NAKED & RADICALLY HONEST…

Coyotes are out and about - tons of them. They are LOUD, close (right in our yard at times) and there are many many many of them. Yesterday morning our Great Pyrenees (solid white) was covered in blood. Looked like a polar bear that had been eating a seal. It was gruesome. Matt said most likely Zeus was eating a deer that had been hit by a car. Well Zeus has fought with coyotes before and now they’re out and they’re hungry. This has been a tough winter for them. I think Zeus chased them off and ate the deer they wanted. Anyway last night was a full moon. We were in bed when we heard our schnauzer going nuts outside. We got up and went to the door and it was really bad. Now, keep in mind we have dealt coyotes for years - many years. We are not new to this. Hearing them off in the distance, even losing chickens to them… It’s part of country life. But last night when we opened the door and stepped outside it was the loudest I have ever heard them. They were barking and yipping from every direction. They were close. We could hear Zeus off in the distance barking too. Matt said they’re trying to lure him out - Matt grabbed a gun and went on foot and I got in the truck and went to the north side of our property to shine lights into the trees. Matt seen several coyotes. We didn’t find Zeus. We got back to the house and here Zeus was back. So we told him to stay by the house and not go running off !! He can handle himself just fine with one but with a pack of them they’d eat him! We thought we will get him in the house and feed him good and hopefully he will decide to just forget coyotes for the night (even though they were making their presence known!) In the house we could see that he was bloody again and this time it wasn’t other blood it was his own. His nose had bite marks on his ear was torn, both were bleeding. We tried to keep him inside but he was starting to go nuts and wake everyone up so we had to let him out. He said right by our window and barked most of the night (I am tired today!!) but he stuck around the rest of the night. We had to keep Beau inside because he would have gone with Zeus and he would have gotten eaten for sure!!

People sometimes laugh when we say we have coyotes all over. We are only 10 miles from town. People think it’s crazy. But they have no idea. You come visit me at midnight and listen to them for yourself. Tonight I am taking the video camera out and I am gonna get their music on tape so you can hear how bone chilling it is. It’s been a hard winter and they’re desperate for food right now. The one year olds are brave and hungry. It’s really freaky!!

FROM http://www.ccrkba.org/

Obama Lies-Senate Uses Sneak Attack On Guns

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama deliberately and repeatedly lied to America’s 90 million gun owners across the country when he insisted that he would not try to take away anyone’s firearms, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.

Now House Republicans are trying to add an amendment to the public lands “Ominous Spending” lands bill that would codify the right to carry concealed weapons in national parks, less than a week after a federal judge blocked a similar proposal.

But, Senate leaders have devised a strategy to use a bill that had already passed the House — H.R. 146, a proposal to protect Revolutionary War battlefields — and strip its contents, replacing it with the “Ominous Spending” lands bill.

Because the House already passed H.R. 146, the Rules Committee can approve a closed rule that would block a motion to recommit, eliminating the GOP’s best procedural chance to stymie the bill. The chamber would only need a simple majority vote to concur with the Senate amendment.

CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, reacting to the “Ominous Spending” lands bill tactic to force more gun control on U.S. citizen’s said “the sneak attack on guns reveals the Democrats clear intention to outlaw guns everywhere” “Obama “has been lying to the nation when he says he will not take guns away.”

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly placed an injunction on the Interior rule last week. The judge’s ruling infringed on the rights of gun owners as drivers in areas such as Washington, D.C., often drive through federal park lands every day. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said “It’s ridiculous for people to be subject to two different sets of regulations simply because their car moved a few feet,” Bishop said in a statement. “The judge’s decision last week was wrong.”

“We warned America that Obama’s ’support’ for the Second Amendment was empty rhetoric,” he stated, “and now his support for the “Ominous Spending” lands bill shows Obama was lying, and now gun rights may be dying.”

“Right now,” said Gottlieb, “I wouldn’t take Obama’s word if he said it rains a lot in Seattle. Apparently, law-abiding gun owners have nothing to fear unless they drive to work in Washington DC and park or drive in the wrong place.”

In order to stop Obama and his fellow Democrat gun-grabbers-we need to let the Congress know with thousands of faxes telling them to leave guns alone.

Americans like you who understand what our Founding Fathers envisioned for our nation…and who are willing to fight to defend our Constitution and for what it stands.

So please, help the Citizens Committee and me defeat those who wish to gut and trash the United States Constitution.

Help me flood the U.S. Senate and the House with the sea of FAXES big enough to drown each and every Senator and Representative willing to vote away the Second Amendment.

https://secure.conservativedonations.com/ccrkba_fax_he/?a=2236

Together, we can preserve the Constitutional rights our Founding Fathers intended our people to have forever.

Well, I quit my job. At $9 an hour (yes that’s all I made) I simply could not make ends meet, not even close. Where we thought we would make up some was with some unemployment that Matt gets plus free insurance for the kids from the state, stuff like that… but no matter how we figured we just couldn’t make the ends meet. With 6 kids one of us has to be home - I mean, there is just no way around that. And apparently it has to be me because Matt can earn A LOT more than me. Sad, but I am just not worth much I guess!!! LOL… I know I am worth millions to my family so that’s where I will stay.

Two paychecks in and finding that with a paycheck I couldn’t make my car payment, pay the entire phone bill, propane bill or any other bill was very disheartening. It seems like I spent SO much time there to get that size of a check! It just didn’t seem like an even trade at all, not even close.

I was starting to get migraines almost daily - for those who know me you know the battle I have been through in that area… years of fighting off migraines and finding a solution. I was exhausted from being gone for 11 hours a day and coming home to 6 little kids PLUS anemic and suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency - that’s a whole nother story but none the less, added to the dilemma.

Matt was going a little nuts being a stay home parent too. We tried it, it’s not for us. I am thankful to be a stay home mom again!! It’s a tough job but one I can live with. The pay is great!! :~) The benefits are amazing!!

I will add that aside from my office mate (THE only person I had to be with for 9 hours a day…. ARGH) I did like the job. For a job it was okay. The pay sucked and the office mate was intolerable, but for more pay and a better partner I’d work for them again if I had to. Just so ya know.

OK So that’s my update for today. Matt has his choice of jobs, so far it looks like he is taking two okay jobs while we pray for the one in Memphis. They are waiting to offer the position (to one of 3 finalists) until they get some hundred million dollar contract signed sealed & delivered. Pray it all works out and pray the one for the job is Matt. I know he is the best candidate… You know he is the best candidate… but do THEY know it? *smile*

Well nothing much has changed since the last update (which I wrote in Feb but just posted on the blog now). Still no insurance. Still no money. Times are a bit tough. The job did not end up going very well. The pay was nearly minimum wage and the hours were long. I missed my kids. I was getting really down and out.

Right now we are really hoping and praying for a job in Memphis because it is EXACTLY what Matt does (and does well) and it would be about perfect for us right now. And who knows, maybe we would love it there?? Anything has to be better than this.

I found an article in a magazine my mom gives to us every year for our anniversary. It hit home, big time. You can check it out at http://www.guideposts.com/story/tender-touch-depression It’s about depression and it’s written by a husband. It reminds me a lot of Matt and I, because I go through that and he’s always having to take care of me…. well, just read the story.

And for now that’s about all I have. I will try to keep my blog updated better though, I promise!!

As some of you who have been following the saga know, U-Know-Who served us with papers regarding my husband’s work after he left. They are basically saying he can’t work in his profession. It’s all he’s done for 10 years. (He is, was, an electro paint chemist/technician). So he is unemployed, can’t work in that profession, AND THEN……………..

They canceled our insurance from Dec. 31 to Jan 30. That’s medical & prescription. In the contract Matt signed they are supposed to cover us FULLY for 3 mos past his last day, which puts our coverage expiring the last day in April (not counting all these days they are not covering us here). When we called the state insurance commissioners office they called UKW which led to us getting reinstated for ONE DAY. ONE FRICKEN DAY, and then being canceled again as of Jan. 31st.

THEN… his last paycheck was supposed to be on Feb. 27th - they pay one month delayed (he was salary not hourly so it’s different for them). So for the entire month of January he should have been paid on the last business day of Feb. Well, no paycheck came. He finally called and they told him that was it, they paid him everything they owed him in January and he was owed nothing else. His last day was Jan. 30th, and his last payday was Jan. 30th. How could they have paid him for THAT DAY on that day??? When the pay is delayed a month?? And there is an entire month of pay missing - it’s missing from our budget - it’s not like a couple hundred dollars that maybe they’re right about. It’s thousands of dollars that we expected and needed and did not receive. Oh yeah, and all the insurance premiums came out of that last paycheck on Jan 30th and the insurances were all canceled on Jan. 31st!

It’s not like THEY paid for this insurance, WE PAID FOR IT. It wasn’t free for us, we’re paying for it and not receiving it.

WAIT, THERE IS MORE!!!! We just found out now that we were canceled from everything (medical, prescription etc) as of January 31st. We received no notice of this until my medical bills came back UNCOVERED. Remember that rib I broke??? Not covered. Pain meds, not covered. Meds from the sinus infection, not covered. Heck TWO appts. I had last week, NOT COVERED. Our entire family has no coverage right now. I am almost out of several prescriptions which are urgent and we have no coverage there.

We were prepared for insurance to end in April and for us to get coverage elsewhere by May 1st, but we are not prepared for THIS! Everything is so messed up and we are getting so discouraged. We basically have gone without insurance since Dec. 31st now and I don’t understand how they can get away with this. And when they do (if they do) give it back it will still be for only those 3 mos past Jan 31 even though they have put us through this now?? I don’t understand.

My husband thinks he has to get a lawyer and has an appt which will cost him $150 an hour. (How can we pay that when we are pretty much BARELY getting by right now??) He makes $400 a week in unemployment. 2-1/2 hours with an attorney and there goes that. Nothing left for gas and bills and whatever else. My job - well, let’s just say 13 years out of the working world and I am making not much more than minimum wage. It almost doesn’t pay for me to work - driving in and out of town and all that - but for now we’re doing it because our options are limited. My paycheck will barely be enough to pay the phone bill and fill the truck with gas.

I told Matt there has to be free help for us somewhere, UKW is breaking the law, but he says they have bigger lawyers and more money so we either have to get a lawyer or just take it.

Bobcat, by the way, has not returned ONE phone call in the last couple weeks, regarding this insurance business. My husband has called them repeatedly and left messages on voice mail and with one receptionist. No one will call him back. WTF?????????????????????????????????????

Well I got the call this afternoon - HIRED!! 8-5 no weekends no holidays, a data specialist in the cancer care center (oncology). The pay isn’t great, the benefits are good (if I can afford them??), the job sounds like it will be very rewarding and right up my alley!

So Matt will be working from home (painting & hopefully the consulting thing will still work out… haven’t had any Bobcat dogs sicked on us this week so far)
….and taking care of kids & I will be working. He will get unemployment for a while too, & when the benefits from Bobcat run out I think the kids will all get insurance from the Healthy Steps program for not much money… SADLY when it’s all said and done we will probably be better off not paying for their insurance & not making the big bucks but making less and getting more handed to us via Obamalism… In my highly Reaganesque opinion that sucks LOTS AND LOTS of eggs, but, what the heck… when in Rome… Matt will get more time with his family, more time to do what he loves, LOADS less stress, I will probably enjoy my work, we will make 1/3 what he made at Bobcat, and walk away with so much more? I guess we’ll deal with it.

I don’t know how to explain it or where to begin because it’s all just a bunch of blah blah blah blah blah but…. I will give it a try.

A company in Dickinson wanted Matt to come work for them. He put that on hold while he pursued his own e-coat consulting business with his two former co-workers, both of whom also took the RIF (reduction in force) from Bobcat. This other company basically said they wanted Matt whenever he could come… and maybe they still do I don’t know. In the meantime Bobcat asked Matt if he would consider still working for them either through a temp agency or through another subcontracted company that does work for them. On Matt’s last day his boss literally said “Go sign up with the temp agency and come back Monday if you want!! We need you!” Well Matt said he was putting together his own thing - had to be a formal business so he could get proper licenses, tax junk, etc….. and then he would be back to work for Bobcat as a consultant. His boss said COOL. In fact lined him up with his first job, a trip to the GA plant that was shut down to tear down the paint line.

In the meantime Matt and his co-workers are getting the paperwork together, I worked on their website, they were meeting with their career counselor who helps in these transitional situations (Bobcat pays for that). Getting all their ducks in a row. As you may know, I got the site up and running Monday. Matt tried to call to find out details about when he would be going to GA and all that but wasn’t able to reach anyone and wasn’t getting return calls. They also said they were going to have Matt’s business come in and do all the testing in the paint labs for both Bobcat plants, which wouldn’t be until they’re up and running again (that’s tomorrow).

ANYWAY…………. Tuesday the guys got served a Cease & desist letter from Bobcat’s attorney. Basically accusing Matt and his co-workers of violating state law and sharing trade secrets and all kinds of bologna. They even asked for MY hard drive off of my computer and gave us 7 days. Well we talked to a lawyer who said #1 do not give them ANYTHING. #2 respond letting them know that everything we are doing is on the up and up and we are violating no laws or agreements (blah blah blah blah blah). I took the website down and it will remain down while we wait for whatever this is happening to finish happening and figure out where we go from here. We have been told that it’s just scare tactics and they have no legal ground but, it’s disturbing because they were going to be a client!!

Throughout all of this Matt has been talking to another co about a job. The end of January they said they still wanted him. Last week they said they are now on a hiring freeze. He hasn’t straight out asked if that includes hiring him but, it might. So the backup plan may be out.

So things are up in the air now. We will start receiving unemployment this week which will amount to the state maximum of $406 a week. That will not get us very far so I am job hunting for something to help make ends meet while we figure out where we go from here. I am a bit laid up right now with a broken rib… going on 2 weeks and it’s worse, not better, but there is really nothing that they can do about it so I just suffer and move like a really old person.

Well that’s the jist of it. It might all work out great and it might NOT all work out great. We just have to pray, and wait and see. I do have a job interview tomorrow and if I want the job I think it’s pretty much mine so that’s good. Matt has a company in GA *very* interested in him right now….

It’s been a while so I am going to try to update a bit… Here is a little from our Christmas letter….

Matt is still working for Bobcat, till Jan 31st, that is. With great enthusiasm he is embarking on a journey of entrepreneurship. He & some guys he worked with are going into business together starting with a “coatings” consulting firm. Now that I think about it maybe they should call it, “Some Guys Consulting”? J There are too many details to include in this letter, but we will say that we have so much hope & faith that it warms our souls. Matt has been painting a lot & has his website up at heartlairfx.com. He paints for every occasion possible including custom painting “hoodeez” for teens in need this Christmas. He painted a gorgeous Bobcat mural for the entrance to the paint department at work. He also painted t-shirts for Madison’s band & the Lego Robotics team he coaches. “Coach Matt” is taking the Lego Robotics Team (including Madison & Tristan) to competition in Grand Forks in January where they will attempt to build the best climate control project.

Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image. Matt & Tarra celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary on December 17th! Your browser may not support display of this image. Your browser may not support display of this image.

Tarra attended Glenn Beck’s The Christmas Sweater show & found the message to be perfect: We all face storms in life but no matter our struggles there is a world on the other side that’s brighter than we can imagine. We just have to be willing to walk through the clouds… She took the weight loss surgery route in March. There were complications including a 2nd surgery & a few months of misery, but all in all she now feels great. She has lost 100 pounds & her health is much improved – no more shots & pills for diabetes, checking blood sugar, or high cholesterol! In addition to being a busy wife & mom she enjoys volunteering with the ND Patriot Guard, Project PCOS, & a couple other organizations building websites & sitting on boards.

People are dropping like flies. Barbara West asked questions that WE ALL want to hear the answers to and the Obama campaign has cancelled all interviews and basically boycots that station now. Glenn Beck is moving from CNN (they love Obama) to Fox… in the meantime he’s no where. We don’t get to see Glenn Beck at a time when many of us need him. THANKS! This is the same tactic Hitler used ya know. They must silence all dissenting voices. That’s what Hitler did. So they act like Hitler, want to change our constitution into a socialist document (Marxism), associate with people who had every intention of and plans to carry out bombings that would have been WORSE than Oklahoma City (and Timothy McVeigh was PUT TO DEATH for that… too bad because I hear that maybe he coulda been a great college professor??? Like Bill Ayers). Bill Ayers, folks, is NOT in prison because he was innocent. He admits his guilt and doesn’t even, to this day, say he’s sorry. The government made a mistake in the investigation and due to our constitutional rights they could not prosecute Ayers & his “FBI Most Wanted Killing Pigs Is Groovy Chic” wife. *THAT* is the only reason why he is not in prison. DOES THIS SERIOUSLY NOT ADD UP?? How can America be so stupid as to want this man to lead our country?? And on the other hand be pissed off about Palin’s freaking WARDROBE?? My God people. We have the right to discuss the issues, the IMPORTANT ones, we have a right to have answers. We have a right to ask questions and NOT be kicked off the air or boycotted or have “dirt” dug up about us. Now a Sarah Palin manaquin is hanging, with a noose around it’s neck, from a house in CA. This should appall EVERYONE, not just some of us. This should be stopped. If that was Obama it would no doubt be linked to racisim and the homeowner would have all kinds of hell being brought against him. But it’s a white woman so what the heck. What do we care? This makes me sick folks. It makes me wanna barf. I can’t even imagine what her children think when they see that. I am so bothered and upset by all of this. In my statis this morning I put that I had insomnia because I couldn’t decide what to be for Halloween. The truth is that I had nightmares and couldn’t sleep past 4am because I am stressed out about the election and the creepy stuff happening. Thank God its almost over…. God help us all.

http://bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/10/24/news/topnews/167654.txt

This is our only source of income. My husband is not worried. He is all calm and cool about it. I think he’s on something. Me… I am thinking… who says they’re going to open up again on Feb 2? Who says they’re not going to cut and run to Korea (where the parent company is)? In August they said there would be 8 or so days of “shut down” spread throughout the rest of the year. In September they called all of that off and said there would be no shut down days at all. Two days ago they informed everyone that they would be shut down over the whole week of Thanksgiving. The next day we are informed that they will be shut down for 6 weeks from mid Dec to Feb. So………….. what’s the story today? tomorrow? next week? Next month?? Feb?? Ya know……….. it’s hard to trust someone when they keep on changing the story.

Yes we will get unemployment at about 60% of salary, however, we live off of overtime which was cut a long time ago so we have already been sucking wind to get by on salary alone with no overtime. So we started job hunting. Found a job at Target making less than 1/3 of what he makes now, to work a couple days a week or whatever to supplement for Christmas and what not. So now we will have 60% of his income plus EVEN IF he were to work full time at Target it would be less than 30% of what he makes right now………. putting us back at square one, still needing another source of income to fill the propane tank and buy Christmas gifts for the kids.

Time to pack up and leave Bismarck?? Go home to Dickinson, work in the oil fields, go where we would have tons of family to help us with our kids and we could both work?? I don’t know. I just don’t know. I have been wanting to go back to school and get my degree in nursing. What the heck. Maybe it’s time.

Pray for us!! And pray that Obama is NOT elected. If he is, I fear that Bobcat will pack up and leave. Obama’s tax plan will hurt the company and punish them for having some of the work done in the Czech and China. They might just decide to hell with it and move “home” to their parent company in Korea, where labor and taxes will be better for them.