I placed in a contest!

I entered a postcard contest & I tied for second place! I never win or even place in anything so this is huge for me.




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The cause of my husbands headaches are still currently unknown. After an MRI, an MRA & & $1000 in medical bills for those two tests...all we get are "I think the cause of your headaces are probably due to tension" Tension?!?! Thanks alot Doc! If it turns about to be something else that wasn't discovered & my hubby becomes mamed or worse...I am suing that specialist. On the other hand, I am glad it's not something serious like Cancer or an Annurisim. A $1000 bill when we were expecting a $200 bill is a tough thing to swallow. Thank God we have medical insurance.
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We are also taking TWO trips in the months ahead. We are going to San Diego to Legoland, the Whaley house, Scripps Aquarium & to Mission Beach. Bob didn't get to go anywhere on vacation...except once to Italy growing up. He is making up for vacations he missed as a kid with our children.

Later this year we are headed to Illinois to see family members. We drive straight through to Chicago & work our way down the state to see my family. The last time we saw family members in Illinois was November of 2003 so we are overdue for a visit. We were going to fly but by the time we bought tickets, dealt with ever changing air line restrictions (not good with a pre-schooler & a 1 year old) then we had to rent a car as well. We could rent a mini-van & pay for gas & still come out money ahead. That is what we are doing. My Grandmother Gaskins knows we are comming for a visit, but the T's do not yet. Of course my MIL knows as well.

Due to these two trips I must pass on trip to go with my girlfriends (no spouses or children allowed) to Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. There is no way my hubby could get the time off work to watch the girls in addition to the time off for the other 2 above mentioned trips. It stinks but it's a necessary choice & my family has to come first. It's not as if I won't enjoy our two planned trips. Since there is talk of doing a "girls only" trip every year, maybe I can go next year.

Hopefully, they caught the right guy(s)

Police Arrest 2 in Ariz. Shootings Case

By CHRIS KAHN (Associated Press Writer)

From Associated PressAugust 04, 2006 10:26 AM EDT

MESA, Ariz. - Authorities arrested two men Friday in connection with a series of fatal shootings that have terrorized Phoenix area residents for more than a year, a police spokesman said.

The men were apprehended at a gated apartment complex and were being held at Phoenix police headquarters, police Sgt. Andy Hill said.
The men were considered suspects in the "Serial Shooter" case - one of two serial killers whom authorities say have been operating in the Phoenix area.

Authorities have said that the so-called "Serial Shooter" is believed to be responsible for killing six people and wounding 17 others, mostly pedestrians and bicyclists, since May 2005.

The most recent was Sunday in Mesa when a 22-year-old woman was fatally shot as she was walking from her parents' home to her boyfriend's house, authorities said.

Fear and paranoia have gripped Phoenix neighborhoods in recent months as police linked more and more seemingly random shootings to one assailant. Investigators believe the Serial Shooter targeted people in both the western and eastern edges of Phoenix's sprawling suburbs.
Police had said they had no idea who the Serial Shooter was, what he looked like and whether he was working alone.

"I hope they got him," said Caroll Roberts, whose 19-year-old son was shot in the torso last month and survived after four hours of surgery. "I want to shoot him in the stomach to see how he'd like it, like he did my son."

Officials from several police agencies searched the apartment complex Friday morning as part of the investigation. Some used flashlights to peer through the windows of a car, which was later hauled away by a tow truck.

Television footage showed police officers carrying what appeared to be several rifles or shotguns away from the apartment. Complex resident Loraine Salyers said she lives near where police came in Friday. "I came out and there were like a hundred cops," Salyers said. I was so scared. My heart's pounding."

Phoenix police have had about 200 officers working to try to solve the Serial Shooter cases and to find a second serial killer dubbed the "Baseline Killer."

The "Baseline Killer" is believed responsible for killing seven women and one man since last September, and sexually assaulting 11 women and girls in the past year.

Authorities have said that the so-called "Serial Shooter" is believed to be responsible for three dozen shootings of people, and dogs and horses. The shootings have generally happened late at night, with no witnesses.

Robin Blasnek, 22, was gunned down at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday. Neighbors heard a shot and ran to help the young woman, but she soon lost consciousness and died at a hospital.

The shooting was linked to earlier cases because of similarities and forensic evidence, authorities said.

Blasnek's father told the East Valley Tribune that his daughter grew up as a special needs child, and lived part time with her parents in Mesa and at a group home in Tempe.

"She was just a great kid. Very, very naive, and pure as far as not understanding the dangers of the world," Steve Blasnek said. "I guess my only regret is that I didn't give her a big hug."
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On the Net:
Phoenix Police Department: Police Arrest 2 in Ariz. Shootings Case
By CHRIS KAHN (Associated Press Writer)

Mom Tracks Down Toilet-Tissue Pranksters
July 31, 2006 9:30 PM EDT
NORCO, Calif. - Teenagers who toilet-papered and damaged a home now face felony vandalism charges because of a mother's extraordinary sleuthing.
Katja Base, mother of six, was unwilling to let the teens get away with it, saying she tracked them down to teach her kids about accountability.
Base awoke one February morning to find her front lawn strewn in white two-ply toilet paper. She and husband Ken also found damaged landscaping and light fixtures as well as ruined finishes on two cars.
Dog food and flour also covered the lawn.
Realizing the sheriff's department has better things to do than track down teen pranksters, Katja Base decided to do some detective work.
"There needs to be accountability," she said. "Mainly, I pursued this as a lesson for my daughters. I don't want them to ever come to me and ask why I didn't do anything about this."
Base persuaded supermarket managers to tally daily toilet-paper buys for the week and a Stater Bros. manager said there was a run on bathroom tissue two days before her home was vandalized.
At 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, someone bought 144 rolls of toilet paper, cheese, dog food, flour and plastic forks, the same items found on her lawn and house. It was a cash transaction, making it difficult to trace the purchaser, but the store had video surveillance.
The video showed four teenagers making the purchase, one of them wearing a Norco High School letterman's jacket with a name stitched across the back. The store's parking lot surveillance camera showed the truck they were using.
Base then borrowed a Norco High yearbook and used online databases to get the name, phone numbers and addresses of the teens on the store tape.
"Her work was instrumental in helping us to identify the suspects," said Lt. Ross Cooper of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The information was eventually sent to the district attorney's office and prosecutors confirmed that about six youths were now facing vandalism charges. However, they would not release details of the case or names of the defendants because they are juveniles.
The maximum penalty for the adult would be three years in prison; the juveniles could face probation and restitution, district attorney's office spokeswoman Ingrid Wyatt said.
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Information from: The Press-Enterprise, http://www.pe.com