After a steady decline, alcohol-related traffic fatalities rose slightly in 2006.And studies show that drunk-driving crashes and deaths spike on New Years Eve.
If you are hosting a party this year, here are a few stay-safe-tips to help your guests stay safe.

Ensure all guests have a ride to and from the party in a car driven by a nondrinking designated driver.

Plan activities that take the focus away from nonstop drinking, and make nonalcoholic beverages available.

Serve high- protein snacks to slow down alcohol absorption.

At least 90 minutes before the party ends, put away the alcohol and start serving coffee, water, dessert, etc…

Take the car keys if an intoxicated guest is planning to drive home.

Some guests may balk at the idea of taking a cab home because they don’t want to return the following day. The Auto Club will help. Through a program called TIPSY TOW, even nonmembers can get a complimentary ride and tow back to their residence up to seven miles away. No membership or identification is required. All you have to do is call
(800) 400-4AAA [4222] and request a TIPSY TOW. The program runs from 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 30th, through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 1st.
(check your area as numbers, times and mileage may vary!)

THE SHOPPING SEASON IS UPON ON US AGAIN AND THERE ARE A LOT OF CRAZY, LAZY PEOPLE OUT THERE LOOKING FOR WAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF US. BEWARE. PLEASE READ AGAIN JUST TO REFRESH YOU MEMORY, WHO KNOW IT MIGHT JUST SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or love one’s life. Because of recent abductions in daylight hours,refresh yourself of these things to do
in an emergency situation…
1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you….chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc.,
and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS!) The predator
will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR , LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.
a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
a. Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat
b. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
c. Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

8. A woman recently heard a crying baby on her porch and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her “Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said,
“We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby’s cries outside their doors when they’re home alone at night.

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
Chinese Proverb

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.
William Blake

Birds fly over the rainbow, Why then – oh, why can’t I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why, can’t I?
Lyman Frank Baum

God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
J.G. Holland

The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply that they have perfect faith, for faith is necessary to have wings.
James M. Barrie

Life is good only when it is magical and musical … You must hear bird’s song without attempting to render it into nouns and verbs.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could.
John James Audubon

A light broke in upon my soul–
It was the carol of a bird;
It ceased–and then it came again
The sweetest song ear ever heard.
Lord Byron (George Gordon Noel Byron)

1. CAN YOU CRY UNDER WATER?

2. HOW IMPORTANT DOES A PERSON HAVE TO BE BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED ASSASSINATED INSTEAD OF JUST MURDERED?

3. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO “PUT YOUR TWO CENTS IN”.. BUT IT’S ONLY A “PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS”? WHERE’S THAT EXTRA PENNY GOING TO?

4. IF CORN OIL IS MADE FROM CORN, AND VEGETABLE OIL IS MADE FROM VEGETABLES, WHAT IS BABY OIL MADE FROM?

5. WHY DOES A ROUND PIZZA COME IN A SQUARE BOX?

6. WHAT DISEASE DID CURED HAM ACTUALLY HAVE?

7. HOW IS IT THAT WE PUT MAN ON THE MOON BEFORE WE FIGURED OUT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO PUT WHEELS ON LUGGAGE?

8. WHY IS IT THAT PEOPLE SAY THEY “SLEPT LIKE A BABY” WHEN BABIES WAKE UP LIKE EVERY TWO HOURS?

9. WHY ARE YOU IN A MOVIE, BUT YOU’RE ON TV?

10. WHY DO PEOPLE PAY TO GO UP TALL BUILDINGS AND THEN PUT MONEY IN BINOCULARS TO LOOK AT THINGS ON THE GROUND?

11. IF ELECTRICITY COMES FROM ELECTRONS, DOES MORALITY COME FROM MORONS?

12. WHY IS “BRA” SINGULAR AND “PANTIES” PLURAL?

13. WHY DO TOASTERS ALWAYS HAVE A SETTING THAT BURNS THE TOAST TO A HORRIBLE CRISP, WHICH NO DECENT HUMAN BEING WOULD EAT?

14. IF JIMMY CRACKS CORN AND NO ONE CARES, WHY IS THERE A STUPID SONG ABOUT HIM?

15. IF THE PROFESSOR ON GILLIGAN’S ISLAND CAN MAKE A RADIO OUT OF A COCONUT, WHY CAN’T HE FIX A HOLE IN A BOAT?

16. WHY DOES GOOFY STAND ERECT WHILE PLUTO REMAINS ON ALL FOURS? THEY’RE BOTH DOGS!

17. DO THE ALPHABET SONG AND TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR HAVE THE SAME TUNE?

18. WHY DID YOU JUST TRY SINGING THE TWO SONGS ABOVE?

That would be Bill Gates!!
My nephew, Scott (on the right looking ever so business like!) once again got to hang, mingle, and rub shoulders with Bill Gates as Halo 3 was launched at Best Buy in Bellevue, WA. Watch closely as Scott intently surveys the area to ensure Bill a safe exit. It wasn’t long after, Scott found himself acting as a barrier between Bill and this rowdy crowd. Am I surprised? …nah, he’s always been kind of a risk taker. Proud? …yeah, but to him it’s just another day on the job, hanging out…just Bill, Scott, and a few other friends!

Making their way through the media, Bill and Scott reflect on the day. Good job Scott!

The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude in life. Attitude, to me is more important than the facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what people say or think or do. It is more important than appearances, giftedness or skills. It will make or break a company, a church, a family…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past; we cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have…our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes!
~Charles Swindoll