Well....what do we have here?

I've been doing a lot of soul searching for the last 2 weeks. 

What's the meaning of life?
Where do I want to go in life?
What do I want to do with my life?

I have found no answers yet.  But I know I need something more.  Something is lacking. 
What is it?  What is missing?  I don't know.  I'm clueless but I need to find some answers.

Life is such a journey.  A wild roller coaster ride.  Highs and lows.  Peaks and valleys.  Whatever you want to call it.  It's crazy but fun.  I'm not sure what I'm missing or what I want answers to but I'm seeking to find out.  Soul searching.  It's a strange feeling.

I remember using this blog a lot.  What brought me back here.  I don't know.  But as I was sitting at my desk trying to accomplish some work, I found myself very distracted.  Unable to focus on the task I needed to accomplish.  And then, here I am.  At this blog again.  Weird how it happened.  I use to love sitting here typing away.  It seems my thoughts moved to Facebook.  That's where everyone went to "be social."  So will did I come back to this blog today?

It's certainly the things that make you go hmmmmmm..........

I think I'll come back here. It's a peaceful place.

Friendships and life.

There comes a time in our life when we start to realize what friendship really means.  There's a time when we think it's a numbers game.  It's all about having a lot of friends.  That's what we think is important.  We have to have a lot of friends to be considered "popular."  As we get older we start to realize it's not all about the numbers.  It's about true friendship.  Real relationships.  Real support.  Real commitment.

I've been blessed to call a lot of people my friend.  I like having lots of friends.  I like having a large circle of friends with all different types of personalities, likes/dislikes, and support.  Along the way I have also lost several friends.  At the time, I questioned why.  I wondered why.  I was hurt or disappointed.  Or learned they were really never a friend.  Sometimes we find out why.  Maybe a certain person was sent to be apart of our life for a certain period of time to help us, teach us something, or even help us learn what a friend is not.  But regardless, it's never easy to lose a "friend" when you thought you/they cared.

Recently I started to realized the life lesson about how it's not about numbers.  It's about quality.  It's about true feelings.  True support.  Actual caring, concern, love.  Friendship is a two way street.  I've done a lot of soul searching recently and discovered many things.

1. Yes, I'm blessed to have a lot of people to call friends.
2. There really is a difference between a friend and a "best" friend.
3. If a friendship requires a "maintenance program", that friendship is not on a 2 way street.
4. Repeated drama kills a friendship.  Especially when it's one sided.

Some of these things may seem pretty simple.  Common sense really.  Many people may read that and think, "well duh!  How old are you and what took you so long to figure that out."  Well, let me just say I am a people pleaser.  I know that.  I don't like drama and I don't like people competing for attention.  I like to keep peace and go with the flow.  However, I have found out, this is not always a good thing and people take advantage of you and your kindness most of the time.

So this is where I have learned, it's not a numbers game.  Let's be honest here, when I've looked at the many friendships and people I call friends, I'm going to go out there a say only 5 of them are truly my best friend.  Friends that I would stop anything and everything for and give them 100% of my focus when they need it.  So, wow!  Only 5.  That seems low to me but at this point in my life, I can say I am really happy with that.  

Over the past year of my life, I have made a lot of changes in my life.  I cleaned out a lot of drama filled people.  I've realized they sucked a lot of energy out of me and required a lot of my time.  I've started to really focus my time and energy on my family and my best friends that I know I can truly depend on.  I still have a lot of friends.  A lot of friends who mean a lot to me.  And I'm still willing to step up and support them but I've made a change in how I support some of these friends.  Sadly, I have cut a few people out completely.  It's been very hard to do that.  But I see the blessing in doing this and I have seen first hand, when one door closes, another door opens.

I firmly believe that saying good-bye to a few friendships has opened the door to new friendships.  It amazes me how I can sit back and learn from past friendships.  Do's and don'ts.  Lessons on what support, love, and concern is.  And how I do have control over how people treat me.  I don't have to put up with people treating me with disrespect.  Just within the last 3 months, I've met several new friends.  They are a great group of women.  So welcoming.  Warm.  Caring.  Fun.  I enjoy spending time with them and getting to know them.  I feel letting go of a few friendships has allowed me to be a better person.  A better friend, mom, wife, and listener.  

I will always be grateful for every friendship in my life.  Even friendships that I no longer have.  I will always care about those people and wish them nothing but the best in life.  Life is full of surprises and we never know when people may cross our path again.  People change.  Friendships can blossom again.  Just make sure it's not toxic to your life.

Have you evaluated the people in your life recently?  Do you have any toxic friendships?  Needy friends who always want but never are willing to give when you need someone or something.  What about the drama filled friend?  Are they draining you?  I highly recommend you take some time.  Do some deep soul searching.  No time frame on this.....whether it takes you 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years.  Do yourself a favor and rid your life of toxic friends.  It will hurt.  It probably won't be easy.  But when you feel that weight lifted and you feel free, it will be worth it.  Open your mind and free your soul.  Life is short.  It should not be spent babysitting grown adults who don't need a baby sitter.

Remember, stress ages us.  So I'll leave you with this, why should we age ourselves due to toxic friendships?  Do you really want to age faster and deal with potential stress related health concerns because we are too afraid of losing or hurting a "friend?"

Think about that..........           

I did it again!

Time totally got away from me.  Again.  It's been four months without a posting.  Why do I let it go that long?  I've said it a million times, "I'm going to stay on top of this!", "I like sitting down and typing away."  Well, whatever.  Here we are again.  We survived mass chaos during the holidays.  Or maybe it was organized chaos.  I don't know but whatever it was, we survived and no one died.  Although there was a point during Christmas were I thought about seriously hurting a person or two.  I didn't.  I continued to take my all natural "stress & tension relaxer" and drank my fair share of wine.
The girls continue to grow, learn, and excel.  I still am amazed everyday at how they are doing in school.  They both made high honor roll for the first semester.  It's amazing!!  They are involved with clubs at school and continue still to be so happy about going to school.  I love it.
So without rambling on and on about too many updates about what's been going on, we'll just leave things at, it's been a great last couple of months.  Things are going well, the girls are great, and I WILL be here more often.  :)

Have a great weekend......

"AWESOME!"

We survived!! I'm so happy to report the girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their new schools. I was pretty certain the change was going to go well for them but there was still lots of nervousness about making the switch......at least for me. The first day of school was exciting and long. I think it was the longest day ever. I couldn't wait for the girls to get home and hear about their day. Every thought possible ran through my head all day. I paced the floors waiting. Courtney was the first one home and got off that bus with a HUGE smile on her face!! I asked her how her day was and she responded with "AWESOME!" She talked all night about new friends, the teachers, and the school. Then Kayla came home. She gets off the bus with a HUGE smile on her face too. Her response to asking how her day was "That was great!" At that moment there was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I was so excited to hear all about their day. And to top it off, they were both super excited about going back!! ;)

Now, here we are a month later into the new schools and life around our house has totally changed in so many ways. It's been AMAZING!! The girls LOVE their schools. They are excited about going to school again, getting awesome grades, have made a ton of new friends, and the most amazing thing of all.....the stress level in this house has dropped BIG TIME!! I can not get over how easy going, laid back, stress-free, and relaxing the mornings and evenings are around here now. It's so wonderful. The girls get themselves ready in the mornings, get their little bits of homework done in the evening, and are keeping up with everything else without me reminding them all the time. They are so happy and relaxed. And the change in homework load has been AWESOME!! The focus on classroom learning and less homework has been an adjustment for all of us but it has been really nice.

We couldn't be happier with where things are at right now. Life is good and all the big changes recently are paying off. Here's to hoping our journey continues to be this fun and exciting. :)

New beginnings.......

A new beginning is getting ready to take place around our house. In a little under two weeks, the girls will be starting new schools. They are super excited. I am excited. But I am very nervous. I haven't asked either one of the girls if they are nervous. I don't want them to start thinking about it if they are not. They don't seem to be nervous. But I wonder. We are all very excited about this change. It's a fresh start and a new journey. While I am grateful for the time they spent at their old school, it was for sure time to change. I had been unhappy with a number of things going on, happening, and the way people are treated. This is not going to be a "bash the old place" because I am not going to do that. Things were different. We are at a different place in our life right now and it just didn't feel like the place for us anymore. I am sad to be leaving our "comfort zone" and starting a new adventure. I'm not too big on big changes and this would be one thing that I get very nervous about. I've always stressed about where the girls should go to school. Was it the right place? Will they like it? Will they get a good education? Will they have friends? The only time I didn't stress about it was deciding on preschool. i knew 100% for sure where they were going. No questions asked. No talking about it needed.
C started kindergarten in a public school. I had wanted a lutheran grade school but we were unsure about paying the tuition, they shelterness, dress codes, etc. We knew we wanted the girls to have some shelter from the crazy world but we also wanted them to be prepared to deal with the real world. Not be so shelter shocked after high school. Well, kindergarten was great but then we made the switch to a lutheran grade school in 1st grade. K started pre-k that same year at the same school. We wanted her to make some friends there before starting kindergarten.
The years go by. I'm involved with volunteering and helping out with things at school. Life is moving on and we are thrown several curve balls. We were on a crazy roller coaster and trying to survive life.
We fast forward until the summer of 2011. C starts asking to switch schools. She was unhappy with a lot of things. K agrees she wants to also. I immediately started to panic. I was ready to switch but had no clue where to send them. The public school district we were in was a no go. I was uncomfortable with the girls going there. So it was decided, they would return for at least one more year while we look into other schools. School starts and the hunt begins. We quickly realized we should look at moving. We were pretty positive we wanted to go to the public schools but needed to be in a different district. In December the search for a new house began. We found a house and moved in March. We were super excited. We love this house!!! And we LOVE the schools the girls will be going to in 2 weeks.
So, here we are......about ready to start a new chapter. I hope I survive this craziness. I'm not sure if I'm really ready for the girls to be in public school. I still want them to stay little and innocent. But I firmly believe they both have a good head on their shoulders and they will be fine. I hope they make lots of new friends, make lots of new memories, learn a lot....but not too much about "life", and I hope we have made the right choice and they are happy. They seem like they are and that's all I want for both of them.
Stay tuned......I'm sure I'll have lots to write about!! :)

Is there any respect?

Wow! Here I sit, ready to blog again. Two days in a row. I forgot how much I enjoy this. I can actually type away whatever I want and not worry about someone stopping me. lol!!
Anyway so today I've been thinking.......shocking I know. But here's the deal, recently (within the last 6 months) I've really taken notice to the different parenting styles. I will never claim to have perfect children or know what's right and what is wrong. But there definitely is a lack of parenting out there these days. I'm all for being friends with your kids but there comes a point when you need to put your parent pants on.
Recently the girls and I were at Target. I'm a firm believer in setting the expectation. {knock on wood} I have never had a problem with either one of my girls throwing a fit, crying, or making a scene at a store. One time when Kayla was around 2, she did get upset about not being able to get a stuffed animal. She did start crying in the store but never started throwing a fit or screaming. She got a stern look and was told to stop crying in the store, she was embarrassing the rest of us. She stopped right away. End of issue. Once we got home, she did get a talking to and I explained to her how it was unacceptable for her to cry about a toy in the store. She was told she does not act this way and I will not put up with it happening ever again. Period. To this day, neither one of my girls have had an issue in a store. Don't get me wring, they ask for things but when they are told no they don't throw a fit or make a scene. That would not be tolerated around here. I normally set the expectation before we go shopping. The girls know what they can get ahead of time and have learned to not ask a million times if they can get something. And I will say, it makes a huge difference. My girls are very good about it......most of the time. ;)
Going back to our recent Target trip.......there was this little girl there shopping with her mom. Just the two of them. The mom was older, maybe mid-40's. This little girl had to be around 6. She was hounding her mom about getting this new Barbie. The mom told her daughter, "We're not going to buy that one today but you can pick out one of these that are a little bit cheaper." Boy did this make the little girl mad. She started stomping her feet and yelling "I said I want this one!" "I want this Barbie not those stupid cheap ones." She's yelling this as she is stomping her feet!!!
OMG!
The mom says "Well, Mommy doesn't want to spend $25 on a Barbie today. These Barbies over here are pretty. You can pick one of them out." With this the little girl throws the Barbie box on the floor and screams "I SAID I WANT THIS ONE! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?"
Again, the mom tells the daughter that Barbie was too much money. I'm standing there watching and listening to this in shock. Thinking, if my daughter did this, she would have a black & blue butt, a sore lip, and be missing a lot of toys when we got home.
At this point the daughter picks up the Barbie box and throws it at her mom and yells "If you don't buy this for me, you are the meanest mom ever and I won't like you anymore." Holy sweet Jesus. I could not believe this. I looked at my girls and Kayla is standing there shocked looking at this girl like OMG, you are in trouble.
The mom literally just stands there, "Olivia are we really going to play this game again today?" WAIT!!! WHAT??? This has happened before?? Oh dear Lord lady, get a clue and control your child!!
How do people think it is ok for their child to act like this? Courtney did tell me one day when she was 3 that she thought I was being a "mean mommy" because I wouldn't let her do something. She got a little pop on the month and a talking. NEVER have I ever heard my girls saying anything like that to me. I have NEVER heard they hate me, don't like me, etc. I hear of this type of stuff happening often now. You see it in stores. I'm sure there has been times when my girls have been mad at me about something and probably thought to themselves that I'm mean but it has never came out of their mouths. Nor do I ever want to hear that from them!
I have been told many of times that I am too hard on my girls, I expect too much out of them, I shouldn't expect them to do chores, I put too much responsibility on them. Well, do I? I don't know. I don't think so. I think I have two good girls. Yes they might complain sometimes and I do have to remind them of things but they are kids, pretty normal stuff.
I think it's funny how these people who have accused me of being too hard on my girls have kids that are out of control. There is no structure, no control, no consequences for their actions. I believe children need all of that from day one. As a parent, YOU have to control your child. Now, don't jump down my throat and say kids need to explore and find themselves. Yes, I will agree with that to an extent. But these crazy out of control kids walking around now-a-days is due to parents not having any control!! What happen to kids respecting authority? Respecting their elders? I still address some people as Mr. & Mrs. (whoever) because that is what I did growing up. I knew them as Mr. & Mrs. not on a first name bases. I am guilty of telling the girls friends to call me Mandy or several call me Miss Mandy. I like that. It's a personal choice. Mrs Fritsche is too formal for me and makes me uncomfortable. Why? I don't know. I just don't like it. I feel more relaxed and the kids seem more relaxed. Whether that's true or not, I don't know but it's what I'm comfortable with and it's my choice.
Now, I'm not pointing figures or accusing anyone of "being a bad parent" but the respect or well, actually the lack of respect and attitudes of kids these days.........I'm at a loss for words. I don't understand how a parent thinks it's ok for a child to repeatedly tell their mother or father they don't like them or they hate them or they are the worse (meanest) mom/dad in the world. How is it ok? Everyone is entitled to parent in their own way. I don't agree with things my friends do just as I'm sure there are things I do they don't agree with. And that's ok. Something that works for us may not work for others just as things they do won't work for our family. I guess I just struggle with the no respect side of things. Why are so many parents raising their kids to not respect anyone or anything. Regardless of age, every person whether you are 2 or 92 should respect other people! I don't care if you don't like the other person, they still deserve to be respected as a person.
Well, I guess that's enough of my rant for the day. No certain parenting style is better than another. You have to do what works for your family. Be friends with your kids. Make your home and relationship comfortable enough so your kids are open with you and talk to you. But also be a parent and raise your child(ren) to be respectful. You as a parent will be respected more when you rise a respectable child. :)

~ Until next time, let's all respect this life we've been blessed with.

Freedom of Speech?

So back on the 4th of July I read someone update their status about freedom of speech. Here is what was said "As we celebrate this independence day, a day to celebrate our freedom, I have to wonder. Do we really have the freedoms we think we have? I know I'm opening a can of worms "you people" have "advised" me not to, but damn I'm doing it. I don't care anymore. I'm suppose to have freedom of speech but when I speak my mind, I'm told "that's wrong" or "that's inappropriate" or "you shouldn't say things like that". Wake up people!!!! It's MY opinion!!! Mine. You don't have to agree with me. But that "line I'm not suppose to cross" is being crossed right now. How in the hell is it ok for a school to tell me what I can & can not talk about on MY FB page???!!! Not once have I ever mentioned this schools name, or any teachers, etc. As much as I've wanted to recently, I have not. I have had some respect. But I believe this line they talk about has been crossed by THEM! How dare they try to control MY freedom of speech I'm suppose to have in this beautiful country, the land of the free........" She went on to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. Her update has had me really thinking over the last several weeks. More so just within the last couple of days.
Everything she said was correct. This freedom of speech has become an issue. We are suppose to be able to speak our mind. However, more often than not when someone speaks up, voices their opinion, defends someone, or partakes in a conversation other people are quickly offended if your opinion is not the same as theirs. I'm so tired of hearing people complain that something or someone offended them. There's times where I want to say, "Stop being so sensitive!!"
I think it boils down to this, people need to stop claiming they are offended because someone doesn't agree with them. We as people need to be more open minded to others. Just because someone doesn't agree with us doesn't mean they are a bad person or they are wrong. They just think differently. And that's ok. There's nothing wrong with that. If we all think alike, life would be pretty boring but just because I think differently than you doesn't mean I'm wrong. Start being respectful of others and stop placing judgement. Stop trying to control others.
As the FB posting mentioned, if I, you, we......whoever is ranting on FB and is not name dropping then regardless of what they are saying, let it be. You don't have to agree, you don't have to comment. Just let it be. I will admit, I am guilty of being frustrated with people who don't agree with me or think the same way I do. But this is something I personally have worked to change the last two years. I have become more open minded, less judgemental, more willing to accept other peoples thoughts and opinions. We also need to be more forgiving. This is something I have struggled with and hope one day to be better at.
So, this posting has kinda been all over the place. Bottom line - let's stop trying to take people's freedom of speech away just because we don't agree with them or like their opinion. Be open minded and respect people. I teach my girls - You don't have to like everyone or be friends with every person you meet in life but you have to respect them as a person. Everyone deserves to be respected.......well, unless you are a crazy psycho killer. :)

Where does the time go?

So, I said back in January I was going to start blogging again. More regularly. Well, just as said that life got a little crazy and there was time for nothing. We packed and moved in a matter of 6 weeks into a dream house. I LOVE this house. Without sounding like a brat, this house is awesome!! And 6 months ago I would have never dreamed we would be living in a house like this right now. Things are finally settling down and everyone seems truly happy. I mean, who wouldn't be? We have a one & a half story so the girls are upstairs in "their own area". Dave and I are on the main floor with an extra guest bedroom. And there's an amazing finished basement!!!! Where the girls live! They LOVE it down there. There is so much room, soft carpet, a play room, pool table, "media room" and 3 TV's! So much fun!!

So after the big move was spring break and a weeks vacation for Dave. We used this time to unpack and organize the new house. The week went by too fast but we got a lot done. Then it was back to school for the girls and work for Dave. Finally, some time for me to get back to work and get some things done on my own. Time to really settle in. Oh no! Hold up, the curve ball of never a dull moment in life was coming. Dave had some medical issues that needed to be taken care of. Time off work for him and some time to focus on getting him better. I'm happy to report, everything went well and he's on the road to a full recovery.

Now we find ourselves at the end of April before things got "back to normal". And just like that the end of the school year was upon us and 5 months have quickly pasted. So with that being said, there has been a lot of changes around here for the Fritsche family. Some big decisions have been made and lots of positive changes are around the corner. Hopefully, life is slowing down a little to a steady "busy" pace. We are looking forward to a great relaxing summer.

Stay tuned for REGULAR updates and maybe a few rants as I do some "cleaning out!"

Have a great Sunday Funday!!

Inspired!

So.....I haven't been on here in forever. It's been something in the back of my mine to start doing again. I LOVED to sit down and just start typing. It's fun. It's relaxing. It's easy. And it's a no brainer. But my friend Nichole started her blog for the first time and after reading hers, it's inspired me to get going again. So here's a little late but better than never New Years Resolution......I'm going to start blogging again more regularly. I don't care if no one reads it because Facebook has taken over the world and everyone gets their updates there but this will be fun for me again. :)

Think......

Random thoughts.....

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. What would happen if you ran over a ninja? How the hell do I respond to that?

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well..

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Busch Lights than Kay.

Think about it......

Happy Holidays!

So I know I've said this before but I am going to get back on a regular blogging schedule again. There has been so much going on that it was the last thing on my mind for a while. But I have taken several steps back over the last couple of months and really regrouped and made so changes. Some really good changes. I've learned to say "NO" to people and have cut back on a lot of things. This has allowed for more family time and more time spent with the girls. Something we really needed around here.

There's been so much going on that it would be hard to recap everything that has gone on over the last two months. But school is going well for both of the girls, they are happy, and I think we have finally really settled in the new house.

From this point on, look for more regular postings again. Updates, pictures, and odd things! It's the fun of blogging, you get to do what you want!!

Until next time, have a great day!

Too Funny!

I love this!

NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out
on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done .

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches,
and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them,
brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size, and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy,
biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

And men say they can do anything! Ya think??

Interesting......

25 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN AMERICA
Will this happen in our life time?

25. U.S. Post Office
They are pricing themselves out of existence. With e-mail, and online services they are a relic of the past. (refer to #9) Packages are also sent faster and cheaper with UPS.

24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel Factors like 20 an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.

23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.

22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year.. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.

21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.

20. Phone Land Lines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had land lines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.

19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.

18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.

17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990's, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.

16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.

15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.

14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.

13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of i ts sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.

12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustaina ble-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these=2 0sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.

11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
Bowling Balls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.

10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.

9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day.. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?

8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population has decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.

7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).

6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.

5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.

4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood.

3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times re ported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers.. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.

2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.

1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930's, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census is just now being published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. FARMS are small Family Farms.

Both interesting and saddening, isn't it?

Be Proud!

Some very good points made here.......

Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this?

There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' 'Caveman'... and that's OK...
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ... You call me a racist..

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month.. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET....

If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month, we'd be racists. If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives, we'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that??

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.

If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships... You know we'd be racists.

There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US .. Yet if there were 'White colleges', that would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.

I am proud..... But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists??

There is nothing improper about this.... Let's see which of you are proud enough to agree. I sadly don't think many will. That's why we have LOST most of OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves!

BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!
It's not a crime YET... but getting very close!

WOW!!

WOW is all I can say right now! It's been so long since I last blogged. There has been so much going on that I needed to take a break just to keep up on things. But boy have I missed blogging!! I have so much to catch up on so let's get started.......

I last posted on the 4th of July when we just started moving and Courtney had just left for Dallas. We spent our first night in the new house on July 3rd. It was very different but good. So far we are very happy in the house. Still trying to unpack some things and find the "perfect" for everything but it definitely is starting feel like home!

Courtney made it a whole month in Dallas!!!! She had so much fun and did so much sight seeing. She's already asked to go back next summer. Her highlight of her vacation was going to the JFK museum and location where he was killed. With her love for President trivia and information, she's talked a lot about this along with going to see the birth place of Eisenhower and the street where George W. Bush lives. She got to do a LOT of swimming, shopping, and playing with Gracie. She also got to spend a week at VBS at Aunt Debbie's church which she enjoyed. I had such mixed feelings about her going. I knew she was going to have a lot of fun and was pretty sure she was going to make it the whole month. But at the same time, I did question it a little bit if she would make it. A month is a long time to go being away from your family, especially when you are 9. But I'm so thankful she made it and such a wonderful experience. It's something I'm sure she will remember for a long time!!

Our month of July was busy and crazy. We finished moving and tried to help my parents as much as possible with their move. Thankfully everyone was moved in time and everything went well. I continued working and Kayla got to spend time with Dave, GiGi, Aunt Lisa, and Mrs. K's. She got to do a lot of fun things and go to some exciting places. One of her favorites was the new City Garden downtown with Aunt Lisa. In fact, she's been there twice!! Kayla settled into the new house without her sister very well. I was surprised. I thought she might struggle a little but she did well. She didn't care to play in the playroom too much without someone downstairs but she's starting to come around and be more comfortable with it now.

The last week of July was vacation week!!! And was a very welcomed vacation week because we needed it!!! The for of us spent a day at Six Flags and had a blast!! Believe it or not but it was the first time the four of us had been there together. We actually realized it was also the first time Dave and I had been there together. We had a great day!! Kayla rode her first roller coaster, Courtney rode several roller coasters, and we all had so much fun. The best part of the whole day.....we all got in for FREE!! It was awesome. The girls had passes from school and Dave and I each had a pass from getting cable installed at the house. The rest of our vacation was spent spending time with the whole family! It was very enjoyable and relaxing!!

August rolled around and it was back to reality. Dave and I both had to go back to work and Courtney was actually home! She had an adjustment to the new house. She struggled a little bit but after a week or so she settled in. Both of the girls have adjusted well and seem to be enjoying their own bedrooms for the first time, a nice big playroom in the basement, and a quiet street they can ride their bikes on.

My return to work did not last long. I worked Monday, Tuesday, and a half of day on Wednesday. I had to take off Thursday and Friday off and then over the weekend we made the choice for me not to go back for many reasons. So currently I'm working with my mom a few days a week and selling on eBay again. I'm hoping to find something part time, and working from home would be an extra bonus! ;) We are taking it day by day right now and seeing where things go. With our schedule, working full time just seems....well, very difficult. Courtney has practice on Mondays, Kayla on Tuesdays, and Courtney again on Wednesdays. Not to mention Kayla's girl scouts, homework, and everything else that comes along. So I'm hopeful with some smart shopping, watching every penny, and that something part time will come along we will be right back where we were when I was working. :)

So August continued on and before we knew it, it was back to school time. I was NOT happy about this!! I felt we didn't have much of a summer. But the school year started and the girls are excited to be back. Sort of! They like it, they just don't like having to get up so early in the morning. We are trying to settle back into a school routine and adjusting back to an earlier bed time ans the alarm going off at 6:30am.

Well....I think you are just about caught up now on what's been going on around here. I plan on getting back on my regular blogging schedule again so hopefully I can stay on top of it again. I'm going to try and post some pictures here soon.....sadly I don't have many from the summer since things were a little off this year.

I'm off to bed now....good night!

Happy 4th!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Safe 4th of July!!!

Too much!

* Craziness * Stressful * Exciting! *

Pretty much sums up the last week around the Fritsche house! We are currently in the process of moving. My parents finally sold their house so the hunt for a new place began. We found a new house that we are very excited about! More coming about the house later. So there's been a lot of packing and moving going on for the last week. We got the keys to the new house last Thursday, June 25th. In the middle of all the moving, I have also started a new job with a Farmer's Insurance agent. There's a lot of changes going on around here so I haven't had much time to update the last week. But once we are all moved and the unpacking is mostly finished, blogging will be back on the list of things to do! :)

Our other exciting news for the week is, Courtney headed back to Dallas with Aunt Debbie, Michelle, and Gracie on Monday. They had been here visiting for the last week and Courtney decided to go back home with them. They already had a trip to STL planned for the end of July so the plan right now is for her to stay until they come back to STL.........in 4 weeks!!!!!! It's going to be so strange not having Courtney around. We will have to wait and see if she makes it the whole time. I think she will, she was very excited about going so I think she is going to be just fine. I think it's going to be harder on Mommy and Daddy! :) Kayla decided to stay home after realizing just how long she would be gone. It was going to be too long for her to be away.

Well, off to bed.....I need to try and catch up on some sleep!!

Until next time, have a great week!

Friday Funny!

The Zen of Sarcasm

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either.. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day .

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving .

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

AND

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday