Ron.... Please don't blog about me... Ever....

I was reading the online version of the RJ today, when I saw this breaking news. I referred back to the other Ron manbloggers site to look up an old blog that I remembered. I remember it because when I read it I didn't know who Billy May was. Read Rons blog at this link (I don't know how to show the click here button)

http://soswift2.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-does-he-yell-at-me.html
Now I don't know if Ron has a Billy May voodoo doll, or it is just coincidental that this untimely death also was part of a blog.

While looking for the Billy blog I ran across this old blog in his archive. I have to ask, Who writes about Michael J. This is kind of freaking me out and I think I might need to block the other manblogger from the site.

http://soswift2.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-more-michael-jackson.html

They say it comes in threes, so if I see an update on his site that even mentions my name, I'm off to get that male stewardess job and not looking back. I have also stopped my search of his blog in fear that I might find something about Farah Faucet, Ed McMahon, Danny Ganns, or anyone else that recently passed.

The night they stole 2 of my trucks

I read Carol (The queen of the bloggers) blog about how someone tried to steal their truck the other night. It brought back the memories of having the same thing happen to me a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago I was in need of a new truck. I began the process of test driving, comparing prices, looking up charts on gas mileage and all the other things that a good OCD would do. I was working myself into misery because I couldn't decide and I hated not being able to know what truck was best and how much was too much to pay. Sunday morning Kathy went to get something from my personal truck, she came back in the house and said,"OK, where is the truck". I think she thought that I had done something stupid and bought one the night before after staying out late test driving them. (This wouldn't be the first time this had happened".
When she questioned me about the truck I thought that she was messing with me. I went out in the driveway to look for my Dodge, but it wasn't there. I called the police, but they needed more information on it than I had on hand. Kathy went to the office to get the file, I took Mandy to a violin performance. I was in the church lobby waiting for Mandys group to finish, when Kathy called me and asked me why the gate to the office yard was open. She looked around and realized that one of our work trucks was also missing. I was confused, who has two trucks stolen in one night, and what would the coincidence be if they were from two different people.
Ironically we had just purchased a gps tracking system for all of our work vehicles. I called Travis and he immediately came down to the office to help me track down the missing work truck. I thought maybe the guys had snuck it out for the weekend to do a side job and that is why it was gone. Determined to find out what was going on Travis gave directions to the place where the truck was. It was parked next to a soccer field, but the Trailer that was usually hooked to it was not there. I decided to go back to the office to call both trucks in as stolen when Travis called and said that the truck was in motion. I followed his directions thinking that I was going to have to go into the ghettos of Las Vegas to recover it, instead it headed to the gate just outside of Painted Desert Country club, not too far from my house. When I got to the truck it was now parked next to my plumbing trailer as well. The police showed up, and told me that there really wasn't anything they could do if the people who stole it were not actually in it or observed in it. They told me that I could either leave it reported as stolen or take possession of it because they could not stay there all day to observe it. I told them that I could. As I stood there next to the police car with it's lights on and me by the front, I realized how close to my house this actually was, when half of my ward started driving by on their way to church. I had some pretty strange looks and a couple people that stopped to see if everything was alright.
The police left, I found a place down street that I could observe the truck and with determination decided that I would wait for as long as it took. Within a couple of hours I saw a couple of bozos come out of the country club gates in a little purple sports car and walk up to the trailer and truck. I waited until they started hooking up the trailer before I decided to get a closer look. I called the police, told them that the thief's were at the vehicle. I started the car and drove towards the country club Kleptomaniacs. I thought I was smooth as I slowly rolled past the truck and tried to write the license number down. I pushed too hard on the paper and accidentally honked the horn as I drove by. I went around the corner and waited for the thief's to start the truck or the police to show up. When the truck came around the corner with trailer in tow, I started to follow. I promise that I would not make a great P.I. because one look at me sitting in my car and the thief's knew that I was following. I didn't care, I was ticked and I wanted to bust them. I followed the truck, the purple sports car took off in a different direction. The idiot in the truck tried to shake me "He was driving my truck with a trailer this would not be difficult. I followed him into a cul-de sac and pinned him in in Kathy's little Mazda. The guy looked at me and bolted from the truck. 911 told me not to pursue him, so I took off around the corner in my car to see if I could see where he was running to. When I drove around the corner I almost ran in to the purple sports car. I blocked him in, He backed up I rolled forward. Finally he got out of his car and began to beg to "work something out". I told him to get back into the car, "I had promised 911 that I wouldn't confront him, but I was close to pounding the guy. He jumped back in his car and nearly tore his oil pan off to trying to get away from me.
I went back to the truck and by this time there were 4 cop cars and a helicopter looking for the guys. Kathy was driving to church and saw the truck the police and her new Mazda, She looked at Mandy and said "is that my husband?" Ultimately we were able to give the cops enough info to make an arrest and i got my piece of crap work truck and trailer back.

The next day I got a call from Metro saying that they had found my Dodge and I could come recover it. When I showed up there was an officer going through the truck, I'm sure he was interested in the pile of new car brochures, because he asked me "How I thought the truck got there". Being a smart a$$ I told him my theory. I said "I think the thief's came into my neighborhood and took the truck from our dark street, They drove it about a mile and a half to a street that had lights on it, When the lights reflected off of the truck they realized that they were in a Dodge, and in embarrassment fled the scene leaving the truck behind." The policeman didn't find this to be funny. I was the main suspect for a while, but eventually everything went away when they realized I had no reason to steal my own truck, and it truly was a coincidence that I had two trucks stolen in one night, from two different areas, by two different people.

Cats and Butterflies

I stumbled across some information on the web about Cats and butterflies that I thought was pretty interesting. This comes from essortment


Cats were first domesticated over 5000 years ago and have since became one of the most popular pets in the world. In several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, there are more cats than any other pet. Domestic cats now live on every continent except Antarctica and have evolved into over fifty distinct breeds.
Cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians around 3000 BC by accident. Ancient Egyptians stored their food in woven baskets and their storage
areas were infested with rodents. The rodent problem was quite a plague; much of the Egyptians' food and grains were eaten or destroyed by the rodents, who easily chewed through the reed containers. Rats and mice swarmed the Egyptian cities, and with no traps, poisons or other devices to fight against the rodent population, there was not much the Egyptians could do about it. At some point the African Wildcat, a small yellow cat with black stripes, the ancestor of modern day domestic cats, began coming into the cities to feast on the abundance of rodents. The Egyptians welcomed their new neighbors when they realized that the Wildcats were killing off the rodents. Many people began leaving small scraps of food outside their houses to encourage the Wildcats to hunt at their home. The cats soon began to stay in the cities because there they had more than enough to eat. The cats were also protected from being hunted because their predators in the wild would not dare come near humans. The cats and humans seemed to be well matched for each other.
google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);
It was in this simple beginning that the relationship between cats and humans began. Most likely, Egyptians began letting the Wildcats into their homes, where they allowed them to stay to protect the food from rodents. Soon after their initial domestication, the people probably began petting and stroking the beautiful animals, and cats, being naturally affectionate animals, loved the attention.
One would imagine that it would not be long after this that the Egyptians would discover the secret of the cat: it’s purr. Undoubtedly, the Egyptians saw a mystical quality in the purr of the cat. One Ancient Egyptian medicinal text states that a purring cat could induce a more restful and tranquil sleep.
It is unknown when the Egyptians began considering the cat as the embodiments of their gods, but it was sometime after the domesticated African Wildcat had evolved into new species and became the Egyptian Mau. Some speculate that the cats destroying the plague of rodents that afflicted the Ancient Egyptians is what led to them holding cats with such high regard. In Ancient Egypt killing a cat was a crime punished by immediate death. When cats died they were mummified the same as humans were and the cats were buried with mummified mice and rats as well as saucers and food.
For a long time, Egypt had held a strict rule that cats could not leave the country. Despite this rule, some people took the risk and smuggled cats to Europe and Asia. At a later date, the cat population probably got very large because cats reproduce quickly and because all cats in Egypt lived a long and healthy life. It was probably around this time that the Egyptians began selling cats to the Romans, the Gaels, the Celts and later to Europeans and the cat population began to spread worldwide.
The Middle Ages in Europe were a bad time for cats. Unlike the Egyptians who considered cats to be god-like, Europeans saw them as evil demons and witches’ black magical assistants. Cats driven away, beaten, and killed by the gothic people of Europe, and the cat population was nearly wiped out. Luckily, the hate for cats ended when the witch-hunting ceased in Europe, and once again, cats became a popular house pet.
Cats began being illegally smuggled to Asia soon after they were domesticated in Egypt. The Asians immediately loved cats and began breeding them right away. There are several distinct breeds of cats that were first produced in Asia, such as the Siamese, the Balinese, and the Himalayan. Other areas of the world have local distinctive breeds of cats, some of which have been produced by man. The Persian cat was developed in the Persian Gulf; the British Shorthair and Longhair were first bred in the UK; the Maine Coon in the new American colonies. Other breed came about as spontaneous genetic mutations, such as the American Curl cat, a breed characterized by how the ears fold back into a curl. The American Curl first appeared spontaneously in a litter of kittens on a New York State Farm. Still other breeds came about when domesticated cats were moved to a new location, later abandoned, and became feral, such as the Norwegian Forest Cat, a woolly breed native to the cold forests of northern Europe.

Butterflies
These are some very fun and interesting facts about butterflies that I found on a sight called the butterfly sight.

Fun Butterfly Facts:
We have gathered some strange butterfly facts to share with you. Amaze your friends! Enjoy!
Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.
Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.
Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour!
Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return to the north again in the spring.
Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.
Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera have been found.
There are about 24,000 species of butterflies. The moths are even more numerous: about 140,000 species of them were counted all over the world.
The Brimstone butterfly (Gonepterix rhamni) has the longest lifetime of the adult butterflies: 9-10 months.
Some Case Moth caterpillars (Psychidae) build a case around themselves that they always carry with them. It is made of silk and pieces of plants or soil.
The caterpillars of some Snout Moths (Pyralididae) live in or on water-plants.
The females of some moth species lack wings, all they can do to move is crawl.
The Morgan's Sphinx Moth from Madagascar has a proboscis (tube mouth) that is 12 to 14 inches long to get the nectar from the bottom of a 12 inch deep orchid discovered by Charles Darwin.
Some moths never eat anything as adults because they don't have mouths. They must live on the energy they stored as caterpillars.
Many butterflies can taste with their feet to find out whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be their caterpillars' food or not.
There are more types of insects in one tropical rain forest tree than there are in the entire state of Vermont.
In 1958 Entomologist W.G. Bruce published a list of Arthropod references in the Bible. The most frequently named bugs from the Bible are: Locust: 24, Moth: 11, Grasshopper: 10, Scorpion: 10, Caterpillar: 9, and Bee: 4.
People eat insects – called "Entomophagy"(people eating bugs) – it has been practiced for centuries throughout Africa, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and North, Central and South America. Why? Because many bugs are both protein-rich and good sources of vitamins, minerals and fats.
YOU can eat bugs! Try the "Eat-A-Bug Cookbook" by David George Gordon , 10 Speed Press. Don’t want to cook them yourself? Go to HotLix for all sorts of insect goodies! My favorites are "Cricket-lickit’s" – a flavored sucker with a real edible cricket inside.
Many insects can carry 50 times their own body weight. This would be like an adult person lifting two heavy cars full of people.
There are over a million described species of insects. Some people estimate there are actually between 15 and 30 million species.
Most insects are beneficial to people because they eat other insects, pollinate crops, are food for other animals, make products we use (like honey and silk) or have medical uses.
Butterflies and insects have their skeletons on the outside of their bodies, called the exoskeleton. This protects the insect and keeps water inside their bodies so they don’t dry out. Fun Butterfly Facts:
We have gathered some strange butterfly facts to share with you. Amaze your friends! Enjoy!
Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.
Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.
Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour!
Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return to the north again in the spring.
Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.
Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera have been found.
There are about 24,000 species of butterflies. The moths are even more numerous: about 140,000 species of them were counted all over the world.
The Brimstone butterfly (Gonepterix rhamni) has the longest lifetime of the adult butterflies: 9-10 months.
Some Case Moth caterpillars (Psychidae) build a case around themselves that they always carry with them. It is made of silk and pieces of plants or soil.
The caterpillars of some Snout Moths (Pyralididae) live in or on water-plants.
The females of some moth species lack wings, all they can do to move is crawl.
The Morgan's Sphinx Moth from Madagascar has a proboscis (tube mouth) that is 12 to 14 inches long to get the nectar from the bottom of a 12 inch deep orchid discovered by Charles Darwin.
Some moths never eat anything as adults because they don't have mouths. They must live on the energy they stored as caterpillars.
Many butterflies can taste with their feet to find out whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be their caterpillars' food or not.
There are more types of insects in one tropical rain forest tree than there are in the entire state of Vermont.
In 1958 Entomologist W.G. Bruce published a list of Arthropod references in the Bible. The most frequently named bugs from the Bible are: Locust: 24, Moth: 11, Grasshopper: 10, Scorpion: 10, Caterpillar: 9, and Bee: 4.
People eat insects – called "Entomophagy"(people eating bugs) – it has been practiced for centuries throughout Africa, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and North, Central and South America. Why? Because many bugs are both protein-rich and good sources of vitamins, minerals and fats.
YOU can eat bugs! Try the "Eat-A-Bug Cookbook" by David George Gordon , 10 Speed Press. Don’t want to cook them yourself? Go to HotLix for all sorts of insect goodies! My favorites are "Cricket-lickit’s" – a flavored sucker with a real edible cricket inside.
Many insects can carry 50 times their own body weight. This would be like an adult person lifting two heavy cars full of people.
There are over a million described species of insects. Some people estimate there are actually between 15 and 30 million species.
Most insects are beneficial to people because they eat other insects, pollinate crops, are food for other animals, make products we use (like honey and silk) or have medical uses.
Butterflies and insects have their skeletons on the outside of their bodies, called the exoskeleton. This protects the insect and keeps water inside their bodies so they don’t dry out.

What do you do when you run out of words?

So a few of you may have noticed that my blogging has become more infrequent lately. It is not that I don't enjoy logging on and reading, I just have had a hard time wanting to write anything down. I wish I could make myself write funny and witty things all the time. I wish there were more impressive and things that I could write about, but I am afraid that this is not the case as of late. I really enjoyed reading the comments on my last blog, Stephanie's comment from Grandma M was inspiring, and I liked Allis comment about just making it happen. Carol wrote a whole blog with some great photos and stories to accompany them. Ron left us hanging waiting to know what the inside story of his quote is.
I really appreciate it when people take the time to comment on the things that I write, it makes me feel as if occasionally the things that I write have meaning for someone out there.
Lately it has been difficult to write because mentally I just feel worn out from the stress of trying to survive a recession in one of the hardest hit industries out there. I spoke with a friend of Darren's on the phone the other day that is also in a construction related business, he made the comment that "the lights might be dim, but at least they are on".
One client that owes me a fairly large sum of money made the comment that he is happy that he is only losing $30,000 dollars per month. I had to ask how this could be a good thing, and he said that he had a million dollar inventory that he is whittling away from. My thought was, "then take a loan against it and pay me my money".
Today I spoke with a client on the phone, she wants me to come and remodel a small home that they had bought for their daughter to live in. Her husband had a large company and came down with a disease that has changed his ability to reason like he used to. They are going to put their custom dream home on the market and move into the smaller one.
It is hard to stay positive when faced with daily stories like this, but I keep telling myself that if the biggest and most powerful companies are struggling through this, then maybe I shouldn't feel bad that I don't have everything figured out. I know that I am supposed to count my blessings, and I do, but don't get me wrong, I would like to occasionally be able to count my money and find that there is some left over for me.
Enough about the negative. My next post will be about butterflies and kitty cats. I promise that I will find something positive to write about.

So what is the Best saying, anyways?

So my last post has me thinking. Everybody has a favorite saying, but what is it, and why is it the favorite. Some sayings are deep and profound like the one that Carol let out a while back. I think it went something like this....

I know things could always be worse, blah, blah, blah, but I go home to my crap and you go home to yours.

Scott Jacobs seems to like the direct approach of "Life sucks, and then you die!"

While Cherise is into funny with ," sometimes I listen to you and all I hear is Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit!" -My friend Gordon talking to his wife.

Then you have the noble notable people who have truly inspirational sayings like.
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life Winston Churchill


So Let's hear it, what is the best saying and why.

Life is Life.

Many years ago when I was younger and just starting my own business, I was at an office picking up some stuff for a couple of jobs that I had to do. The business was ran by a family that seemed to be happy. The phone was ringing, a few customers were calling and chewing them out and the overall mood was less that pleasant. I'll never forget looking over at the Mom who was at wits end with the whole situation and remember watching her lean back in her chair, contemplate her next words, and while looking up at the ceiling in near tears hearing her say these words that somehow have always stuck in my head when I have one of those days. What did she say? It was profound, and completely true. She said "Life is Life".

I thought it was such a deep statement that I thought about having it made up as a desktop plaque that would serve as a reminder. Shortly after that I was saddened to hear that E. and H. were splitting up after 18 something years of marriage. She went on to become a stewardess on an airline and enjoyed her new found freedom of traveling the states and not being tied to a job that she hated.

When you really think about it, Life is life. Nothing more, nothing less. For some people life is a fantastic adventure, for others it is pure misery and the sooner they can get through it the better off things are. When things happen, how much of it is fate, and how much is self inflicted?

What can be done to change it. The other day I watched the show "The Butterfly Effect" on TV. It was a pretty dark show, but I was intrigued with the message of how every time the main character tried to change things in the future by altering the past things kept getting progressively worse.

This whole recession thing has been such a bummer, because just when I think I have it figured out, something changes and I am left to feel like I am back to square one. I am so thankful that during these times of trials I have my family, otherwise I would probably have be an airline steward somewhere, flying around the country right now.

You have got to see this.

I have tried until I am blue in the face to upload Jeff's Valedictorian speech and song from Graduation. I finally have given up, until Mandy showed us this recording of the song on You Tube.
If you haven't seen it, please check it out. It was awesome. I might be a little biased, but it was so cool to see Jeff and Danniel have this opportunity to perform and do so well. I still can't believe that they can get up and do this in front of a packed arena.
This was the song I was trying to post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXLUcd2CYho

This is the same song, but Kathy recorded it from off the big screen and is shot from different angles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHRVye_WVxU&feature=channel


Here is Jeffs speech. I thought it had a very positive message. I think it will be interesting for him to look back on this years from now and see how accurate some of his points were.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRtcTTXv5pg

Please let us know what you think:) We are proud of you Jeff and Danniel