting more than $100,000 in welfare.

Thought the same thing when I read it....what's even better - my son goes to a private christian school & we've never heard it. That's why I couldn't figure out why poinsettias were banned.

My link The act came at the end of the first day of controversy about the displays that are allowed in front of the Loudoun County Courthouse. The day started with shock from some Monday morning as they first viewed the display, and moved to glee and dismay, depending on their point of view, when the display was knocked down by an unknown woman in full view of a Loudoun sheriff's deputy and a news crew.

My link On Thursday, the district's attorney sent a memo to staff explaining that students should not be allowed to exchange gifts or "distribute personal holiday messages" during class. Bertha Bailey Whatley's memo says there are legal concerns associated with the distribution of personal holiday messages. "For example, if students are allowed to exchange cards or small trinkets, the district would be required to allow a student to distribute a religious message with the gift or card," the memo says. "In other words, the school district cannot prohibit the distribution of unsolicited r

My link Teachers at a Stockton school have been told they can't display Santas, Christmas trees and even Poinsettia plants this holiday because of religious concerns. The holiday ban is happening at Claudia Landeen School, a K through 8 school in the Lincoln Unified School District. Superintendent Tom Uslan said, from a conference in San Diego, because there are a "myriad of religious affiliations (at the school) we don't want a pervasive theme of a class to represent one religious affiliation." I'm trying so hard to figure out how these are religious affiliations - Poinsett