Jewelry Television

I watch Jewelry Television on channel 313 on Direct TV. I love learning about gemstones from Cheryl Ellis. I first started watching her show in the wee hours of the night in Ohio this last summer. I wanted to call in and order a gem stone parcel to try it. Later when I got back home to Oregon, I did and I was astounded at the beauty of the stones. Cheryl is intelligent and is constantly teaching.

There are so many gorgeous gemstones out there that aren't expensive. You can buy a 3.5 or 4 carat beautiful stone for $20 to have made into a ring that is genuine and you will feel proud to wear.

It seems like everyone at Jewelry Television is part of a family. I have looked at a few of the bios of several of the people who have a show. Many have advanced college degrees and have lived excited lives before coming to JTV. One of my favorites is Wendy who is an attorney and who tells great stories. Scott is enthusiastic and makes me smile. He has a masters in music.

I trust Jewelry Television. I know I won't get cheated or talked into something I don't want, when we call in. I know I will be treated fairly. I know I will receive a bargain price because they buy in quantity. It's fun to watch. You learn. You grow and the people are nice.

http://www.jtv.com/ to shop the great bargains.

It would be fun to have a show and teach people about gemstones. I would love to do this. I would love to be part of the big buying trips and go to gem shows to talk to vendors. They travel all over the world. The biggest show is in Hong Kong. How exciting!

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

On page A-6 of the Wall Street Journal today is the headline, "Where Bloomberg Fits in Election." I picked up a copy at a convenience store in Corvallis. This perked my interest since I want to see Bloomberg run as a presidential candidate in 2008. This is the first presidential election where an independent candidate can win and would generate the interest of the American people at a time where respect for Democrats and Republicans have plummeted. We need a candidate who is a proven winner and who is qualified to handle the complex problems of this time. A candidate who goes the distance and who gets the votes isn't the always the best candidate to serve in the Oval office. We need Michael Bloomberg.

Would I vote for Romney--No!
Would I vote for Clinton--No! I won't vote for Hiliary because she didn't support Al Gore as Vice President when he was serving under Bill. Gore was capable of putting together a health care program and Hiliary failed at this quest.
Would I vote for Obama--maybe but not if Bloomberg is the candidate.
Would I vote for Edwards--maybe but not if Bloomberg is the candidate. My husband, Leslie is going to vote for Edwards and believes he's the best candidate.
Would I vote for Giuliani--maybe but not if Bloomberg is the candidate.

I'm always astounded when I hear people say that they want to vote for someone because he tells jokes and is funny or will not vote for someone because they are boring. I guess this really attests to the ignorance of the voting public. There really should be a test and training for candidates who run for the office for the President of the United States. There has to be basic qualifications because the wrong decisions made out of ignorance, drives the United States off course. We need someone who is qualified, brilliant, and the best person for the oval office.

I want to vote for the best candidate for President in 2008. I want to vote for Michael Bloomberg.

Our nation is in debt billions of dollars. I believe we have reached the trillion mark. We can't afford to allow mismanagement and poor decisions to keep happening. We need someone to watch out for this once great nation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the needs of the people of the United States, and our environment. We need to make sure our vote goes to the person who is qualified to make the best decisions to get our country back on track.

The Golden Compass

Last Saturday I went to the movies to see the Golden Compass, which is now one of my favorite movies. It has it all--the adventure, intrigue, great cinematography, and great characters. This movie is a blend of fantasy, physics (quantum mechanics, string theory, and partical theory), and a tale of the consequences of what happens when one's opinion is different than the masses. I look forward to reading the next book and seeing the next movie.

Lizzy's Birthday

This is my beautiful granddaughter, Elizabeth. I call her Lizzy. She is my sunshine and makes me so happy. She's such a good little girl. She just turned three in November. I love watching her smile, laugh, discover new things, and play. She's so much fun. I would love to spend time, much more time with her.

I love you, Lizzy. You are so precious to me. You are so smart and such a good little girl. You are my sunshine.

[I have had so many problems with my computer. I've been trying to download this picture every time I get on the computer but I have dial-up, which is frustrating. In fact, I have had problems sending photos on all three of my e-mail addresses for the last two months.]

Jack's Birthday

This is Jack's birthday party. Gretchen is my daughter and is in the light blue top and Jack is my grandson. I made the blue superhero shirt he is wearing. It was a great birthday party with all the bells and whistles. All kids should be lucky enough to have parents who give their kids such a nice birthday party.

Jack is such a cutie and I love him so much. He always makes me happy. He's my sunshine. I love seeing him and spending time with him. He's fun and thoughtful, wants to help, and full of energy. He's a good little boy and is so precious to me.

You are a smart little boy, Jack. Read stacks of books and learn everything you can to get ready to be Jack who can handle anything in the world and solve any problems. You are my sunshine.

Dogs on a Leash

There are many municipal laws on the books about dogs on a leash but this law is rarely enforced. Dog owners often do not feel the need to have their dog on a leash if their dog will obey a verbal command, but is this responsible? A dog is an animal. With so many variables to distract can one be certain that their well-trained dog will not cause harm even under supposedly innocent circumstances? I am also aware how easily it would be to use a well-trained dog to accomplish a goal to cause harm and make it appear innocent.

My son, Benjamin was running in a cross country event for Seattle Running Company to get ready for the National Cross Country event in Columbus, Ohio in December. At 1K, a dog appeared out of no where and collided with my son who fell to the ground, broke his wrist, hurt his knee, and had to stop. Blood ran down both of his arms. This dog should have been on a leash. My son is an elite distance runner. This year he finished the Eugene Marathon in 2 hours and 30 minutes. He runs cross country to bring speed to his distance running. The owner of the dog who allowed his dog to be off a leash should pay for the medical bills but how do you pay for lost dreams when you are at the top of your game? This dog took away more than the running dream because it effects my son at work on the computer.

A seemingly innocent act of allowing your dog to run off leash during a 10K running event is not so innocent, in my opinion. Often I wish I had gone to law school. Attorneys are the defenders of the law and innocent victims. Yes, some attorneys bend to greed and the highest bidder but I still believe in the law and that there are attorneys out there who fight for what's right.

Penske

On the trip of a lifetime this summer, my son, Daniel drove across country from California to Ohio on I80 in a Penske moving truck. Everytime we saw a Penske truck coming our way on the freeway, we raised our arms in unison and said, PENSKE!

I'm impressed with Penske. We had zero problems and Penske made the move easier. The spacious air-conditioned cab made it easier going through hot temperatures with plenty of large cup holders for big soda pop drinks with ice. The cab had plenty of space to put some luggage or bags of books or items to keep me occupied during the trip.

Here's a photo that I took at a rest stop at the Utah salt flats. I met the nicest family at this rest stop.

Thank you, Daniel. I'll never forget the fun, the laughs in the Penske truck along I-80.

Jewelry Television

Jewelry Television on Channel 313 on Direct TV has opened my eyes to the potential of making jewelry by buying loose gems and creating your own jewelry. All gems are genuine and I'm impressed by the bargains. You can buy 25 carats of 8mm sky blue topaz for only $19.98. This is a beautiful stone and you can get it for less than a dollar a carat. This is amazing. Check it out.
www.jtv.com Such a deal!

Firefighters

On the front page of the Corvallis Gazette Times on November 24 is the headline, "Firefighters take on role in terrorism surveillance." It goes on to say that "unlike police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel don't need warrants to access hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings each year...."

The potential abuse brings to mind the book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and it makes me wonder why firefighters want their hero status scarred.

We don't seem to be the same United States of America anymore where the Constitution and Bill of Rights matter.

Merit Pay for Teachers

On the November 20th front page of the Corvallis Gazette Times [www.gazettetimes.com] the headline reads "Teacher merit pay may be on '08 ballot."

Bill Sizemore is pushing this agenda who seems to be hated by anyone who wants to make sure the money keeps coming for their own self interest.

Many say that merit pay is an enemy of public education but is it? I really wonder about teachers who are threatened by merit pay. Shouldn't the goal be to reward teachers who inspire kids and clean house of those teachers who don't? I haven't seen headlines spash across newspapers saying the education in the United States is the best in the world. Shouldn't we work hard in this country to keep reaching for the best ways to inspire students and reward it when we find teachers who do?

High Blood Pressure

A couple of weeks ago, my blood pressure was checked. It was 155 over 120. I have a headache almost all the time. I can feel the pulsing in my head. When you don't have a doctor and zero health insurance or savings, you ignore symptoms. It's too bad that people aren't valued in this country. Everyone should have access to a basic level of health care and emphasis should be placed on prevention.

Kennedy Space Center

My son, Joe is on the right. Alexander the Great, my grandson is on the left with his best friend, Chance, who is in the middle. They are visiting Kennedy Space Center.

Joe lives in Florida and is a great father. He is an Assistant Manager for Wal-Mart in one of the big stores in Orlando. Joe loves his job and loves Florida.

Leslie

My husband, Leslie has been sick all summer and ended up in the hospital on October 31 at Good Samaritan in Corvallis. He was in three different rooms. Heart disease and cancer was ruled out. The big question is what would cause a loss of blood platelets. The number was only 8,000 when he was admitted, instead of the normal range that starts at 300,000. After tests and experts for days, he was released on November 6 without answers. His doctor, Dr. Kenyan is supposed to be one of the best in Oregon who is tenacious and will not stop until answers are found so we are happy. It still might be the Valley Fever. So far we know his body is allergic to itself. He has Evans Syndrome, Eosinophilia, Lymphadenopathy, and a history of Coccidiomycosis.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints talks about family values. Presidential candidate, Romney, a Mormon, talks about family values. He is running on a platform based on family values. Sounds good....

I recently watched the PBS Frontline special, The Mormons, the last in a series inside the Mormon faith. At the beginning, Dallin H. Oaks, one of the twelve apostles said, "It's wrong to criticize leaders of the church, even if the criticism is true." He later said, "Intellectualism is a danger to the church...." Boyd K. Packer, another one of the twelve apostles said, "Gays, Feminists, and Intellectuals are enemies of the church."

This sounds a little like Hitler's Nazi empire to me. Hitler didn't like gays, feminists, and intellectuals either and we all know how that turned out. Don't think for yourself. Don't question authority figures. Don't have an opinion.

It isn't possible to hold a temple recommend, if you criticize leaders of the church or question them.

[I learned all this first hand when my husband and I were serving as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were helping people find employment on a service mission in Salem covering an eight stake area driving back and forth from Alsea on our own dime. Les finished the two year mission. I quit after six months. We saw behaviors of leaders that warranted big questions. We became members in 1995. After letters to Salt Lake City in 2001, we were shunned.]

Is this really the kind of family values that we want to teach our children? In my opinion, if doctrine can't stand light and debate, it isn't valid. If leaders aren't doing what they ought, the church should clean house. To teach vulnerable and innocent children to not question authority figures and to follow blindly is to create robot children who will fall prey to predators.

Israel

On the right is Daniel, my youngest son. In the center is Josh, his friend that he met in Israel. I met Josh. He's a great guy. Josh helped Daniel unpack the moving truck when Daniel moved to Columbus. Josh is getting his masters degree in architecture at Ohio State University. A great catch for some lucky gal out there. So is my son, Daniel.

Battelle

Here's a photo of Daniel in his office at Battelle in Mountain View, California as he is packing up his work to take to headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. I got to meet some of the amazing, talented, and brilliant people he has been working with. They are fun too with a great sense of humor. An official certificate was created, signed, dated, and given to Daniel saying that he is released from his debt of 50 million donuts promised in an e-mail. Great words of praise and expectations for Daniel were shared with me by everyone I met. Daniel was working with PhD's in CA and when he left, several said they thought he'll be President someday, not President of the US because no one would want that job, but President of Battelle. He worked hard with 12 to 18 hour days to find solutions, common ground, and answers to difficult questions as a research scientist working on projects with NASA and the airline industry as a graduate of Oregon State University. I'm very proud of the work that Daniel is doing and that he is part of Battelle. Now he's working hard in Columbus at Battelle and is now a proud Buckeye at Ohio State University working on his MBA.

I got to meet his new boss in Columbus and his two beautiful daughters. Eight year old Aleah is a beautiful blonde princess and is very precocious. She showed me her pure white teddy bear dressed in a bridal gown. His boss couldn't have been nicer or more supportive. He said that Columbus is a place to settle down and I agree that the quality of life in Columbus is excellent.

I love Columbus. I love it that you can see a Broadway play, see an exhibit on Monet at the Art Museum, listen to the symphony, visit a replica of the Santa Maria in the harbor, eat at some great restaurants, and the housing prices are reasonable. The shopping is amazing. I'm impressed with Columbus and I'm so happy for Daniel.

http://www.battelle.com/

My cousin, Victor

This is my cousin, Victor Gess who lives in Lafayette, California. Daniel and I stopped to see him before leaving California on our way to Columbus, Ohio. Victor is the son of my Dad's sister, Alma. He's an amazing man who has accomplished a lot in life. He's intelligent, political, and a strong leader. Victor is a big supporter of Hilliary Clinton, so I was interested in hearing his take on her race for the presidency. He spends a lot of time researching family geneology and has written books about our family originating from Sweden.

Daniel's Friends

These are all the great friends who came to help my son, Daniel move in Mountain View, California. Each one has an amazing career. It was so much fun to meet and talk to them all. Daniel always has the BEST friends. He sure knows the secret of how to pick great friends and attract them. Not only are they intelligent with great ideas but they have a kind and generous spirit, and work hard to acheive their goals, like Daniel who is sitting in front. I liked them all very much.

skybus.com

Skybus is the best news for consumers who fly that I've heard about in a long time. On the website it says there are ten seats on every flight for $10. Wow! That's great for someone like me who loves to travel and can plan ahead but doesn't have a lot of money to spend. Flights originate in Columbus, Ohio and fan out to cities across the country. Skybus doesn't fly into Oregon yet but I sure hope to see news of it soon.

Grades

It's great to get all A's but the most important thing is to learn the lesson in the book. To do your best and to understand it's okay to get a B once in awhile is better than to be like the student who is so consumed about getting A's that later in life he never cracks a book or cares about learning. Life happens. If you don't have lofty goals, you will never even come close to achieving them, but be kind to yourself along the way to make sure you get proper rest, exercise, healthy food, a dose of friends, and time alone to see answers. There are many lessons to learn in life and not all of them can be measured by a grade. The drive for excellence must come from within but it must be encouraged and valued.