Happy Halloween!!

Is that creepy or what? Katie didn't want to be anything cute this year. She was Jasmine from Aladdin last year and a Hershey's Kiss two years ago. So this year she wanted to be scary. This definitely scared me. How creepy is this?? She is a spider web ghost.

Randy was putting on her black Timberland boots.

Brittanie and Randy took Katie and Randy's little brother, Blake, trick or treating in the Moss Creek subdivision in Cayce. Katie and Blake had a blast and when they were done, Brittanie and Randy took them to McDonald's for dinner. Blake went as an evil jester. Randy went as an Emo kid. Randy asked Brittanie if she was going to dress up. I told him she can go as she is and go as a tree hugger....or is that a tree hitter? I won't tell you her response to that but I'm sure you can imagine. hahaha

Wow....Democrats have sunk to an all new low!

They are now registering the mentally handicapped to vote and "assisting" them in voting. I just saw a story on WLTX and a man with the mental capacity of a 5-year-old (which arguably is most democrats) said he was helped to vote for the "president man" but when asked the name of the candidate he voted for, he didn't know. When they asked him if it was Obama, he said yes. All but one person at the center for the mentally handicapped that they were reporting on voted for Obama.

This is despicable! I can't believe anyone would use handicapped people this way. It is truly sickening. When I went looking for the story, I found that this is not an isolated incident. I found a story of a handicapped man who wanted to vote for McCain but the people who were "assisting" him pressed Obama. Why wouldn't they? Who is going to believe a "retard" right?

My party may end up losing the election but at least when we lose, we will lose knowing that we didn't use and exploit people who have diminished mental capacities. That's a horrible thing to do and I'm thrilled it wasn't my party doing it!! For all of you Obama fans or people on the fence, think before you vote. If Obama will use and exploit defenseless people like this, what do you think he is going to do to you????

Pictures of Katie and Jessica taken yesterday on her 6th birthday!

She loves Jessica!

Magooooo!

Yep, I love em!

That's it! I have had enough!!

Brittanie living in that apartment has been a nightmare because of Courtney and the nightmare continues! The cats are finally gone but Brittanie went in there today to get some clothes and the apartment still stinks. The carpets have not been cleaned. I have been told that you can't get the smell of cat urine out of carpet anyway but they didn't even make an attempt to clean it. While Brittanie was there, Courtney told her that the drunk guy that had broken into her apartment before and passed out under Brittanie's window last month, broke into their apartment again this morning, stole Courtney's keys, and stole Courtney's car and went for a drunken ride in the apartment complex parking lot and hit a tree, a sign, and the apartment manager's car, totaling Courtney's car.

I don't want to say that is good for her but it does happen when you pick loser friends!!! Before the losers that Courtney associates with end up killing or raping my daughter, she is getting OUT of there. I called my friend, who is a paralegal, and asked her what we can do to get out of that lease. She is NOT going to spend another night there. She looked it up, and told me to give the complex management written notice that Brittanie will be vacating the apartment in 14 days and list specific reasons why. They have 2 weeks to respond to me. If they don't respond, I take my letter to magistrate's court and have a judge terminate the lease. If they respond telling me they plan on fighting termination, then I go immediately to magistrates court and request that this lease be terminated. If they respond telling me they agree to terminate the lease, then I just keep written documentation of that and we are done. They know I have been kicking up dust for 2 weeks now over those cats. I think they know I am not a push over and I'm not going to stop so it would be in their best interest to let us out of that lease. But no matter what, she will NOT be spending another night in that apartment.

I could definitely see Tom doing this to me!

Update on Brittanie

The airbag burn on her forehead is gone but the one on her cheek by her left eye looked worse yesterday. Her back wasn't hurting anymore but her side was hurting her alot. I took Brittanie to the doctor yesterday to be checked out. He thinks the burn will heal. He also doesn't think her ribs are broken, just bruised. She is going to be fine but she feels like a fish out of water without her car.

Hopefully our insurance will call us today and let us know if the car is totaled or not. We are pretty sure they are going to total it so we have started thinking about what to do next. I hate buying used cars. My parents always told me never to buy used cars because you are buying someone else's problems. But Tom doesn't agree. But in this case he is right. We should have bought her a used car to begin with. A low mileage used car may be the right way to go this time around.

Pumpkin

After we left the scene of the accident, we went by Brittanie's apartment to get some of her stuff so she could stay with us for awhile longer. Jessica went in with her and she said the smell was horrible and there was cat feces everywhere. Obviously! Cats don't want to use a nasty litterbox. We think the cats are finally gone but the mess they made remains. Courtney is going to have to shampoo every inch of carpet in that apartment or they will do it for her.

I mentioned on a previous post about Courtney and her friend carving pumpkins and leaving the mess to mold on the counter. Well she threw it out on the porch today and Brittanie took a picture of it on the way out. This is what Brittanie and Reisha have had to look at for over a week in addition to the cat urine and feces!Is that disgusting or what??? She would have taken a picture of the litterbox but it was gone when she got home tonight.

I spoke too soon!!

At about 4:45pm today, I got a call from Brittanie and I could barely understand her. She was hysterical telling me she had been in a wreck and I needed to come get her. She was almost to Sumter, which is about 45 minutes from my house. I was a basket case so Jessica drove me there. When we got there, I saw the car wedged into the trees and started crying all over again. It was so scary to think what could have happened to her. The highway patrolman told me that had she not been wearing her seatbelt, she would have more than likely been ejected and the chances of her surviving would have been slim to none so I should feel blessed. I do feel blessed that I have one of the few teenagers who actually wear their seatbelts. She was freaking out that her daddy would be mad. But he assured her that cars can be replaced and her car did exactly what it was supposed to do. It protected her. That side curtain airbag saved her from glass all in her face and eyes. She walked away with minor airbag burns on the left side of her face and probably a bruise will pop out under the one on her cheek, her side hurts a little and her back is hurting a little. But otherwise, she is fine.

Tonight I got an email message from our friend, Lynn, and her son, Will, is friends with Brittanie. He told me to tell Brittanie she isn't supposed to drive through a forest if there isn't a road there. I relayed the message and she laughed. Later on, Tom picked at her about her driving and she laughed. Then I said "She couldn't see the forest for the trees." She said "Ok I request a 24 hour grace period before we start making jokes." hahaha She had to know it was coming. That's what we do in this family. That's why we are fun. :^)

Jessica took pictures for us.

The back glass was busted out.

All of the driver's side glass was busted out.

The hood was flipped up.

Good news on a Monday. Go figure!

Today, Brittanie went to ROTC class and was handed back the paper they had to write on the branch of the Army they were most interested in. Brittanie did hers on Military Intelligence. At the top of her paper, Jameson (her instructor) had written "Excellent! See me after class." She thought "Here we go again. Time for another butt chewing." She was totally wrong. Evidently he has finally realized the effort she has put in because he apologized to her for being rude to her in the past and told her that he can tell she has dropped alot of weight and her PT has definitely shown improvement so he can see that she is truly working hard. He told her she is very intelligent and thinks that she will be a fine officer and an asset to the Army. He worries about her being opinionated but told her he doesn't want her to quit thinking, just learn to say things differently than the way she does. (She is blunt like Tom and I.) She really needed this because she was seriously considering finishing this year and dropping ROTC because they don't respect her at all. When she finished telling me what he told her, she said "Now that I'm not fat anymore, I get respect." I told her welcome to the real world. This is not just the Army. This is the world. You can't make fun of other races or handicapped people, but it is still acceptable to make fun of fat people. She thinks that stinks, as do I, but it is a fact of life.

After talking to Jameson, she went to the College of Arts and Sciences to find out in person if her campus transfer has been approved or not. What she found out was that Sumter never sent her request. So they had her fill out a form right there in front of them and they put it in the box of the advisor that works on transfers from Sumter and hopefully we will know something soon. It is so frustrating when people don't do their job! grrr

On the apartment front, I called once again this morning to the apartment complex and told them that the cats are STILL there and I want something done about Courtney...I want her GONE! She is a pig to live with. Well a man and a woman went there this morning while Brittanie was there and the woman literally gagged when she walked in because the smell was so strong. Then she gagged again when she saw the litter box. Courtney walked in, saw them in the apartment, grabbed the cats, and walked back out before they saw her. After they left, she came back in with the cats. They left a fine on her door again. She has to pay $200 this time, in addition to the $100 from before, and pay to have the carpet cleaned to their satisfaction. If it isn't done to their satisfaction, they will hire someone to clean it and bill her for it. Oh and the two pumpkins she was carving and let mold in the kitchen, she didn't dispose of them. She put them out on the porch. So they fined her $25 per pumpkin. She has to pay all of those fines, get rid of the cat, and clean the carpet immediately. Even if they don't charge her per cat, the minimum would be $350 plus carpet cleaning the rent is due Saturday. The notice they gave her today said that she has to pay all of these fines and clean the carpet or they will start the eviction process. I hope that is what they do. I'm so sick of Courtney's immaturity and irresponsibility. I don't know how she can live in that place but she has the apartment all to herself because Brittanie and Reisha can't stand the smell. But hopefully we are seeing the beginning of the end of Courtney's reign of terror on that apartment.

To all my friends who are Clemson fans

Before you vote, know the issues

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS ISSUE

JOHN McCAIN

BARRAK OBAMA

Favors new drilling offshore US
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Served in the US Armed Forces
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Amount of time served in the US Senate
McCain: 22 YEARS
Obama: 173 DAYS

Will institute a socialized national health care plan
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy (including letting babies whosurvive abortion die with no intervention.)
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Supports gun ownership rights
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Supports homosexual marriage
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Voted against making English the official language
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income..)

DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN15% (no change)

OBAMA39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested instock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance,retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

INCOME TAX
MCCAIN(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!

INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA -Restore the inheritance tax. Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that havebeen in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet.
New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already)
New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)
New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....
New taxes topay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medicalcare as other third-world countries! (for those of you who love socialized medicine, this is my personal opinion)

You can verify the above at the following web sites:

Site #1

Site #2

Site #3

Site #4

Site #5

Love it!!

Unreal

I have been battling a head and chest cold and yesterday I couldn't take it anymore so I emailed my doctor/boss and told him my symptoms and asked him if he would call me in an antibiotic and something for my cough. The antibiotic he called in was Levaquin, which is a really good drug. But it would have to be laced with gold to be worth how much it costs. He called in 7 tablets and it is to be taken once a day. For 7 tablets, the total cost was $183.79!!! All I can say is thank goodness Tom's company has such excellent health insurance because we only had to pay a percentage of that. There is no generic equivalent yet. I sure hope it works. I would hate to think of shelling out that much money for nothing. I was able to sleep 6 hours straight last night, which was a very welcomed change. Hopefully I will feel well enough to be able to get some work done this weekend.

Wednesday I called USC-Sumter to find out if Brittanie's change of campus has been approved. I was told I needed to call USC in Columbia. So I called Admissions, who told me I needed to call the Political Science Department to find out since that is Brittanie's major. So she transferred me to the Political Science Department. The woman there told me I needed to speak to an advisor. So she transferred me to an advisor. I had to leave a message. They didn't call me back so yesterday, I called again. The advisor I spoke to told me I needed to speak to someone in the College of Arts and Sciences. So she transferred me to them. They told me I needed to speak to Admissions. I told her no. I called Admissions and eventually was told I needed to talk to someone in the College of Arts and Sciences. So she put me on hold and came back and told me I needed to speak to an advisor and they weren't in so she would take a message and have one call me back. Yeah I know how well that works. So I told Brittanie she needs to go up there today and make them tell her one way or the other. They are already doing advising and scheduling for next semester and she needs to know which campus she needs to register for before all of the classes she wants are taken. She is already at a disadvantage for the Columbia campus because they don't start advising and registering transfer students until November 24th. I swear when Katie starts 9th grade, I'm going to enroll her at Midlands Tech to take the SAT prep class and she will take that class over and over until she qualifies for an academic scholarship because her score is so high. We bought Brittanie an online SAT prep course but she didn't do it. I won't accept that from Katie. I am going to ride her hard, if necessary, to make sure she has the grades and SAT scores to go to whatever college she wants to and hopefully get academic scholarships too!

More roommate problems

Brittanie has slept at home for the last two nights because her roommate, Courtney, has two cats in the apartment that she doesn't take care of. The litterbox is completely and totally disgusting and makes the entire apartment stink. Cats are so nasty and these two are no exception. After doing their business and walking in it, they walk over the clean dishes in the drainboard in the kitchen and scratch on the sofas, which belong to the apartment complex, as well as the carpeting. I called the apartment complex Monday and told them about the cats because the lease says no pets other than fish and no bigger than a 15 gallon tank. Well Monday night, Brittanie came home to sleep because the apartment stunk so much that she didn't want to breathe that all night. She told me that the apartment complex managers didn't say anything to Courtney. After they still didn't talk to her yesterday, I called again this morning and told them that the rent is due in 9 days and I'm NOT paying it until those cats are gone. I then told them that I hold up my end of the lease by paying the rent on time and I expect them to hold up their end of the lease by making sure her roommates follow the rules like my daughter is. I called back this afternoon to make sure they had gone to check out the apartment. I talked to the main manager, named Betsy, and she told me she went into the apartment herself and as soon as you open up the door, the smell hits you in the face. I told her that Brittanie said Courtney had used an entire bottle of Febreze yesterday to cover the smell so that smell that hit her in the face was worse before yesterday. She told me that she is going to call Courtney today and let her know that the cats have to be gone by tomorrow morning and she will be coming back tomorrow morning to make sure they are gone. She is also fining her $100 per cat, which is also in the lease.

With all of these problems, Brittanie has told me she wants to move back home when the lease is up at the end of July and just live at home for the remainder of her years in college. I'm thrilled!!! I mentioned the dorms but she said she didn't like the thought of living in the same room with someone. She could end up with a messy roommate again and then there is the issue of drunks in the dorm hooting and hollering while she tries to study. She will be back in Columbia (hopefully) in the spring so it won't be a big deal for her to be home and commute.

New Mac Ad: Bean Counter

I LOVE the new Mac commercial "Bean Counter." I HATE Vista more and more each day and this commercial just hilarious because it is true. Instead of advertising so much and trying to convince us that Vista is good, how about fix Vista because it isn't good. We know it and they know it....Vista stinks. FIX IT! 

Football this weekend

Saturday is going to be a tense day in the Sightler household. I have been an LSU fan since birth. After moving to South Carolina, I understood why Tom has always been a Gamecock and I have come to love our mighty Gamecocks too. Tomorrow my Bayou Bengals are playing my Gamecocks. I will be happy either way but I will be cheering on LSU while Tom and Brittanie are cheering on the Gamecocks. That should be interesting considering how passionate Tom and Brittanie are about cheering on their football teams!
Sunday will be easier because I have never been a Saints fan. I was born and raised in Louisiana so I knew the sesspool that is New Orleans and never understood why the rest of the world thought it was such a great place. Also, I grew up in the Saints paper bag era and I'm not going to cheer on a team with a bag over my head. I was a Dolphins fan when Dan Marino was QB. Now Dan is retired and the Carolinas have their own team so I'm a Panther fan all the way. This week, I want the Saints to lose and lose BIG. They were too stupid to appreciate our Cajun Connection, Jake Delhomme. Their stupidity is our gain. But it is just one more example why the Saints will always stink. Reggie Bush or not, you can't fix stupid.The Saints should hang their head in shame. They stink big time!!

Feeling like a soldier

Brittanie had her interview with JCPenney yesterday and they offered her the job. She will be making 6 cents more an hour than she was making at Bi-Lo. She will be working in the Women's Department. She will do different things on different days, like cash register, personal shopper on the floor, stocking clothing racks, and working the dressing room (which they told her is the worst job but they have to rotate, especially during Christmas). They have to run a background check on her and when the results come back, then they will schedule her for 2 days of training, which is on computer, then put her on the schedule. She is happy to have a job so quickly after losing the Bi-Lo job.

Katie's school told me that she had a shot due. Her pediatrician never told me. So we switched to Brittanie's doctor at Lexington Family Practice and she actually needed 3 shots! She used to fight when she had shots so I made Tom take her before he left for NJ. They had 4 nurses come in. One was to help Tom hold her and the other 3 were to give her the shots all at the same time. She was mad at me for making her have them but obviously it wasn't my fault. She got over it and was not nearly as bad as she used to be but I think it is because Tom was there this time.

Today Brittanie told me that this was the first time since she started ROTC that she truly felt like a soldier. First they had a PCI (Pre-combat inspection) and her ruck sack weighed about 30 pounds plus she had LBE (load bearing equipment) that weighed another 15. With this stuff on their backs, they were doing high crawls and low crawls and cover and conceal exercises with battle buddies. She enjoyed it even though she was filthy from head to toe when she was done. She couldn't believe the timing of it. They haven't done anything to get dirty since the beginning to school....until today. And of course today was the day she was supposed to go to the fair with her ex-boyfriend, Randy. He was waiting at her apartment with Courtney and DJ for her to get back from lab and she came walking in covered in dirt. They laughed and made wise cracks but it was all in good fun. She loved finally feeling like a soldier.

Barack Obama is a moron and a liar

First the moron:



Then the liar:

The hunt for a new job is on!

Yesterday, Brittanie went to the mall and got tons of applications from various places in the mall and came back here and started filling them out. She electronically filled out some that had that capability like Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Victoria's Secret, JCPenney, Sears, etc. She dropped off a ton of applications today and had an interview at Victoria's Secret but she isn't interested in working there. They have to wear heels and since she has battled tendonitis from the end of April till June, those heels could reactivate the tendonitis. With her being in ROTC, she can't have that. Plus the people who sell the most bras get the most hours. So that won't work. She needs to know she is getting a set amount of hours. Gap seemed really interested in her when she dropped off her application to them. She has an interview at JCPenney on Wednesday afternoon. They told her when they called her that they wanted to talk hours and money with her when she came in Wednesday. So she is pretty sure they will make her an offer. She really wants to work at Hot Topic. That would be her dream job but tons of teens want to work there so it is very competitive. She is going to take the first offer she gets. I think JCPenney would be a great place to work!

I'm proud of how well she has done this semester. Her grades are excellent. Her diet is going great. Her PT is coming along. Now all she needs is a job and the transfer to USC Columbia to be approved and everything will be perfect.

Brittanie's job

The new store manager, Tammy, who has only been there 3 weeks came in the bakery and told her she was going too slow. Brittanie told her this is only her 2nd day. She said well we don't need it to be perfect, we need it fast. See this is why I don't like to hire people this young in the bakery." Then Brittanie's genetics kicked in and she said "Yeah cuz if I were 27, I could totally hold this spatula better." Tammy said "I see you can't take corrective criticism." Brittanie said "Sure I can when the corrective part is present." Tammy told her "Looks like you have an attitude problem." She said "No I don't have an attitude. I give as much respect as I am given." Tammy told her "You know you aren't the only baker in town." Brittanie said "And this isn't the only bakery in town." Tammy said "So we are in agreement. You can finish out your shift and leave." Brittanie said "Fine." She is definitely the product of me and Tom!

The bakery manager told Brittanie that Tammy is stupid because she is one of the best workers they have had in that bakery.....her cakes look professional and customers love them. So it is their loss.

Saturday, Tammy called Brittanie and asked her to come back to work. Brittanie said "But you fired me." Tammy answered "But we are really short handed so we need you to work tonight." Brittanie said "Then you should think about the way you treat your workers." And she hung up.

Today, Patricia, the main store manager, called Brittanie and apologized for the way Tammy treated Brittanie and offered her 50 cent more an hour to come back. Brittanie said she will come back for $2 more an hour. Patricia couldn't go that high. So Brittanie is still on the hunt for a new job. She is at the mall as I'm typing this applying for jobs there.

Here is a picture of the last cake she made before she left. The cakes were being sold as soon as she would put them in the display case.

Happy Birthday, Jesse!

Tom's little brother, Jesse, turns 30 tomorrow. (Brittanie made this cake.)Yesterday we had a little family celebration for him at our house. Tom BBQ'ed and the guys checked out each other's new cars. (Jesse and Melissa have a new Mazda 5. That's a cool looking car. I like it!) But the highlight of the day was definitely playing with Leah. She is so adorable! I loved her yelling. She wasn't upset. She just yelled. It was so cute!!

I really wish we lived closer. I really like my sister-in-law, Melissa. She and Jesse are perfect together and great parents. Leah is one lucky little girl.
Grandpa (Tom's dad) loves Leah but she doesn't like glasses. After I took these pictures, he took the glasses off. But while we were getting ready to eat, he had his glasses on while Brittanie was holding her and she freaked out and was crying and burying her face in Brittanie's chest. Even when she cries she is precious!