"My Sister Made The Front Page!"

To commemorate Obama's first 100 day's in office, our local newspaper, the Finger Lakes Times, solicited ratings from the public on how we thought Obama's job performance was during that period. We were given a 75-word limit in which to describe how we thought he had done or to mention any highlights we may have noticed during that period.

Imagine my delight when my husband brought the newspaper home, and I discovered that my sister, Carol Lee Bond Harris, had written such an awesome response that hers made the front page of the newspaper! I have mentioned before that ours is a family of writers, and now I have indisputable proof! As I was telling my husband, the only way that I will ever make the front page is if there's a murder involved...probably mine!

Here is what Carol's article said:

"So much damage in so short a time with so little effort. Millions of American dollars for foreign abortions. Increased wasteful spending on failed embryonic stem cell research, disregarding successful treatments derived from adult stem cells. Irresponsible banks and companies rewarded for their misdeeds. Our children consigned into debt for posterity to fund "spread the wealth" Big Government agenda. Reduction of missile defenses authorized following North Korea launching a missile over our allies. God help us."
Carol Lee Bond Harris of Waterloo

There were three more responses inside the newspaper as a continuation of the article, but they weren't even close to being as good as Carol's.

The response that I wrote did not get published, but if it had, then Carol and I together would have covered almost every issue that had happened within the 100 days. My response was as follows:

"Attempted multiple confirmations of tax-cheaters for Representatives; mismanaged AIG’s bailout; spending Billions of non-existent dollars; insulted British Prime Minister; escaped saluting flag and singing National Anthem at Camp Lejeune: bowed to the sovereignty of King Abdullah; classified our courageous vets as a "terrorist threat;" requested removal of IHS religious insignia at Georgetown University; delayed rescue of Captain from Somali pirates; and "unaware" of Tax Day Tea Parties translates into being out of touch. Great job."
Cynde Lou Bond Hammond of Romulus

Congratulations, Carol! You did a great job, I'm very proud of you, and I love you very much! Not only was it well-written, but it was factual and it was exactly right; you hit the nail right on the head. Way to go, girl!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Welcome, Elana!"

I'm always so excited when I discover that I have a new "follower" on one of my blogs, and today, when I signed on to add my new "Facebook Badge" on to this site, I found that I had another "follower."

Welcome to the family of "followers," Elana! I hope you'll enjoy the stories about my family, our travels, and our adventures. I plan on adding some recipes and maybe some arts and crafty things to my site in the near future, so I hope you'll feel free to comment. If you have any ideas or requests, I'd love to hear them, too. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your interest and support, and I hope we'll become good friends!

By the way, did you notice my new "favicon" that's located on the tab up above, next to my blog name? It looks like a capital letter "H" in a box, which stands for the "H" in my last name, Hammond, just like the one that is here on the right:

Until next time... stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Our Son Got Married!"

********************** Have you ever heard the phrase, "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words?" Well, I certainly think that the photo to the left, of our son, Joshua, embracing his new bride, Christina, at their marriage ceremony yesterday, qualifies as one of the pictures that are worth a thousand words, don't you agree? He looks as if he may be thinking, "She's mine now...we can do whatever we want!"







************ On Saturday, the eleventh day of April in the year of our Lord 2009, at 1:00 p.m., Miss Christina Elizabeth Scowcroft was joined in Holy Matrimony to Joshua James Hammond.






The attendees that were present to witness the blessed event, which took place at the town of Junius Court House in the State of New York, are pictured above. In addition to Judge Brian Laird, who presided over the event, from left to right they are: Chrissy's father, Terry Scowcroft; Chrissy's mother, Linda Scowcroft; Cynde (me, Josh & Jon's stepmother--but I love them as if they were my own and I hate that word step in front of mother!); Dion (my husband, Josh & Jon's father); Chrissy; Josh & Jon's grandmother, Barbara Hammond (back row, Dion's mother); Josh; Jon (our other son); and Josh's mother (Dion's "ex," also Jon's mother.)






Needless to say, Dion and I are very happy that Josh and Chrissy decided to get married before little Noah makes his entrance into the world, as there wasn't much time left to spare: he's due on the 18th of April! It's all in the Lord's perfect timing, right?

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Help! I've Fallen and I Can't... "

**********************I've fallen a few times lately, but Praise the Lord it happened in the living room where the carpet is nice and fluffy, or I could have really gotten hurt!

I never know when it's going to happen. I'll be walking along, and all of the sudden, it seems like my hip just *S*N*A*P*S*! When I take my next step...my leg is like a soup ~n~o~o~d~l~e~ and down. I. go! Keep in mind that I can't catch my fall, because it would totally destroy my hands and arms if I tried. I tried anyway, because it was an involuntary reflex...and it hurt me, but not as bad as I thought it would.

I'm very grateful, obviously. But, I knew I'd have to find a temporary solution to this problem, while I'm waiting to be able to go to physical therapy for the osteoarthritis that I have in both knees, both hips and my left shoulder. My sister, Carol, thought of getting a big ace bandage to wrap around my knee, so the next time we went shopping, we picked one up that was four inches wides. I could get one of those leg braces, but I'd have to go back to the doctor's and pay for another doctor visit. No thanks. I already have enough bills coming up. I'm contemplating going to the Chiropractic College's Health Dept. in Seneca Falls for my physical therapy, but right now, we don't have a vehicle. Not even one! My poor 1990 Cutlass Supreme L/S Oldsmobile, "Rocket," (that's what the boys named her when they were little) is ill and is waiting to be fixed.

Yes, I have had this car for nearly eleven years. Now, come on. You have to admit it. She is really beautiful, isn't she? And you should feel how she handles! It's amazing! She's been an excellent car and I love her so much. I just wish that they weren't doing away with the entire line of Oldsmobiles, but alas, that's why they are...because they last too long. They are such good cars that they don't need to be replaced as often as other vehicles do. So why not charge more, then? I would gladly have paid a higher price to have kept the line alive. They were the absolute best! They definitely made a huge mistake and I think that why they're suffering the consequences right now. "Buh-Bye, General Motors GM!"

Anyway...we're very thankful to Dion's mother for helping us out. She is so good to us. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have a mother-in-law like that. And I'm going to strive to be a blessing to Chrissy, too. Speaking of Chrissy...a little birdie told us that she and Josh got their marriage certificate. If I remember correctly, you have to use it within a month. Maybe the letter I wrote to Josh about getting married before the baby comes did some good? I hope so. I didn't want to hurt their feelings...but why start out on the wrong foot if you don't need to? The baby is due soon, so I hope they hurry.

I hope we get asked to go to their little wedding (even if it's at the Justice of the Peace), for Dion's sake, but if not, it's their decision and their day. What's important to us is that they are happy! We are so excited about the baby and want only the best for our Josh and that lovely girl that he has chosen to be his wife and life partner. Chrissy is a precious girl and I love her already. I thank the Lord that He has blessed my Josh with such a sweet, God-fearing little girl from such a nice family. I knew that He would be faithful and answer the prayers that I have prayed for Josh and Jon all these years. (Jon will be next...but years from now, I pray!) Still...it has to be harder to raise girl. I feel bad for what we put my parents through. We just didn't realize...ah, but that's another story for another day. So...

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you.