Home, home from the Grange...

Just one of the many swine we saw this weekend.

The girls and I returned home today from visiting my family and friends in central PA. It was a great time, especially since I planned the trip to coincide with the annual Grange Fair. The fair and encampment has been going on for 132 years now. There are tons of exhibits ranging from produce to quilts to photography to 4-H projects. People also bring livestock - sheep, goats, pigs, chicken, horses, and rabbits - to show and sometimes to sell. Judging takes place throughout the week so by the end you can see who has the Best Dairy Goat or the Best Vegetable Freak (a real category for veggies that are oddly shaped - sorry I didn't take a picture).

The Senior Dairy Cattle Showmanship competition.

There is a concert every night with smaller concerts or shows throughout the day. Area businesses set up booths to display their wares and area restaurants sell food. There are crafters in abundance, like the woman from whom my mom bought a plastic bag holder. I really found it pretty amusing that the woman felt it necessary to place the bag holder (a tube shaped open-ended fabric bag with elastic around each end meant for holding and storing plastic grocery bags) in a plastic bag for my mom to carry it home. She could have advertised it as "free with purchase, a plastic bag to start your collection."

Walking on the midway.

There are also carnival style rides, games and concessions. They have actually increased the number of rides since the last time that I was there, so now there are two ride areas at different ends of the fairgrounds. Unfortunately, with two little ones in tow, I wasn't really able to amuse myself by making myself ill on all the spinning, twirling, inverting contraptions. However, there were a few more tame rides which Maria enjoyed very much.

Fast car = Fun.

We went to the fair on Saturday and Monday, but we still didn't see as much as I would have liked. Maria had a great time looking at the animals, especially the rabbits and the goats. She was especially happy when one of the goats licked her a hand. (Nope, didn't get a picture of that either.) She also enjoyed playing "the duck game," and winning fun prizes, like the "trumpet" and spiky ball in the picture above. I also had a good time playing skee ball with Amelia in the front carrier trying to grab the ball from my hand.

Two "kids" eye to eye.

Last night we stay pretty late so that I could see Jamie O'Neal in concert. Unfortunately, she was late getting there, so the concert started at 8:30 instead of 8. Then, there were possibly drunk people sitting behind me talking loudly and making crude jokes. (I was very glad that Maria was with my mom or she would have picked up some "interesting" new words from these people.) Then there was the overly friendly man in front of me who kept playing with Amelia's hands and feet. I should have told him no, but I'm such a wimp when it comes to stuff like that, so after awhile I just said something about her needing sleep and turned her around in the front pack so he couldn't reach her arms and legs anymore. Even with all that, I still enjoyed the concert. I left after the first set to find Mom and Maria, so we could get the girls home and to bed. All in all it was a great, but exhausting trip.

Maria collapses on the floor after coming back to Grammy and Pappy's after an evening at the fair. Notice that she is still clutching her " 'nother balloon", her third one of the fair - she let the air out of the first, and accidently released the second into the air. This one she wasn't going to let go of.

On a Lighter Note...

Here are some pictures of Amelia "helping" with the groceries.

Prayer Request

My friend's brother was in a bad motorcycle accident. He had multiple broken bones, but thankfully no permanent neurological damage.

Please pray for his recovery, and for his wife and daughter who saw the accident happen in front of them.

Update on Prolife Search

I received an email and a phone call from Dr. Rice. He will be trying to contact Jack and Joe and "get the refunds moving."

Hopefully, this will the their attention.

More Info on ProLife Search...

I decided to create a post with links to other sources of information about ProLife Search.

Here's some old stuff:
Jack Manhire's blogger profile. This has links to all the blogs that he created dealing with PLS and the Essential Catholic Classics.

Mortgage Market Dominator by Jack: here.

From the ProLife Search Blog several posts mentioning the board of advisors for PLS: here and here.

New(er) Stuff:
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam had two posts, one with a rather lengthy comment thread. New Post. Older Post (with comments).

Catholic Answers Forum. (You need to register to reply to the discussion, but anyone can view it.)

phatmass phorum. (Again register to add replies) - Two threads, here and here.

Steve Ray's Blog. The post is old, but the comments are new.

Me Monk. Me Meander.


Some more information:

Board of Advisers:
I found a partial? list of the board of advisers for PLS (see links above). Fr. John J. Blum is not at the parish linked on the blog post. I think that this is his current parish. I will be trying to contact him in the next few days.

I also found a link for Dr. Charles Rice's contact information. I may also try to contact him.

I did not find anything yet for Edward J. Adams, Jr.

All of these people were affiliated with the organization in some way in January of 2006. I don't know if they are still in contact with Jack or Joe, and I don't know if they know anything about the PLS site disappearing or the Essential Classics of Catholic Spirituality. I am only putting up this information as it may help us to get in touch with Jack or Joe and get this situation resolved.

Internet Crime Complaint Center:
An anonymous commenter at Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam suggested that anyone who ordered the books should report Jack and Joe to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

At this point, I also believe this to be the best course of action.

If I find anything more I will post it.

Also, if anyone actually gets a refund, is able to get in touch with Jack or Joe, or had any other interesting info post a comment here.

Essential Classics: A Way to Get a Refund?

As I said in my last post, I have been in contact with Patte, the former secretary for ProLife Search. She too has not been able to contact Jack Manhire or Joe Hanley for several months. (She does not live in the same state as they do.)

She does not have access to the funds to refund anyone's money. However she has suggested that anyone who ordered the books should be able to dispute the charges with their credit card company. She is happy to communicate with the credit card companies to vouch for the fact that the books were never received.

Anyone wishing to try this route can get in touch with Patte via email at gradwell_cottage - at - zitomedia - dot - net.

What happened to the Essential Classics of Catholic Spirituality?

Okay, so I've been rather reluctant to post on this because I wanted to gather as many facts as possible first.

Way, way back in November of last year, I ordered some books online called the Essential Classics of Catholic Spirituality. It looked like a great collection of books, and although I already owned some of them I thought that they would make great gifts. The group selling them, ProLife Search was publishing these books as a way to raise funds for various pro-life organizations, which they had listed on their website. The group was founded by Jack Manhire and Joe Hanley, both lawyers from Chicago.

At first things seems to be going well. I paid for and received the e-books, and pre-paid for the leather-bound copies which were to be printed in January. Then I forgot about it all until March. I emailed PLS at that time and got response that there had been a printing problem, but that the books should be arriving in a few weeks.

Then I forgot about the books again, until May. I emailed PLS again, and received response from their secretary saying that there was a printing problem, which would most likely not be resolved and that I should try to get my money back from my credit card company.

I was not satisfied with that answer and after a little searching, found an email address for Jack Manhire. I emailed him and received no response. I also emailed the Couple to Couple League to see if they had received any money from ProLife Search. I was told that CCL's records were unclear as to whether or not they had received funds; they may have or may have only been contacted by PLS regarding possible contributions to be made.

At this time I went on the blog for the "Hardbound Classics," which at the time was linked from the PLS homepage. I left a comment on the most recent posting there in hopes that Jack would respond, or that others looking for answers would contact me. Jack did not respond to this comment.

Around this time I located this site, for Tax Defenders, a company founded by Joe Hanley. I sent an email to the general contact email account, asking for a response from Joe Hanley. Finally, I received a response.

Here is the actual wording of the email:

"I'm very sorry for the long delay, but we are still working on either getting a refund from the Chinese printer or on getting the books. I am glad to give you a refund if you would like, please just let me know. "

Joe had responded using this email account: jrhanley@thetaxdefenders.com

The Tax Defenders site also contained a phone number for the business and an address.

This is the contact information as it is listed on the site now:

The Tax Defenders
200 W. Adams
Suite 2610
Chicago, IL 60606
info@thetaxdefenders.com

800.341.0411

(The address had changed since the day I first found the site)

After emailing Joe back and asking how to get a refund I got this response:

"I will send you a check. Where would you like to receive that? Also, yes, of course on anyone else who is wanting a refund, have them email me.

We will update the site and w/ email but have been putting off hoping for a resolution."

On May 27th, I sent him my address and how much I paid for the books. That same day I received this response from Joe:

"I will do that. Got your note "around the horn" that I was not responding to you because it took me a full day to get to your email. Please be advised that it might take me 48 hours to send your check out.

Please understand it may take me hours or even days to respond to your email and contact me directly with any issues you have that concern me in the future."

This was the last contact that I had with Joe Hanley.

On June 8 I responded to his email explaining that the most direct way I had of contacting him was though email. I also explained that it had been two weeks and I still had not received my refund.

After this I went on vacation hoping to find something waiting for me when I came back. I really wanted a check to appear and all the hassle to be over. No luck. To this day I still have not received anything from Joe, not an email and certainly not a refund. I even called his work number on Friday and left a message. No response yet.

I filed a complaint on with the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance using the address for PLS that I found at the bottom of the emails they sent and a phone number that I had found on an old press release.

Here is the address and phone number that I used:

ProLife Search
542 N. Ashbury Ave.
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

312-924-1890

(I believe that the phone number it not active anymore, and I really don't know about the address either.)

I got confirmation from the BBB that the complaint was filed, but I don't know if anyone at ProLife Search actually received it.

Shortly after I filed the complaint (I filed around June 28), the ProLife Search site stopped working. For a long time it didn't come up at all, and now it redirects to a site for a band.

After the site went down, someone else who pre-ordered the books let me know that she was receiving emails from Jack about other "great" stuff. The first was about Christian MySpace. The first part of this link is www.askataxattorney.net. So I checked that out. It redirected me to this, a site for TaxAid.net. It doesn't say anything about Jack on the site, but there is an email address listed under "contact us." This email may or may not be read by Jack; I really don't know, maybe someone could check it out.

In any case I emailed Jack at the address on the bulk mail asking about the Essential Classics of Catholic Spirituality, and viola! got myself added to their mailings. (I did have to confirm that I wanted to be added to the mailing list, so it wasn't totally automatic) No response from Jack. The next couple of emails from Jack, or really the automated email generator, were about homeschooling resources. The most recent of these was sent on August 9.

I have been in contact with others who have not received the books. Several of these people have also tried to contact Joe Hanley or Jack Manhire and have either not received responses or were promised a refund which they never received. I have also been in contact with their volunteer secretary. I have actually spoken with her on the phone several times. She has not spoken with either of the men in months. They do not return her phone calls or emails.

She gave me Joe Hanley's cell phone number. I will not post it here. If anyone would like to try and contact him, email me and I will give it to you.

(Joe gave the secretary permisson to give out his cell number to anyone who wanted a refund. I have not yet tried to contact him, as I just received the number on Friday, so I don't know if it actually is still a valid number.)

I am hoping that by posting all of this information we may get the attention of Jack and Joe. I don't care about money. I just want an explanation of what happened. All the information listed above I found doing various Google searches. If we all start trying to contact the men then maybe this whole thing will be resolved.

'Light-hearted' degradation.

While skimming through Parents magazine recently, I came across an ad for method cleaning products which got be mad enough to send an email to complain. The ad features the naked legs of a man and woman, intertwined in a sexual manner as they are lying on the floor. The rest of their bodies are obscured by a wall, but you can see part of the woman's derrière. The title of the ad is "make floor love, not floor war." After the title follows a paragraph describing how method cleaning products have no harmful chemicals, so you can "do the mommy-daddy dance right on the floor" without fear of harsh chemicals irritating you. It ends with, "now, doin' the nasty is anything but."

I was so appalled to find this imagery and this wording in a magazine for parents, where any kid could get to it, that I tracked down some contact info. I have to admit that I was shocked to get a response. (Honestly, I wasn't sure if my email would make it through office anti-smut filters, as I had to use the words sex and sexuality so many times.) I was not shocked however by the type of response that I received. It was the typical, 'shrug, sorry we offended you, but we thought it was for the best.'

Here's my favorite quote from their response:

"With the ad itself, the copy was meant to be fun, light-hearted and
fresh. If we have offended you through the images and/or wording, our
deepest apologies; however, in this situation, we felt it best to
demonstrate the point through a sort of humorous analogy rather than a
black-and-white explanation." (emphasis mine)

I don't know about you, but I don't find the use of sex to sell a product "light-hearted." Nor is it "light-hearted" to use slang terms for sexual relations. It is degradation, pure and simple. Sex is far too important to be taken lightly.

Note also relativism in action. We apologize for the offense, but "we felt it best." Note also that she used the word felt as opposed to thought. This is relativism at it's best... no need to use reason, just do what feels good.

Even though I see ads all the time that annoy or anger me, this was the first time that I felt moved to write to complain. The response I received did not give me good feelings about the effectiveness of my complaining. However, I may still try it again, if for nothing else than to have some interesting nonsense to blog about.

If you would like to complain about the ad, even if you haven't seen it, here's all the info you need:

August 2007 Parents Magazine, Method cleaning products, "Make floor love, not floor war" campaign.

Complain to: Nancy Alcott-Lie (nice name, huh?) - nancy@methodhome.com

Or send a letter:

637 Commercial Street
San Francisco, CA 94111

If you write or email, leave a comment and let me know how they responded to you.

Don't call back....

...if it's near midnight, and you find my number on your phone, but you don't recognize it and don't know who I am.... don't call back, just to find out who I am.

I will not be coherent or happy to speak with you. And I will definitely not tell you who I am. I may entertain thoughts of calling you at some obscene hour just to chat about the that age-old question, "Who am I?" Or the next time the baby screams at 3 am I may feel compelled to call you and share the joy.

But really, if you see my number on your phone, and don't recognize it, assume it's a wrong number and DON'T CALL BACK!

My first meme.

Ok, so Jim tagged me for this, and I'm going to do it. I just a little grumpy though that he tagged all those people that I would like to tag. So I'll just have to be creative and come up with some blogger friends and acquaintances, instead of in-person friends.

Anyhow, here are the rules: Those tagged will share 5 things they "love" about Jesus. Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers. Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here with their name so that others can read them.

I'm doing mine backwards... top ten list fashion:

5. His miracles: All those in the Bible, like the feeding of the five (four?) thousand, and walking on water. I especially like those in which He used everyday things to transmit grace and healing, like when He used spit and dirt to heal the blind man.

4. His birth and childhood: I really like to try to imagine what Jesus was like as a baby and a little boy. I like that He went through the these stages of life. I especially like talking about Jesus as a baby and as boy with my daughter. I think that it helps her to relate to Him, because she knows that Jesus was little once too.

3. His Mom: I have to admit that I really like Mary. I think that she provides such a wonderful example to us all of humility and devotion to Jesus. I like that Jesus was kind enough to share her with us.

2. His Church: I love that Jesus established a Church. One that the "gates of hell" will not prevail against. Having been raised a Methodist, and coming home to the Catholic Church in college, I appreciate a church with real authority.

1. His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity: I love the Eucharist. I love that Jesus gave Himself to us in such an awesome way. I know that I will never fully understand it, but I also know that I can't live without it.

Okay, now the tricky part, I tag the following blogs: Nestled in the Woods, Friends for the Journey, Inspired by a True Story, Minnesota Mom and Life in a Nutshell.

ed. Oct. 7, 2007. Nestled in the Woods no longer exists on Blogspot as the blog of a Catholic mom. It was taken over by someone else and the content is no longer acceptable for viewing. Sorry to anyone who followed the link.

Six years and counting....

Jim and I just celebrated six wonderful years together, and I love him as much now as I did then. (Probably, more...especially when he takes care of those stinky diapers. Pee-eew!) We had a wonderful dinner out to celebrate, while Mom-mom and Pop watched the girls. A very nice treat indeed. Also very nice are the flowers that Jim gave me.
Thanks, honey.

Parenting in Public

At a meeting I attended recently, I was once again reminded how difficult it can be to be a good parent in public. And by "good parent" I mean a good disciplinarian. It's hard enough to do the right thing and discipline your child at home, especially if it means stopping what you're doing to deal with the problem. But when you're in public, there are a whole other set of obstacles.

Like worrying about disturbing other people if your child starts to tantrum when you tell them no, or worrying that people will think that you have no control. Or even worrying that you might appear too strict.

The issue I encountered at the meeting, had a little bit to do with that last one, appearing too strict. No I wasn't worried about appearing too strict, at first. Then one of the ladies at the meeting stepped in.

You see, Maria was wandering around the room. I had given her boundaries. "You may stay in this row, but you can't go into the row in front of us. Don't squeeze between chairs. If you want to sit down, sit down in this row." Now, the women in front of us probably heard me tell her this. But I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, and assume that she didn't know that I had already forbid Maria from wandering out of our row.

But I know that she did hear me tell Maria not to squeeze between the chairs, and try to leave our row the second time that she did it. I know because she was watching Maria, and after I told her to come back to me, the woman said, "It's ok. She's not bothering me."

At which point I wanted to retort, "Ya, but she's bothering ME."

I kept my mouth shut, managed to get Maria to come back without too much fuss, and sat there seething for a minute. Even though I was annoyed at the woman's comment, and her undermining my parenting, I still let it affect how I handled Maria for the rest of the time there.

The third time she tried to leave the row, I gave up trying to get her back more easily, and just gave her that, "don't even try it" look, which was enough to stop her from squeezing all the way into the next row. She just stood there staring at me, stuck halfway between the chairs. She knew that she was getting away with something, and she knew that I should be trying to stop her. But I didn't say anything. I was too tired of fighting her, and I was afraid that the woman would comment again.

It's tough enough to handle a two-year old without having defend your parenting tactics to everyone who happens along.

Camping at French Creek

Okay, so these are a little old but I finally got time to post them. Hope you enjoy.

Glad I'm not there anymore....

Bishop Trautman, of the Diocese of Erie, PA has issued a statement on the motu proprio that widens the use of the Tridentine Rite of the Mass. Patrick Archbold, over at Creative Minority Report does a fine job of fisking the statement here, so I will refrain from saying much.

I will note however, that this is the diocese where I did my 6 months of volunteering with a small order of sisters who had some "interesting" ideas about the church. With all the things that happened there, with seemingly no sanctions from the him, it does not surprise me to learn that Bishop Trautman is rushing to put restrictions on the use the Tridentine Rite Mass. This is just another sign of problems in that diocese.

More BS Party

Ok, so I lied. I realized that I have no time tomorrow for blogging, so I posted the pictures tonight, despite the fact that my husband is now turning off lights, and leaving me in the dark still staring at the computer. Hope you all enjoy the effort.

Fourth of July BS Party

This year, thanks to Steve we had a grand time on the fourth, picnicking and boating at his uncle's cabin. And luckily for us all, I got quite a few pictures of the festivities. I'll post a few tonight, and maybe some more tomorrow. If you want any specific pic emailed to you just let me know.

Home again, home again....

We're back from our whirlwind New England tour. We managed to see some old college friends, tour Mystic, CT and Boston, MA. Along the way we passed through parts of 7 states (not counting PA). We stopped at least 6 or 7 times to calm Amelia and or eat and stretch. I learned exactly how much I love PA drivers, whose idiosyncrasies are at least known to me, as opposed to drivers in other states, who may at any moment do something horribly unexpected to me, but something which is obviously a tacitly agreed upon deviation from the rules amongst drivers in their state. For example the tendency to come zipping up the entrance ramp at full speed and 'merge' without paying any attention to who may or may not be on the roadway already, and especially not considering whether or not you may be causing them to brake rapidly to avoid crashing into you. So much fun!

The trip was made even more exciting, from the outset, when Maria threw up on the morning of our departure. So we spent awhile deciding whether to go or not. Obviously we went, but we spent alot of the first day or so looking anxiously at Maria for any sign of a repeat performance. Aside from not eating much, she was fine for the rest of the time. But then Amelia, got sick on Friday night, and hasn't been quite right since. There's nothing like a stomach bug to make a trip more interesting.

We did manage to have fun though, seeing various ships and historic buildings, watching "Dory" fish at the aquarium, pushing buttons a the Museum of Science, riding the train with a stroller and two kids, finding the elevator at the subway stops, eating lots of good food (far away from the subway and it's "aroma") and generally passing out with exhaustion in the "number room" each night. We met quite a few friendly Bostonians, who we very helpful in giving directions and advice about how to navigate the city and find good food. We also met a couple with two kids, who are training to be missionaries in Africa. Even their three year old was learning French in preparation for their mission. Meeting such interesting people makes traveling that much more fun.

I could say more but I'll stop now, and let the picture say the rest.

(Pictures in separate post)

Mystic, CT

Row, row, row your boat.

Charles Morgan whaler.

Anchored.

Capsun Demo.

Boston - Day 1

Boston Harbor

Walking the Freedom Trail.

Peanut butter, jelly, and banana panini. Yummy!

On the USS Constitution.

Paul Revere statue near Old North Church.

Boston - Day 2

Outside the Aquarium.

A jellyfish, swimming.

Touching a starfish.

A fountain in Boston Common.

The view from our hotel, with musical nuns.
(they're kinda like that gnome)