This biggest movie premier of the year is happening this weekend. The second installment of the Twilight saga, New Moon, opens this Friday nationwide. No doubt, if you have read the Twilight series, you are looking forward to this with bated breath. If you haven't read the books, you don't get what all the hype is about

I first stumbled across these books because I had a teenage daughter...read more

Our recent local elections held no big surprise in the overall outcome. The one huge surprise to me was the lack of civic education among our populace. It had never occurred to me that people today do not understand the difference between living within the city limits of a town, or residing in the county only

This election pointed that fact out blatantly to many people who could not vote in the mayoral...read more

I know we have been inundated with election information in our local area. We have both Nampa and Caldwell mayoral races, and several city council races to contend with. On top of all that, we have to make a decision, one more time, regarding building a new Canyon County jail

This election is always a hard one for me, we live between Nampa and Caldwell and feel involved in both cities. At the same...read more

All the recent "flu" headlines, be it swine or the seasonal flu, have created quite a situation in our valley. They are telling us not to rush to the doctor or emergency room for treatment of flu like symptoms, yet how do you know what you have without an official diagnosis.

Take my daughter for example. She was home sick for three days last week. I didn't take her to the doctor, I...read more

Well everyone, I saw a new low in human behavior today, something that is hard to get over. Sitting behind a Suburban in traffic on Karcher Road, we were waiting to get through the light in front of the Edwards Cineplex in Nampa, the two men in the car in front of us decided to empty their ashtray on the street

Those of us old enough remember when littering was not the big deal it is today. Of course...read more

There was the strangest story I have ever heard on The View this morning. A perfectly normal couple, with perfectly normal children, had been put through hell because of their photographs. While I can't say I am a huge "View" fan, I do like to watch their "Hot Topics" when I am home from the jobsite, and yes, you read that right, they were put through Hell

It seems a couple...read more

During our vacation to the Oregon coast recently, we decided to spend a few days in Portland on our return. Portland is such a beautiful city and even though it is close, we just never seem to have a reason to make it a destination. We discovered soon enough this had been a mistake on our part

Hopefully you have read all my blog posts regarding the beach house in Lincoln City (if not, please scroll...read more

Well you have all been reading about our wonderful vacation, you would think we were not like normal people and never got away. Oh wait...we aren't like normal people and we NEVER get away! But the ten days we spent exploring western Oregon left me with a lot of stories, most of which you will hear eventually

I have told you about the great beach house where we stayed in Lincoln City, compliments...read more

My last post about our vacation talked about me knocking over a display in a store in the Pearl District of Portland. (See below.) What I didn't say was why I was carrying a big bag around downtown Portland

Ok ladies, we all know the scenario. My husband always says I don't need to carry my bag if I don't want to, yet when it comes down to it, who would carry everything if I didn't...read more

This is truly one of those times when I feel grateful to have this forum for my thoughts and feelings. I just finished reading today's Idaho Press-Tribune, the Monday, September 14th edition, with it's loved/hated cheers and jeers section. This section allows people to give gratitude, vent, and most of all, make fools of themselves, because their name will never be put in print

The particular...read more

Our recent stay in Portland of course included a visit to the famous Pearl District. Every major city in America has it's defining qualities, and Portland has it's "Districts". Each a distinct reflection of the area, they are used to separate neighborhoods from one another, even on the street signs. You always know which "district" you are in, and can better decide your...read more

Our recent vacation was a total of nine days, broken up into separate little jaunts. The first leg was a night in Dayton, Oregon. I know, a strange place to start your vacation, but it just so happens that is where my family lives who own the beach house in Lincoln City. That is how the entire vacation got started, wanting to visit with my cousin Phyllis and her husband Tom. When I called and told...read more

We have returned from our much needed vacation, but I have to share "the rest of the story". We left on a Friday morning, and on Wednesday night, in the middle of the night, I got up to use the bathroom, something that seems to happen more and more frequently as I age. Because I don't like to disturb my husband, I never turn the lights on. As I was making that well known and frequent...read more

There is a new movement within the environmental group, a movement that had me saying...what? The Brazilian government has designed a new ad campaign encouraging all their citizens to pee in the shower. Yep, that's what I said, pee in the shower. Apparently, they have done some intense research and discovered that if everyone urinated during their shower time, it would save some unknown zillions...read more

I guess it won't surprise anyone to know that I am a facebook participant. It is a great tool to keep track of what friends and relatives are doing, get the word out about my blog posts, and just sort of keep your finger on the pulse of your community

This morning when I logged on, a friend in Boise had posted a simple statement that made me laugh out loud. "Did you know people thought the...read more

Recently my husband and I decided that a new laptop for me would be a better investment than upgrading our desktop. I already spend enough time sitting in the office, at least with a laptop I would be a bit more portable, even if I was still on the computer. (Which he is finally getting used to!) So now I feel like I have really made it, as I can sit on my patio and still be on my computer. What will...read more

Today's blog post certainly seems to reflect my blog title..."Don't Get Me Started!" I am so tired of hearing that the new Nampa Charter School intends to teach the Bible. They have clearly stated over and over they will in no way be using the Bible to teach doctrine, and that it will simply be used as a reference text. Why don't television and radio personalities understand...read more

The 14 year old Caldwell boy accused of shooting his father with a high powered rifle is in the news again. Zachary Neagle has been in custody since his father's death May 16th, and his defense attorney is attempting to get the boy released on his own recognizance, or at least reduce his bond

At first look, this case is unbelievably unfair. A 14 year old boy, who they want to charge as an adult...read more

There have been times when what I wrote on my blog was not popular, and this will probably be one of those times, but I can't help myself. Maybe it is because I am a small business owner myself, I'm not sure, but the question that keeps coming up in my mind, regarding Ryan Stockdale and his health issues, is why has Omnipure been demonized by the local media? (To be fair, the Idaho Press-Tribune...read more

My husband and I went to Edwards Cinema yesterday and saw the movie Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, or something like that. I just call it Transformers 2, because I really don't even remember what the first Transformers movie was called. Agreed, this is a huge blockbuster movie, and is making a ton of money, but all I can say is that this is a true "guys" movie

I am easily entertained...read more

All the uproar over the Pentagon's denial to approve a flyover for the God and Country rally has me seeing just about every color; red because it angers me, blue because it makes me terribly sad, and white because I feel it is transparent

Ok, did you notice the colors I am seeing are red, white and blue? Of course you did! And isn't that what the God and Country rally is really all about...read more

The funeral for Michael Jackson is being held today at the famous Staples Center in Los Angeles. I turned the television on, waiting for the noon news, and realized that today there would be no other news. The announcers were saying that this funeral service would be watched by over a billion people worldwide

I'm sorry, but I find something disturbingly wrong with this situation. Michael Jackson...read more

Once again Kip Ramos is in the headlines. In case you don't recall the name, he is the Nampa High School football player who is facing trial for punching his coach last season. The latest in this unusual case is the postponement of his trial until August, in order that he be allowed to complete summer school to graduate

First of all, I am grateful the courts saw it appropriate to allow this young...read more

Once again I received one of those emails that goes around and around...forward, forward. Like I have said before, I get a lot of these, but every now and then one makes me laugh out loud and I have to share. So, even though I can't take credit for this, I did rewrite it in many ways to personalize it, and it could very well have been me who started it

"Thank goodness there is finally a...read more

A recent headline, published in the June 18th edition of the Idaho Press-Tribune, glared at me as I read the paper. "Children sue over parents' deportation." Say what? The story goes that a group of kids in Miami are suing President Obama, asking a court to halt the deportation of their parents, until we fix our immigration system

This is a difficult subject for me. I do feel many parts...read more

Father's Day has come and gone, and I am late in wishing all the Dad's a wonderful day, but being late is better than nothing at all. For the many men I know who take their responsibilities as fathers to heart, I wish you joy in that most precious of jobs, being a dad, in the coming year

I am fortunate that my husband, Bill, is a wonderful father. When I met him, I could tell he would be...read more

I don't know about any of you, but I am so tired of our local moth infestation. It is not my area of expertise to understand why we are suffering with this problem, I just know I want it over. I realize the local news and print have touched on the subject, but frankly I didn't care enough at the time to pay attention. Now I wish I had

My daughter and her girlfriends are having a yard sale...read more

Recently the Caldwell school district has been debating the issue of school uniforms. This has caused quite a stir in the district, perhaps because they were so open about it, or maybe simply because of the make up of the district, I don't know. But the latest attempt at comprise, a more restricted dress code, doesn't seem to be much of an answer to me

The whole point of a school uniform...read more

You know how you get those emails all the time, forward, forward, forward, passed from people to people all over the country? Well, I receive a lot of those in the political vein (my friends know me well) and several months ago I got one that totally resonated with me. It wasn't necessarily political, but it made an impact on me that I have been unable to shake.

As always with most of these...read more

Remember when the Beach Boys used to sing "I wish they all could be California girls?" Well today, being the quintessential gorgeous blonde from California isn't enough, if you have conservative values that is.

I realize this issue has been beat to death, but I can't quit thinking about it! The recent storm brought on by the highly personal question presented by Perez Hilton at...read more

It is all around us in the news. Cuts in pay, across the board, selective, this program, that division, it all adds up to one thing. People are being forced to make sacrifices to save their job

When I hear employees grumble and argue about how unfair they think it is, or unions refuse to cooperate with a company by allowing wages or benefits to be reduced, I think how sad it is that people can only...read more