EPCOT flower show

Sunday we went to EPCOT at Disney World. they are having their flower show going on at this time. I love the garden show they have a bunch of toparies out of some of the Disney characters of course my favor tie was the pixie hollow, with Tinker bell and her other pixies. they have been having all these old bands from the sixties. I missed Davy Jones had to go to North Carolina, That was very sad. They had Paul Revere and the Raiders, that would have been fun too and Herman the Hermits. This Sunday they had The British Invasion and these are guys who imitate the Beatles. It was so neat there were all these people singing along with these guys old Beatle songs. I loved it. I took some video and if can figure out how to get it to work i will post the video. You may hear me singing along so sorry.

Yesterday i picked up my little girl miss gidget now those who have been falling this knows this little girl has had like three different names but this one i think fits. She is settling in nice with the family. Snoop is happy to have other dogs around. Taz has a playmate and i have another girl in the family. :) This should be fun.

Today because i did not have anything better to do, not really because i could not find my social security card i had to go down to the social security office and wait an hour and a half to request a new one and get a letter saying i am getting one. It was an interesting hour n half, and i had a nice talk with some people, so the hour was not too bad. There was on older couple there with their son they had just moved her about 8 months ago from New York , The were originally from Porto Rico. Two guys came in an army recruiter and a new recruit. . The old guy from Portia Rica was retired military army and he was saying how good they have it in the Army now. he was funny he fought in Viet Nam and he had a lot of opinions about stuff. I asked him if he would like to see Portia Rica become a state he said yest they should. Believe it or not the recruiters who came in was also from Portia Rica and he also agreed. They were telling me about the health care over there. He said his wife broke her leg and she had to wait five days to see a doctor. I asked if they had Universal heath care there. he said yes it is no good. No kidding. I have taken care of more people from Canada and other places who have that system and they say the same thing. You had better hope Obama does not get his way on this subject. I think people should have health care but i do not think the universal health care is the way to go. Do you know if you are 71 and need dialysis you cannot receive it in England you are too old. I do not know about you. But the closer get to 71 the younger it looks and if i was still a thriving adult i would not like someone telling me i cannot get something i know that will save my life. okay that is my soap box for the day. Peace,

Thursday April 23

Thursday was the D day, Taz got snipped, i went for my job interview, and Ian went with his Dad to see what he did.

My job interview went well and so to celebrate i went to one of my favorite spots to shop here in Orlando. It is a little town called winter Park and they have the neatest store there that is a combination wine and pet gift store.

I thought i would share with you Winter Park , The roads are paved with brick, and they have stores like Gap, and Restoration hardware, in old store fronts. They have really good sidewalk restaurants one of them has turkish cusine.

I have only been to three stores and one restaurant there is so much more to see there. I will get to know more of it as time goes on for now though Bullfish the store i told you about is one of my favorite stores of course i have not found a quilt store yet.

Taz came out of his operation without any problems he is a hoot. So as you can see what started so depressing came out to be a week of mixed emotions and ups and downs .

Peace,

Tuesday April 21

Today started out kind of depressing then got better. about a month ago i had gotten this email from the breeder we got Taz from Michelle. She said she had a female and would i be interested in her. At the time i said no because i just could not think of getting another pup with Taz and all that was going on.

The minute i told her no i regretted it. Then on Tuesday i was looking at the puppy website because i had a deposit on a puppy that would be born sometime in late May.

There was the puppy i had turned down for sale again this time a lot less expensive did not realize that at first she just was so pretty and what i had wanted so I called Michelle and sure enough she was available for a lot less. then as we got to talking we found out she was the pup i had turned down a month ago. wow i guess she was meant to be.

Funny how things work out.

On Tuesday night Taz graduated from puppy obedience school , that was fun we got to see all the dogs we had seen the first night at orientation before we had broken into three different classes.

I took some pictures of Taz and Boomer who is a standard aussie, he is also a month younger that Taz.

Tuesday i also got a call to go and interview for a job so Tuesday made up a lot for Monday.

Monday April 20

Monday did not start out well as you know we lost fergie . We are missing her so much. Snoop is walking around going where did everyone go?

Sunday April 19

the next four blogs are going to be about this week so much happened that i have to make like three or more blogs.

Sunday 4/19 it was Blast off. It was Ian's scout troop day to launch the rockets they had been working on.

It was a beautiful day not too hot a beautiful spring day here in Florida. The festivities got off with the judging of the Rockets for the best in show, most orginal , so on.

There was a Rocket made to look like a pencil that got most orginal , everyone was talking about it. Ian made his to look like the army missile.

Ian's rocket did really well did so well it went up on the roof at the YMCA, but one of the scout masters saved the day, and got it off the roof for Ian, it is now displayed with pride in his room.

It was a lot of fun to watch all the Rockets go off and we only had one dud.

Fergie 1995-2009

this morning sometime around 4 this morn i lost my dog Fergie. Fergie was the mom of Snoop, Mischief, and blossom. The two girls died like two years ago living to the ripe old age of 11/12 years. Blossom went first , she died of kidney failure. We saw the same kind of symptoms this weekend in Fergie. She was 14 years old and sometimes no most of the time she could be a pain in the ass, but you never could resist that cute little body and her elf like look, looking up at you.

I had bought her right after Erin had hit Melbourne, my kids had just came from the mall and said they saw the cutest corgi puppy, and that i should come and see her. Long story short we brought Fergie home the next day. She was a force to reakon with from day one. She was short and fast.

I remember when i was trying to sell our house in Melbourne she would not come to me to get into the Van so we could hide before the realtor came with clients. she hid in these bushes that she knew i hated to get into because of snakes i was chasing her all around and here came the clients watching me chase this little dog all over the place she was fast.

We had gotten her at first because we thought it would be cool to raise corgis, we soon changed our mind and Stryker had only one testicle. so we never really worried about her getting pregnant. Well guess what she did , she had five puppies only three survivied. I remember trying to save the life of the two little ones we did all sorts of things to keep them alive but they died on the way home. Fergie had to have a Csection and we had her and Stryker fixed.

The three puppies that survivied were cute. We were going to keep one the only boy snoop, and sell the two girls, but we ended up falling in love with all of them and could not face the thought of seperating the family up. so we had granny Nana, Stryker the dad , Fergie the mom , and the three babies, MIshcief, Blossom, and Snoop. We had five red dogs and one black cocker spaniel. We were a site whenever we would go out .

Fergie and Nana had thier issues, Fergie did not like Nana trying to take over puppies how different is that from real life :).

Fergie and snoop had their issues today Snoop has been walking around looking for Fergie he knows she is gone.

Fergie had a way of taking on the mom of the group. she would mother and clean up someone if they needed to be.

She had been sick for a week we had took her to the Vet twice and they just scratched their head not really knowing what it was that she had.

I knew she looked just like Blossie did before she died. Her Kidneys are failing. She since Satruday could not get up on her own. We knew we were losing her.

Taz the new baby must have known his adopted mom was not doing well , because he brought his favorite ball down in front of her and left it there.

This morning he went and looked for her she was not there.

She died sometime this early morn i had been with her off and on most of the night. So we think she passed the last time i had been with her doing the early morn.

We are going to miss Fergie she could be a pain in the ass at times or she could be the neatest thing ever and always wanting your attention.

I hope she is having fun with Nana , Blossom and Mischief, i know they have been waiting for her over the bridge.

Bye Fergie , we loved you and we are going to miss you.

Peace.

getting old

there is a saying out there that says Whatever you do to your body in your 20's you will pay for it in your 50's. I have had a little confirmation of that saying lately.

In my youth i was a lifeguard, and I taught swimming lessons. I hated sunglasses and never wore sun screen. I was not a sun worshiper, unless there was a cute guy to talk too or friends to hang out with. I was never one who just layed out in the sun to get a "tan".

I lived in Turkey for two years and i taught swimming lessons, and walked everywhere , you could not hide from the sun there.

I know that is where all my sun damage came from. I have already had one cancerous lesion cut off my back.

So the other day i went in for my annual eye exam, my eyes are just bad enough to have to wear reading glasses but lateley i feel like they have gotten worse. The doctor informed me i have the start of some cataracts not bad enough to do anything but they are there. I am thinking oh great, he asked me if i spent a lot of time out in the sun when i was younger. Yes I did . Well that is why you have them sun damage.

On the postive side to all of this, I now have contact lenses and i love them i just need to learn how to put them on faster i am up to fifteen minutes. For some reason the right is harder than the left. The First time it took me 2 1/2 hours to put them in.

Oh my gosh the things i can see, i Love it.

I see the world more clearer now :)

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H.O.M.E. is Helping Others Make The Effort In Osceola County
Posted by Patrick O'Brien on October 10, 2008 at 5:28pm
View Patrick O'Brien's blog


As I was watching another week of news reporting on the ugliness in the political race, The Dow dropping to a 50 year low, and yet another financial CEO receiving a golden parachute for hand delivering our communities into financial chaos, I became very frustrated. Then Brian Williams from NBC’s Nightly News signed off saying if all of the bad news has got you feeling bad tune into Thursday night’s edition of Saturday Night Live for a laugh it may not solve the problems, but I guess it can’t hurt.
While laughter is always helpful in times of crisis, there are groups like H.O.M.E. (Helping Others Make the Effort) who are working to create a positive change in local communities with real solutions.
H.O.M.E. began during the late 1990’s when the City of Kissimmee invited the community to develop a strategic plan to assist its homeless residents in becoming self sufficient. This plan created the non-profit group Helping Others Make the Effort that helps break the cycle of homelessness by providing housing and life skills to homeless women and their children.
The planning group formalized their structure and long-term commitment to the project by organizing as a program of Transition House, a local nonprofit who had been part of the planning process. In doing so, HOME would be able to pursue grants and benefit from Transition House’s oversight, credibility, and experience as a social service organization.
After several years of careful planning and discussion about how to best serve the homeless and the larger community, the group arrived at the decision to develop a campus where homeless women and their children could live as they worked towards becoming self-sufficient. The campus was imagined as a place where families would spend about a year living in a supportive environment and receiving assistance with employment, financial management, and other issues. It was envisioned that the campus would be a vibrant place that would empower its residents and enlist the support of many community entities. The campus would be the first of its kind in Osceola and a model for other communities.
Months of searching for the perfect location finally yielded a 5 acre parcel owned by the City of Kissimmee and located centrally on John Young Parkway. The city agreed to sign a long-term lease with HOME, grants were written, and the project began in earnest. In 2006, HOME received its 501(c)(3) status, meaning that the organization could apply for grants as a stand-alone organization. HOME received several grants to fund the effort and construction began in earnest.

They have several programs to assist women and their children from continuing in the cycle of homelessness. The signature HOME Residential Program has fifteen apartment units where homeless families reside while participating in up to 18 months of on-site life skills training, counseling, and intensive case management. Upon graduation, clients will move to independent housing in the community and will receive post-placement case management.
HOMELite provides case management and life skills education to clients who are not in urgent need of housing but could greatly benefit from HOME’s life skills education component. The curriculum, which is delivered in various settings (such as in or near motels where clients reside), is designed to boost financial literacy, employability, and housing stability.
HOMEBase works to identify and place families into housing units available on the open market. Once families are placed, HOME provides case management and some financial assistance. Clients are admitted to HOMEBase either by graduating from the residential program or by completing 60 days of HOMELite and rating high enough on the self sufficiency scale that the client will be successful in scattered site housing with minimal supervision. This program serves families who have a low housing urgency and low services need but will not thrive or become totally independent without housing assistance.
HOMEFast was first made possible by a grant from the Celebration Foundation, and provides case management and emergency funding for families experiencing a short term crisis that put them at risk of becoming homeless.
HOME currently serves 12 women and 34 children with their residential program and receives about 80 calls per month from families needing assistance in the community. You can help HOME and put a real face on homelessness by helping to teach a life skills class, walking in the upcoming community awareness walk or donating to the clothes closet, food pantry or general fund.
With additional community support HOME is looking to build more residential housing and a family nurturing center that would house a 24-hour day-care center.

We currently have political candidates who are spending over $17 million a week in political advertising while around 900 school age children remain homeless in Osceola County alone!

Of calls for assistance received by HOME in Nov./ Dec. 2007, the most common needs were for affordable/low income/subsidized housing (28%), transitional housing (23%), emergency shelter (16%), and rent deposit assistance (16%).
Central Florida we can’t expect our politicians to make the effort if we don’t do the same. Positive change starts at home, so you can Help Others Make the Effort by donating your time, skills and resources to this fantastic organization. Let’s put a real face on homelessness and stop the cycle!

Patrick O’Brien
Tags: assistance, county, homelessness, income, low, osceola
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HOME

Today was my day to volunteer.  I have been working with this volunteer agency HOME it means Helping others Make effort.  It is for families, single moms , single dads with kids.  People who have a job but cannot afford a place to live.  

The rule is that they have to have a job in order to be allowed in this place.  they are allowed to stay one year while they get their feet on the ground.  There are 17 apartments everytime a new resident moves in they are painted and look brand new.  A local Furniture company donates the new furniture each time. 

There are classes they have to attend to help them get them with what ever they need help with.  After a year or sooner they have a graduation.  This week they had four families graduate from the program. 

Today i volunteered to help put spruce up the area, a playground was put in a walk way , a community garden and other neat stuff.   

The main reason why it was today was because a volunteer organization called Project Orange came today to make this all happen.  This year it was a group of marketing execs from the pharmaceutical  company called glaxosmith Kline.  

There were 800 people there today, they were here for a conference and one of the days they take to volunteer at some organization this year was HOME's time. 

It was aw some to see a big field cleaned up and transformed into a playground , community garden , garden walkway, and picnic area.   

My job was to be hostess , i made sure the ice chests were full, answer questions, clean up , make sure the volunteers were happy people. 

I will in the future be teaching classes once a month at this place to the women there.  As well as other things they find me to do. 

I am enclosing pictures of today, as well as the web site to the place if you want more info.

It was just neat to see all those people from all over the United States coming in and helping  people they did not even know.

It was a perfect day too, the weather was just perfect, yesterday we had all these storms and damaging winds, and today it was beautiful.  

A beautiful day for a beautiful project. :)  

Peace. 

Happy Easter from Florida

Greetings to everyone from Florida. Hope everyone is having a great Easter. I am having a quiet one , waiting right now for the green beans to defrost a little to make the famous green bean cassarole.

Ian had a good Easter he got a nano, I downloaded some stuff for him he was glued to it for awhile. then he got to spend a couple of hours in the pool.

I have been watching off and on the events surrounding the Captain that was kinappped and the pirates. I have one question where is the UN in all of this?

I am totally grateful that it ended with some of the bad guys gone and the captain is safe. Yeah to our Navy!!!

This Easter was a good one.

MY LIfe

My life these days has felt like a rollar coaster. I can say that without any hestitaiton because i was just on one not too long ago.
My sewing Room is still not done it still looks like a Roller Coaster went through it. This is usually the first room i have done, because the room is not finished i have now sewn anything since i left Nebraska almost a year ago.

Sewing was my way of relieving my stress, i would like to say it took the place of eating but it did not. It however make me not think of food and food was not my best freind. Like it is now.

A lot has happened since moving here to Florida some wonderful and some not so wonderful. Now i have to get serious about finding a job , i have been mostly applying for jobs on the internet, but i think it is time to start hitting the streets with resume in hand.

they say that respective employers are not supposed to ask you for your age but you know when they ask you for the year you graduate do you not think that gives your age away. I mean i gradauted from high school in 1974 unless i was a child genius i have to be at least in my late forties and early fifties. So why not just ask you for your age they know anyway.

I will keep you posted on the job front.