NIKKIAUTUMN'S Blog

Just wanted to congratulate Scott and his family for their brand new baby!  I didn't catch whether is was a boy or a girl?  Would love to know what name they chose? 

Congrats and good luck to you!

What a wonderful day it was! (04/22/2007)

I got in my car and drove over an hour to go to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo today.  (OH MY!)  We were traveling I71 north so I had to take the W25th detour to get around the Fulton Bridge construction.  Wow, we sat in an unbelievable traffic jam the entire mile and half, or so, to the Zoo entrance.  Somehow, we still managed to have a wonderful time sitting in the blazing sun soaking up the rays with our windows down and smiles on our faces.  Now, when we actually entered the zoo I had a sudden change of heart!LOL!  I didn't think I could handle the crowd that was there with two young boys to keep a close eye on.  So, we turned around and left.  

We drove downtown Cleveland, it was wonderful, sunny no traffic in sight!  We ended up going to the Great Lakes Science Center where my children had a blast!  I will have to download the pictures of all of our hair standing on end while touching the static machine as soon as we get them developed!  We also got a chance to try out Andre, Dick, and Melissa's job at standing in front of the blank screen (to forecast the weather) and point around the map at fronts coming into Cleveland, Ohio! ( I will have to upload those pictures also!)  I hope they come out, as we were taking pictures of a television screen!  I cannot say enough for the Science Center, except that it would have been a better rainy day thing!  Unless you want to avoid the crowds, which we did!

After that, we headed to Edgewater Park.  The kids actually went in the water!  I was the nervous mom standing on the beach yelling "It's way too cold, don't go any farther, how are we going to get you home in those wet clothes!" LOL!  But they had an absolute blast!!!  I caught some rays and they had fun!  Can't get better than that!  Lot's of diversity down at Edgewater Park.  My children jumped right into playing with all the different kids, just like we lived in Cleveland our whole lives. (We live in the country!)  Didn't matter to them if they could speak the same language or if they were far different, they all played together!  It was a wonderful thing to watch as a mother!  We came home had a cook out and then read a story about diversity, respect, and fairness.  

I am whooped!  But it was worth every moment of the day!  You know, my kids even told me they had more fun today than they ever had at the zoo.  No offense to the Cleveland Zoo!  We are going back in a couple of weeks!

Just thought I would share my wonderful day with all of my fellow Fox 8 bloggers!

Thank you mother nature for a wonderful day!  Thank you Cleveland for giving us wonderful places to go and experience! 

I agree with all of you, changing the channel and not watching these tapes is what I CHOOSE to do when the Cho tapes come on. Anyone has the power to turn the TV off, or change the channel, or get up and walk away for that matter! As also stated in previous blogs , I would be better off, myself, not seeing the video, I am a sensitive person and I feel it would emotionally "get to me", I would put myself (emotionally) in the victims and their family's shoes.

But, GUESS WHAT I HAVE to LOOK AT every time I open my E-MAIL today? A picture, from the video, of this SICK AND CRAZY individual pointing HIS GUN RIGHT AT ME!

I can CHOOSE NOT TO WATCH when these videos are broadcasted on the TV, I CANNOT CHOOSE not to see this MANIAC every time I open my mailbox!! Absolutely ridiculous!

I am considering changing my email account. I am completely DISGUSTED with YAHOO for this poor judgement! As stated by another Fox 8 blogger, what if one of the students at Virgina Tech or their family members have an account with Yahoo and have to stare this lunatic in the face when opening their mail?

When media like this is made public, there will always be some IDIOT out there who will take this and make it more hurtful and destructive than it already IS.


I HAVE to stare at the pictures of this CRAZED, LUNATIC pointing his gun at ME, I don't like it, I don't like the way it makes me feel. I can't imagine how it would make someone feel who was directly involved in this incident.

I ALSO BELIEVE ALOT OF THESE PEOPLE BLOGGING AGAINST THE RELEASE OF THIS VIDEO, HAVE A VALID POINT!

Showing these video's to the public might just be enough to send that ONE mentally disturbed person over the edge, or create a "copycat" situation, AND THAT'S ALL IT TAKES, ONE PERSON! We had better ALL HOPE that none of these "disturbed people" work with us, go to school with us, shop with us, or our loved ones. This IS BECOMING AN EPIDEMIC in our nation.

WE ALL HAVE REASON TO FEAR FOR OUR FUTURES, OUR SAFETY, AND THAT OF OUR LOVED ONES AS WELL!

By the way, SUNDAY IS -- EARTH DAY!!!!

RECYCLING CENTERS IN MY AREA ARE OBSERVING IT ON SATURDAY. YOU CAN BRING IN ANY TRASH EXCEPT TIRES FOR FREE.............

(CHECK RECYCLING/ GARBAGE CENTERS NEAR YOU.!)

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE,

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE........

I CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!

Obtaining a driver's license is a rite of passage in a young teens life.  With it comes a great deal of responsibility!

Teenagers have the highest crash risk of any age group-about 4x higher than older drivers.  Traffic crashes account for 40 PERCENT of all deaths among 15-20 yr. olds, making it the leading cause of death for this age group-MORE THAN SUICIDES OR DRUGS! Government data shows that 16-yr. olds are involved in more than 5x as many FATAL crashes per mile driven as adults in their 30-50s.

According to a study by AAA, for a teen driver, the presence of even one passenger almost doubles the crash risk.  With 2 or more passengers the risk spikes to 5x. 

MAKING DRIVING SAFER FOR TEENS- HOUSE BILL 343  (Becomes law as :of April 4, 2007)

Provision of the new law:

-Generally prohibits a driver under 18 with temp. instruction permit from operating a motor vehicle between 12am-6am.

-Prohibits a driver with a probationary divers license, who is under 17yrs old, from operating a motor vehicle with more than one person who is not a family member, unless accompanied by a parent.

-Prohibits a driver with a probationary drivers license, who is 16-17 yrs. old, from operating a motor vehicle from 12am-6am, unless with a parent.

-Prohibits a driver with probationary drivers license, who is between 17-18yrs. old from operating a motor vehicle between 1am-5am, unless accompanied by a parent.

-If a person with a probationary drivers license before reaching 17yrs. of age, commits a moving violation in the 1st 6months from the date of issue, then he or she must be accompanied by a parent whenever operating a motor vehicle until the age of 17.

-Does not apply if traveling to and from work, license holder must carry written documentation from the employer.

-Also new law requires that a child between 4-15yrs. old must be restrained in the appropriate way when being transported by the probationary driver.

(I personally lost 5 classmembers in the year I graduated, so this hits home for me!)

Information taken from the The Wayne Bargain Hunter publication on 03/26/07.