Monday, February 23, 2009

Please Donate!

We are in the final week of the Bands of America fundraising efforts to keep the program alive. If you have not already donated to the program, please consider doing so. We all know that the economy sucks right now, but this is really a cause worth donating to. Because of the Bands of America program, our lives - as musicians at Marian Catholic High School - were extremely enriched. I cannot begin to imagine my high school career without the incredible life changing experience I had playing tenor sax in marching band, playing bassoon in symphonic band and participating as a dum major during the 1998 marching band season. Bands of America gave MCHS goals to strive for. The MCHS band program and the BOA progam gave us pride, leadership, work ethic, dedication, commitment and incredible experiences. So often nowadays we hear people complain about how kids are lazy or involved in the wrong kinds of activities. You can make a difference by contributing to the BOA campaign and keeping these students and musicians in the right kind of program. Whether you can donate $20 or $200, your donation WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE! If you have not already donated, please do so right away.

Below is a video of our high school band director, Greg Bimm, talking with BOA about this fundraiser and about how MCHS has benefited from BOA since 1981. Let's keep this relationship going!!! Below the video is the latest update from the BOA fundraising efforts along with a link to make a donation.



I am proud to see that Marian has raised over $12,000.00 already, but I know we can do more! Even if each person donated just $10, a giant impact would be made in helping BOA reach their goal. Remember that these donations ARE TAX DEDUCTABLE! You will receive a tax deduction receipt in the mail along with an email receipt confirmation to deduct from your 2009 taxes.

BOA Alumni Campaign kicks off its final week with a $50,000 challenge gift from Guitar Center!

The Campaign goal of $250,000 by February 28, 2009 now within $77,000 On late Friday, I received a call informing me that Marty Albertson, the Chairman and CEO of Guitar Center, was committing a $50,000 challenge gift to Music for All. Marty said, "I am confident that Music for All is an organization that leads in music educator development; this gift is a result of our commitment to build professional and financial support to positively impact music education," he added. For those still on the sidelines, I hope this generous challenge gift will encourage you to participate.

Guitar Center will match the first $50,000 of contributions made during this final week. For those who have displayed their pride and commitment by contributing, thank you! We are thrilled to report that nearly 1,000 new donors have stepped forward from 170 different programs. But we have not come close to reaching the numerous alumni, educators, parents and grandparents that have been a part of BOA's 34 year history. We need everyone to assist us in reaching the 1.25 million people who have been personally impacted by Music for All's Bands of America programming.

Here is how everyone can help!
See the School Representation chart to see if your favorite program is represented on the letter jacket
Determine how much is needed to move your program to the next patch level
Send your personal testimonial and campaign link to 10 people and request that they at least match your donation
Ask that each recipient of your message send their testimonial and the campaign link to 10 more people that will then do the same

If we all band together, we will achieve the campaign goal and receive Guitar Center's generous gift. Music for All's Leadership Team Steps Up with their Own Challenge During the last CEO Chat session, Scott Lang donated one, 2.5 hour leadership workshop to the school that raises the most on Wednesday, February 25, 2009. Scott then challenged Fran Kick and Tim Lautzenheiser to follow his lead by donating the same on Thursday, February 26, and Friday, February 27, respectively. Both Fran and Tim accepted the challenge. *As a result, three schools will receive a great bonus for supporting the campaign. Thank you to Scott, Fran and Tim for your kind contributions.

Please remember that the PULLANTHROPY bonus card offer expires on Saturday February 28, 2009. All contracts committing to the fundraiser must be signed by Saturday. The actual fundraising can take place anytime before the end of the 2009 school year. A signed agreement will allow us to book a $1,000 campaign pledge. Download a pdf of the PULLANTHROPY agreement for your consideration. Visit the website for more information. Please know that I am humbled by the incredible support provided by so many. Furthermore, I am inspired by the heart-felt stories that have been shared over the past couple of months. Through your support, we will continue the tradition for generations to come.

If you haven't made your contribution yet, at whatever level, do it now, and if you have, thank you, and tell more friends! With your help we will be successful. Warmest regards, L. Scott McCormick President and CEO P.S. Don't miss the CEO Chat this Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 9:00 p.m. EST. Bookmark the page and read the previous chat transcripts!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

B.F.F.

You have to watch this entire video. You will be glad you did. This is an incredible story.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Happy V- Day!

Dennis has to work on Saturday and I have other plans. So, we decided to have an impromptu Valentine's Day tonight. I have been dying to try our sushi from Schwan's and I was in the mood for seafood. I made some crab cakes and scallops for dinner to have along with spicy shrimp rolls and crabmeat/avacodo rolls. Dinner was certainly TASTY! We will be having this dish again...sometime soon!

Look how great it looks! Mmmmm. It tasted just as good as it looks!

I made Dennis pose with his dish.

This picture is for Nic....he will get it...hehe

Den surprised me with a neclace from Tiffany & Co. Yah, it is totally materialistic, but I have always really liked this neclace. It arrived today from NY. I was going crazy all day wondering what might be in the box. I was pretty psyched to see the blue box inside when I opened the package.

Me wearing the neclace - so I look a little weird. I am actually OUT of makeup right now. I swear I am going to go shopping soon. I think that the neclace will go a little better with something a bit dressier...hehe.

Weekend trip to WI

Every year we try to go on a littl getaway not too far from home around the time of my birthday. Most of the time we go to the Grand Geneva resort in Lake Geneva, WI. That's where we went a couple of weeks ago. It was a nice long and relaxing weekend. We spent some time at the indoor water park at the neighboring resort and had 2 really excellent dinners - one at the Geneva Chop House and another at a quaint restaurant inside of an old house called Gilbert's. I would definitely recommend Gilbert's if you are ever in Lake Geneva. We ordered dinner off of the menu. However, one of the options there is to order a 4, 6 or 7 course surprise meal prepared by the chef. If we go again, we plan to do that. Everything was incredible and not only tasted good but also looked beautiful! The chef is very artistic!


The entrance to the Grand Geneva!

Gilbert's Restaurant. We ate on the front porch, right there behind the big glass windows! There was a big water fountain on the porch and beautiful tables with white linens and fantastic service. Everything was exquisitely prepared.


It's hard to see, but this stop sign lights up. It is powered by the sun. I thought it was cool, so I took a picture. You can see the solar panel at the top of the sign.



The wait staff at the Geneva Chop House, which is inside of the hotel, not only gave me this rose when we arrived for dinner, but also gave me a big beanpod candle for my birthday and a free dessert sample platter with creme brulee, chocolate cake, raspberry cheesecake and carrot cake.

Some of the ski slopes at the Grand Geneva.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Illinois Governors

This pretty much says it all.....someday I am moving out of this corrupt state....I swear!


Sunday, February 01, 2009

Utterly Disgusted

Last year my husband and I met with a fertility specialist as we considered the options of using fertility treatments to help us start a family. We did a lot of research before meeting with the doctor and had a list of questions prepared for the doctor and the staff at the fertility center. We also spoke with our insurance company and our financial advisor. The goal of any fertility treatment is to have one healthy baby. However, there is a possibility of multiples which you must be prepared for financially, physically and emotionally.

We chose a doctor who would make every effort to be conservative with treatments and would drastically reduce the chances of 3 or more babies at once. We learned that there are several different types of treatments from the minimaly invasive such as prescription drugs to the maximum invasive in-vitro fertilization. Fertility treatments should be looked at as a path to achieve a desired result. You start with the easiest and least expensive treatments and give them a chance to work (3-6 months) until you move on to a more expensive and extensive treatment. Because making the decision to have children is so definitive, most people stick to a treatment plan with some commitment. Before beginning fertility treatments, we knew we would like to be in a financial position where we would not have to limit our treatment options just because of money. This basically means that we would need to save up about $35,000.00 before we could begin. It would be fantastic to achieve a pregnancy after one month on a prescription, but you have to plan ahead. Each month of in-vitro costs $10,000.00. There is a program where you can pay $30,000 up front and get 6 months for the price of 3 (of course if it works during the first or second try, there is no refund - kind of a gamble.)

Last week we all heard of the woman in CA who gave birth to octuplets (that's 8 babies)! These 6 boys and 2 girls will join their 6 other siblings at home next month when they can survive without medical assistance. In total, this woman has given birth to 14 children in the past 8 years. ALL of them were conceived through in-vitro fertilization....seems insane, but hey some people want big families.

If people can provide for and care for these children, I would not have an issue with this. I would love to have a big family (big to me is 4-5 kids) but I would want to make sure that I could care for each and every child financially, emotionally, and physically. Having children is not a right, it is a responsibility.

This woman is a single parent. She lives with her mother and father in a 2 bedroom home. She conceived all of the babies through a voluntary sperm doner and in-vitro fertilization. She has a 3 year old autistic son. 1 year and a half ago, she and her parents filed for bankruptcy and abandoned the home that they were living in. She has no job. She is on welfare. She did not pay for any of her fertility treatments. (We working taxpayers paid for it for her. Let's say that each in-vitro worked on the first try. She has then had at least 6 cycles of IVF which totals at least $60,000.00) She is not paying for any of her medical care. (There were 52 doctors present to deliver her babies and they will all be in the hospital for at least 1 month to continue development before going home. This is a multi million dollar medical bill that we taxpayers are footing the bill for.) From birth through age 18, this woman will receive $171,926.00 per child from welfare or $2,406,064.00 total (almost $2.5 Million). The woman's father is planning to return to his native country of Iraq to try to earn money to send back to CA to feed these kids. Why do we allow this to continue? Why do we allow people like this to suck off of the system? Why would any doctor allow in-vitro to a woman who does not have a home or a job? Why would you bring 8 more children into a home with 6 children (1 with special needs) who are not currently being properly provided for?

There is currently a bill in congress trying to get approved which would not allow people with 3,000+ square foot homes to write off their taxes or interest as these homes would be considered energy wasters. (Don't even get me started on that one!) Yet, the government will continue to pay all of the bills for an unemployed single woman to have and raise 14 children.

Then there are people like me. People who would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to have one child. For people like me, we need to come up with $35,000 of our own money just to give it a shot. And, if even by accident, we end up with more than one baby, we are completely responsible for paying for and taking care of these babies on our own (which I am more than willing to do.) We have stable careers, a committed marriage, a decent home, and have paid into taxes and insurance since we got our first jobs. We have never taken advantage of the system in the forms of unemployment, welfare, etc. Don't get me wrong. If we chose to go this route in the future, we will be committed to it and we will not complain about the bills, etc. But if this is the going rate for fertility treatments, it should be the going rate for everyone.

It's people like this moron woman in CA that drive up the cost of fertility treatments for everyone else. It's people like this woman in CA who take up our tax money and raise the rates for medical care to the rest of us paying customers. I am utterly disgusted by this abuse of the welfare system and I am utterly disgusted that it continues on. No one caught on after she had the first 6 kids? Now she has 14. I hope there is a follow up story as to whatever happened to these 14 kids, 18 years from now. It's not their fault that they were brought into this world. I will keep them in my prayers. If any of them were up for adoption there are probably a lot of willing people who could give them a much better shot at life than their loser mother will.