More Bedroom Shoes

It has been awhile since I posted. I have been very busy with my parents. My father did well with the pacemaker. It was installed last thursday and he was released on friday home. It was put in on the left side and he cannot lift that arm and the right arm and shoulder was broken when he fell. So he has 2 arms that are out of commisson right now. He is doing okay. I will be glad when I can see the results of it ..him feeling better. I hope that will be evident in a few weeks.

Now my afterwork time is filled with running errands for my parents. It is amazing how many social appointments and doctor visits they have. They have way more things going on than I do. We have been grocery shopping about every other day, going to get hair and nails done-mom, me changing air conditioner filters and getting their recyling bins and garbage together to roll out to the street on pick up days...endless little things. I have been going over to their house immediately after work and not getting to leave there until 11:00 pm each night. Now I really do not have time for anything at home. Time will tell...it will get better. I feel just a little overwhelmed right now.


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Caption It!




What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Bedroom Slippers

All I want right now are a nice pair of comfy bedroom slippers. It has been a very bad day.


Victoria Secret
Only $48

This morning I go to work as normal. About 10am I get a voice mail to call my mom at home. I do. She tells me that my father has fallen and has been taken by ambulance to the hospital. She said he must have tripped, hit his forehead on the corner of the cofee table and was a gash. She said his arm was hanging as well???

She has glaucoma and has decreased vision in both her eyes so consequently, she cannot drive anymore. I left work to pick her up and to go the hospital. It was an all day wait..to be seen by the orthopedic doctor for his arm. He broke his arm/shoulder and had a small gash to the forehead which was repaired by a stitch or two.

In the course of doing standard work ups and monitoring, they discovered that his heart rate was dangerously low..in the 40's. So a heart test was done and it was determined that he has a blockage and most likely will need a pacemaker put in on tomorrow or the next day. The cardian nurse said that it was a blessing that he fell or his very low heart rate may not have been discovered. He simply would not have woken up one morning...his heart is beating so very slow.
Now I have double duty. Mom cannot drive so she will need me to be the taxi driver for all her appointments, trips to the grocer, whatever, for some time to come. When it rains it pours.



When I got home, I discovered a fly, then two , then three, then what seemed like 300. Where did they come from ? I have no idea. It is like a swarm has just appeared in the house. I am waging war with the fly swatter and Raid. There are so many it is creepy. Wasn't there a swarm of demonic flies in the Amityville Horror? These flies are freaking me out! How did they get in!!!??? It is not a fly or two...it is like 100 flies. Really. 100 all collected around the downstairs windows. I can't get them all...help! They seem to be multiplying!



I might have to rent this movie (Amityville Horror) again and the sequels.






What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches

The second Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches online auction will be full of glitz and glamour as it puts items on the block from both Nashville and Hollywood stars.

Among the celebrities donating autographed clothes and shoes are Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Alison Krauss, Sandra Oh, The Dixie Chicks, Geena Davis and Buck Owens, who is donating 1960s boots made by James Leddy.

The profits from the sales are directed to a charity designated by the celebrity donor.

Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches was founded by stylist Renee Layher; retired Sony Music exec Bill Johnson; his wife, Cynda West Johnson, an expert on public service; and administrator Keith Hempel. The group's motto: "Celebrating the power of fashion to change lives."

The auction will run on eBay from June 16-26.

Here are just a few of the celebrity shoes up for auction. Click on the shoes to go to that celebrity page.



These are a pair of shoes by Emma Hope
Bid on Cher on Ebay




Regina King Oscar Shoes by Stuart Weizman
Bid on Regina's Shoes on Ebay



Shoes of Martina McBride by Nine West
Bid on these on Ebay



Sandra Oh: by Stuart Weitzman
Sandra on ebay



Buck Owens: boots made by James Leddy
Bid on Buck's Boots on Ebay




Kate Winslet Oscar shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Bid on Kate's Shoes on Ebay


Check out the entire Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches site for lots of other things up for auction. Celebrity clothing for one. All for a good cause! Happy bidding!


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

4 Year Old Dies at Walt Disney World

UPDATE as of June 29, 2006
12 Year Old Dies. Sadly, it has happened again.


Boy dies on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at DisneyWorld.



A 12-year-old boy died on Thursday after riding one of the fastest roller coaster rides at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, Walt Disney Co. and local police said.

The boy from Fort Campbell, Tennessee, collapsed at 11:11 a.m. EDT during a ride on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at the Disney-MGM Studios theme parks. He was with his 7-year-old brother, mother and father, said Sgt. Carlos Torres of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Russell's father and the ride operator attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation with no result, Torres said.

The boy was taken by ambulance to a hospital at about 11:30 a.m., and he subsequently died, Disney said in a statement.

Disney media relations manager Jacob DiPietre said the ride was closed pending an investigation, although he also said an initial review indicated the ride did not malfunction.

"We offer the family our deepest sympathies," DiPietre said in the statement.

The death brought to three the number of Disney guests who have died on the resort's high-thrill rides in slightly more than a year.

The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which opened in 1999, is an enclosed, 82-second ride with a roll-over corkscrew feature accompanied by a blasting Aerosmith soundtrack. It is presented as a high-speed journey down a mythical Los Angeles freeway.

Disney's Web site says coaster riders will "zoom from 0-60 mph with the force of a supersonic F-14, take in high-speed loops and turns synchronized ... and zip through Tinseltown in the biggest, loudest limo you've ever seen."

Bo Jones, deputy chief of the Reedy Creek Emergency Services, said his department had responded to previous incidents at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, but no others involving significant injury.

The cause of the boy's death was unclear. full story here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



*****Update*****

Autopsy Results: No Truama Due to Ride

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - An autopsy on a 4-year-old boy who died after passing out on a Walt Disney World spaceship ride found no trauma, and more tests will be conducted to determine a cause of death, officials said.

Daudi Bamuwamye of Sellersville, Pa., passed out Monday on the Mission: Space ride, which simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars. The attraction is so intense that it has motion sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain.

During the ride, Daudi's mother, Agnes, noticed that his body was rigid and that his legs were stretched straight out, but she thought he was just frightened, according to a sheriff's report.

When the ride ended, the victim was limp and unresponsive, and he could not be revived.

An autopsy Tuesday showed no trauma so further tests will be conducted. A cause of death may not be known for several weeks, said Sheri Blanton, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner in Orlando.

"Now it's going to be a matter of, "If it wasn'ttrauma, what did it?" Blanton said.

Back to normal
The ride was closed after the death but reopened Tuesday after Disney World engineers concluded that it was operating normally. No changes were made to the ride or to rules regulating who can ride it.

"We believe the ride is safe in its current configuration," Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said. The sheriff's office said the boy met the ride's minimum 44-inch height limit.

More than 8.6 million visitors have gone on Mission: Space since it opened in 2003, Polak said.

Elsewhere, another heavily promoted, scary theme park ride was shut down last week. The Kingda Ka roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., billed as the world's fastest when it opened to the public last month, was closed June 8 after it malfunctioned during a test when no one was aboard.

On Tuesday, park officials determined that a piece of liner covering an area under the coaster's tracks had dislodged and "damaged a number of other parts," spokeswoman Kristin Siebeneicher told the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press.

Siebeneicher said the park is trying to identify the problem to make sure it does not recur.







Whose fault is this? It is the mother's fault. The mother is responsible for her child dying. I blame the mother. Now before everyone in the blogosphere who reads this goes crazy, let me tell you why I think this.

Coming from a social worker background you have to make the RIGHT choice for your child in every situation. According to the news article I read, he met the height requirements for the ride, but his age was not appropriate for the ride. She did not make the right choice in letting him go on Mission Space. No 4 year old needs to be on this ride. You, as the parent have to make the right choice for your child no matter what age his is.

At this point the jury is still out on why he died. He may have had some medical condition that no one knew about and it was really his time to go. He could have been at school, home, Walt Disney World, church, riding his bike in his neighborhood ....it was his time and God called him home.

I have ridden Mission Space and there are so many warnings everywhere for that ride, you as a mother...me, as a mother, would know that Mission Space is not a ride for very young kids. There are warnings for adults that they should be in good health before getting on Mission Space. Warnings everywhere that it is an intense ride. dirty Fila, my nephew and I rode it for the first time last summer and it was intense. My nephew said he will not ride it again as it made his stomach feel queasy. dirty Fila was just a little dizzy and even I felt slightly off balance after getting off Mission Space. I would ride it again and so would dirty Fila. They were 10 and 11 when they rode it and we talked about all the things they would feel on the ride before we got on: like not to close your eyes regardless of what was happening on the screens in front of them. That is one of the warnings. You must keep your eyes open so that you do not become disoriented. After talking about the ride and what to expect, my nephew and dirty Fila wanted to go on it.

I love Mission Space. It is something out of this world. I have been to WDW before and have seen parents trying to have their kids stand really tall just so that they can sneak on a ride. Each time I have seen this, the parents were BUSTED! by the castmembers. The child did not go on that ride.

I can't blame Disney on this one because there are warnings plastered everywhere about this ride. That mother did not use the sense God gave her when deciding to let a 4 year old go on Mission Space. She had ample warning. It is just like using a swimming pool. You swim at your own risk. There may be lifeguards to help at times. But even so, you are still swimming at your own risk. People who cannot swim a lick jump in the deep end, just out of stupidity and drown. You are putting your own life in harm's way. Nope, I cannot blame Disney on this one. Mother did not make the right decision for her child.

It is very sad and tragic that he is gone, but it is just one of those things. Now when we hear anything about his autopsy results that may indicate something Disney related, I may have to revise my view, but until then mom is on the top of my list.

I do not think this just because I work for Disney and am a castmember (not my fulltime job). (I have mentioned in past posts that I have a part time job that I work infrequently. It is at a Disney facility far away from Florida or California). As a cast member we have very strict guidelines for everything from dressing to safety to speaking--we can only speak the "Disneyese" when onstage. Maybe I am jaded from my past health care careers. I have had to deal with too many crackhead mothers and grandmothers selling the food stamps for drug money and all sorts of other crazy things before we took the kids away from them. Those mothers made no good choices for their kids and many times put the kids in danger.

You do not have to be the dregs of society(crackheads) to make bad choices for your child. Bad things are happening to kids everyday. Parents look away for just a second and toddlers drown in the family pool, lake, river. Kids are left for just a few minutes in the car on hot summer days while parents run into the grocery to get milk. Parents come back and they are dead from the heat. Parents give toddlers hotdogs so that they can choke to death knowing full well, that little piece of hotdog is the exact size of the child's esophagus. On and on I could go.

I blame the mother. She did not make the right choice in letting her 4 year old go on Mission Space. She did not heed the warnings or consider the effect that ride may have had on her child.

~~~~~~~~~

News Article Here

A FOUR-year-old boy has died after passing out during a ride at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Daudi Bamuwamye collapsed on Mission: Space, a ride so intense that it has motion-sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain.

The ride simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars.

Daudi's mother carried his lifeless body off the ride and paramedics and theme park workers tried to revive him, but he was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said the boy met the minimum 112cm height requirement for the ride, which uses centrifugal force to simulate twice the normal force of gravity. An autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death.

Officials said Daudi, from Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was on the ride with his mother, Agnes, and a sister.

During the ride, his mother noticed Daudi's body was rigid and his legs were stretched out. She told detectives she thought he was frightened, so she took his hand.

"When the ride ended, the victim was limp and unresponsive in his seat," a sheriff's office report said.

Complete story here



What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

It is Beer O'Clock Yet?


Catastrophic Disaster!
Tinker's pic


Today was the worse day of this week thus far. Sad because you would think that Monday or Tuesday would be the worse days of the week. It started as soon as I put my Oroton purse under my desk. I changed out my Dooney to the Oroton. Maybe I jinxed myself. Anyway, the red light on the phone was lit as soon as I logged on the phone. Why are clients calling at 10:30 pm and 11: 45 pm at night? Noone is in the office! What is the point of that? And the most annoying client of all from yesterday and monday ( 8 calls from her in 2 days) called at 9:00am. I spoke to her and handled her problem with an expense. I told her I would need to verify the expense and once I did I would pay it.

Okay, the manager is sending over all sorts of emails to work this list and that list and they all have a day and time deadline! Some were reminders of lists due today. I worked those. Then I got an email that I needed to spend about 3 hours in a side conference room doing some completion on a continuing ed course. Okay, but what about the phone ringing crazily at my desk? "They can wait, those courses need to be completed." Off I go.

I get back to my desk and most annoying client from monday and tuesday had called 3 more times to make sure I had handled her expense. Can we say together: WHERE IS THE GUN!? AND IT IS NOT FOR ME! I called her back and told her again what was happening and to please stop calling repeatedly. Nothing had changed in 3 hours since we last spoke.

Then the call came in from someone who wanted an expense paid today as they were strapped for money. Please people, do not make your financial chaos my problem. It is not my problem your electricity is about to be turned off. I spent 40 minutes, yes 40, trying to explain that I could not FAX a check to her today. Get it...you cannot fax a check to anyone and it be valid. They wanted me to fax a check to their local print shop in another city so that they could take that faxed check to the bank. I was totally through with them! I guess they are in darkness tonight! I never did fax them the check! And I do not believe they ever understood that a faxed check is worthless.

Finishing shoes must have woke up on the dumb side of the bed today. So many questions and assistance she needed. God help me! I have my own work to do, let alone yours and mine!

One of the other managers had a big old bruhaha of a meeting with his staff. It ended with him cursing his unit out and the big boss coming in and telling his staff that anyone suffering from stress as the result of the 3 hours bruhaha, they could leave for the day. Needless to say, ugliness is going on there! The whole office has an eerie feeling all over it...like things are happening behind the scenes..bad things that we are not fully aware of. Rumors are flying and gossip is plentiful.

Finally after several more odd calls at my desk, I decided that it was going to be beer o'clock when I got home. I checked the fridge and was out of Killians. What to do, what to do?!

I found another solution to the end of a day from hell! Since it was not going to be beer o'clock or weed thirty at my house, it would be "quarter past the jack daniels and ginger!" It has been "quarter past the jack daniels and ginger" for the past 2 hours and all is well. All is well!


Herb and Garlic Cheese

Carnival of the Recipes

I love this recipe. It has many uses. It can be piped onto vegetables like cucmber or zucchini disks, hollowed cherry tomatoes or mushroom caps. It can be used as a topping for baked potatoes or thinned and used as a dip. It can even be used as a sandwich spread with tomatoes or meat on any sort of deli bread. This works really well with vegetable plates for summer parties or picnics.

Herb and Garlic Cheese




Ingredients
  • 16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup minced parsley
  • 1/4 cup minced dill
  • 1/3 cup minced scallions
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco~~~optional. If you like hot stuff, add it for a little kick!
In a food processor or in a mixer that has a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese with the cream or milk. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. This recipe will keep for several days covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.




What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

The King of Pop: Saved by his Shoes!


Autographed pair of moonwalker shoes

Michael Jackson found "not guilty" of all charges. That is how I thought it would turn out however, he is guilty of the following things:



  • Guilty of making me a fan. I remember watching the Jackson 5 cartoon when I was a little girl. Michael was so cute.
  • Guilty of of keeping me a fan. I have been a fan my entire life and have most of his music.

the early years

  • Guilty of becoming very strange once the Jackson 5 broke up and he moved on to his solo career. The things I heard involved having Bubbles the monkey and treating it like it was human. I think Bubbles at one time even had his own private jet for traveling.

The Jackson 5 were one of the biggest phenomenons in pop music during the early '70s, and the last great group to come out of the Motown hitmaking machine, before Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder shifted the label's focus to more individual visions. The Jackson 5's infectious brand of funky pop-soul was a definite departure from the typically smooth, elegant Motown sound, as befitting the group's youth and the dawn of a new decade. That youth, coupled with the merchandising juggernaut that sprang up behind them, inevitably got them tagged a bubblegum group. But they were far more talented musically than that label would suggest, especially lead singer Michael, and their material, while sunny and upbeat, didn't pander to its audience. Solo careers and overexposure gradually weakened the Jackson 5, but their best music still holds up surprisingly well as some of the most vibrant mainstream pop R&B of its era.

  • Guilty of having too much plastic surgery and really ending up disfiguring yourself. People says some of your parts may be interchangeable. Are they?


  • Guilty of being stupid and not learning a lesson from the first trial. Celebrities are a target and if it were me, once the first thing happened, seems like you would have learned not to put yourself in that situation again. People are greedy and a payoff of nuisance money to make false charges go away can be seen as just another opportunity to try again to get even more money in the future.


  • Guilty of making me and some of my fellow coworkers hoot with joy when the "not guilty" verdict was read. I was listening to Howard Stern last week and George Lopez was on the day after he had to give testimony. Howard asked him to explain how that went. George said that he had his own bad interaction with that same child. He had been acting as a mentor for the child and had invited that same child to his house for pizza and was buying him things. George notices the boys wallet on the mantel in his house and inside was a crisp $50 bill. George thougth that was kind of unusual for the child to have left the wallet. When he returned the wallet to the father, the father was coaching that child to tell everyone how George had taken $300 from the wallet. The same family accused George Lopez of taking $300 and that was the end of the interaction with that family. After listening to the rest of the interview the family seems to be a grifter family just out for money.
I never did believe that Micheal Jackson was guilty of molesting anyone. I do believe that he had a terrible lapse of judgement in allowing the wrong people into his home. I do believe he does think differently that most people, but then don't all artists tend to be on some higher, strange plane that sets them apart. It is what makes them artists. He believes in the innocence of children and I think he was just trying to relive his lost childhood. He should have learned a lesson from the first trial that some child and their grifter parents would try that scheme again. I think he has learned his lesson now. Finally!



Me? I am now waiting on the next album! We need some new music that will hopefully revive his career. Long live Micheal Jackson, the King of Pop!


What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Pimp and Ho Shoes for the Weekend



This past weekend I went to visit some east indian friends of mine from south africa. We went to dinner and had a great time. Then someone suggested we go dancing. I was wondering about that. Where can you go nowaways to a club where there is not a sign that says no athletic wear or weapons allowed? Well, we found a club and it was okay, a mixed crowd. I had not been to a club in about 16 years so I was feeling leary about dancing. The last time I danced, I was dancing to DEVO and Rock Lobster, doing the hustle, the pony and the pretzle. Disco was king! Heck, I had decided I would sit the whole night. I had not learned to "drop it like it is hot."

As we approached the entrance we saw woman dressed in underwear literally. I was waaaaay overdressed in slacks and a summer sweater. I did not have a hoochie outfit on. Then we saw men dressed like pimps. We thought there was a private party or something going on. We asked if it was open to the public and we were informed that we had come on the night of the Pimp and Ho Party. Yeah, that's right...pimp and ho. The cost, $10.00 a person if you were dressed as a pimp or a ho. If you did not have on a ho outfit the cost was $20.00 without a costume. That was about to make me want to go ...$20.00 for regular clothes.

I decided to negotiate the cost with the person at the door and he did agree to let us infor $10.00 each even thought we did not have on the right clothes. About 3/4 of the people were dressed as pimps or hos and the other 1/4 were in regular clothes.



Well that party was all about a trip to Vegas and spending money. The best costume would win. Well, I did not sit the whole night. I did get up and I danced for about 2 hours straight. They were playing the serious dance music. Today I feel old! Old and creeky, but I had a good time. When I saw some of those people dancing off beat and not to the music (I won't say what color they were) I knew I could get out there and try to shake a tail feather. So I did. I was a lot of fun.

The outfits were outrageous. The most crazy person was a man dressed as a ho. He had on a blonde wig, a midrift t/belly shirt that had 2 fake boobs hanging down so that the nipples were exposed beneath the shirt, a black mini skirt with money tucked in the waist and stripper heels. We did not stay to see who won but for thought behind the costume he should have won...in my opinion. He also had some other accessories to his costume that I will just not mention. Okay....I will. He lifted his skirt and underneath he had either made or bought a costume of a giant vagina and he had that on. He was WAAAYYY OUT THERE! And that was not all he had either. Everyone else was just men dressed in pimp coats, hats, alligator shoes or shoes with the goldfish in the clear heels carrying pipm cups and wearing lots of bling and spinner bling. The women all looked like they just stepped out of Fredericks of Hollywood catalogs. Most had feather boas and were dressed in various fetish wear, corsets, victoria secret outfits, thongs under miniskirts with bras, fishnets and boots.

It was a lot of fun just to be in a club again. The music was good and I plan to visit those friends again to go dancing. Hopefully, it will be just a normal night and not a costumed party when we do go.



Want to really see real players in action?
The Players Ball is the answer.






What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Chinese Shoes Taking Over Shoe Markets!


EUROPEAN governments and footwear manufacturers are demanding emergency measures from Brussels to counter the rising tide of shoes and slippers being imported from China.

Figures released by the European Commission yesterday revealed that, after quotas were removed at the end of last year, Chinese exports of six categories of footwear to the EU had increased by almost 700 per cent, and in some instances by more than 1,000 per cent.

Between January and April, Europe imported 162 million pairs of shoes under these specific tariff headings — the equivalent of one pair for every three EU citizens — worth almost €500 million (£335 million). The sudden surge in shoe imports — China exported only 24 million similar pairs during the same period last year — mirrors the dramatic increase in Chinese textile sales to the EU since January after parallel trade restrictions were removed.

Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner, is currently trying to persuade China voluntarily to limit its exports of T-shirts and flax yarn. If a deal can be struck within the next few days, he is ready to fly to Beijing to sign an agreement and end the dispute. But if negotiations stall, the Commission will be able to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules and impose its own limits.
Mr Mandelson will undoubtedly use any meeting with the Chinese to voice the latest concerns over the country’s footwear exports. The Commission has been closely monitoring these since January and said in a statement yesterday that it had “noted the concerns of the EU footwear industry”.

A Commission spokesman added: “We have just had these figures. We are looking at them and we are reflecting on what course of action we should take. We will not shy away from acting. To act is to take anti-dumping measures.”

While cheap footwear is a bonus for consumers, it is causing big problems for European shoe manufacturers, especially in Italy, which accounts for almost half the EU’s production, Spain, Portugal and Poland.

Italian manufacturers have sent more than 200 letters of protest to the Commission in the past fortnight complaining that China and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam are dumping leather shoes on the market and putting European companies out of work.

The European Confederation of the Footwear Industry, which represents the Continent’s shoe manufacturers, refused to comment on the latest import figures but is expected formally to request EU action next week.

Several EU governments, including Portugal and Poland, are expected to support action against Chinese exports.

Guangzhou's "shoe street" redoubles production and profits

Haoban Street

People in the shoe, bag and suitcase industry can find everything they need in Haoban Street and its surrounding areas. Haoban Street, Guangzhou, has a history going back 800 years - and it's still going strong, if not stronger, today than ever before.


The huge demand for shoe materials following the emergence of shoe, leather goods and handbag factories in the Pearl River Delta during the 1980s, fuelled the growth of a market for leather, hardware and shoe materials. So a specialized area developed from the already-established Haoban Street to Xiaoxin Street, Yudaihao and Daxin Road. Annual turnover has been ratcheted up to hundreds of millions of yuan.

The nature of the area's success is hardly surprising, because shops here supply materials to China's top 10 shoemakers, including Great Wall and Senda. Experts note that Haoban Street not only leads market trends in South China but is also the barometer for the entire national market's demand for shoes and materials.

The variety of merchandise sold in Haoban Street is becoming increasingly varied. As well as traditional cowhide, artificial leather and regenerated leather are also on offer. Accessories for leather goods, such as buckles, shoe decorations, shoe studs and decorative plates in gold, silver and bronze can all be found here. There are about 700 kinds of bonding agents, hide cutters, threads and other materials. The lasts sold here are exquisitely made and come in all styles and specifications.
materials for shoe uppers

Haoban Street's boom has attracted businessmen from Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan and other parts of Guangdong, while nurturing a new generation of "shoe tycoons". Ye Zhicheng, the "kingpin" of Haoban Street, came from a family that has been dealing in shoe materials for generations. His family now owns more than a dozen shoe shops, and five of these are under his own name.
Miss Liang, the "queen" of Haoban Street, has been assisting her father in his shoe materials business since the 1980s. She began by distributing soles and materials from Hong Kong. In fact she eventually helped to create a local market for ready-made soles in Haoban Street, and she is also the first to market foreign bonding agents here. Today, she has four stores on the street.
Liang Fugen is the newly-elected vice president of the Haoban Street Leather, Hardware and Shoe Materials Industries Association. His Yongfa Leather Shoe Materials Co grosses about US$10 million a year in business with Hong Kong.

On the other hand, most of the players in Haoban Street are small operations with workshops at the back of the outlet. There are also those that started off as small workshops but eventually expanded into big business and even large modern companies.

Li Guoqiang is a long-term resident in Haoban Street. He operated a shoe workshop in the early 1980s, at first carrying out everything by hand. Later he spent more than Rmb10,000 (HK$943.3) and bought his first shoe-making machine. As business grew bigger, he set up Guoqiang Shoe Factory. Now his Xinlong Holdings Company has its own leather shop as well as shoe last and shoemaking factories.

By 1995, there had been over 800 shops in Haoban Street and its neighbouring area. The Haoban Street Leather, Hardware and Shoe Materials Festival, which was first held in 1999, now attracts thousands of businessmen from other parts of the Chinese mainland, as well as from Hong Kong and Macau each year.

Following WTO accession, the shoe materials market in China is expected to become more vibrant and competitive. Although Haoban Street is famous nationwide, the place has for years lacked planning because of its inner city location.

As a result of its haphazard development, the market finds itself in a defensive position compared with newer rivals. With this in mind, the government joined hands with the local business community and began improvement works in two stages during June 2001.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Things that Make You Go HMMMMM..!

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6am. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in.AMERICA.....

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Picture of the Day

What would you do if you found this on your front door when you got home?

I have this posted on my photoblog. Be sure to click the picture link to get the full blog story. YUK!

Liquid Matrixity: Liquid Matrixity




What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Gerber Baby Peas

Karnival of Kidz!

This is the story of Gerber baby peas. Seems like such an innocent thing, just a jar of baby peas. Little does anyone know that a jar of baby peas has scarred me for life. Even today I feel like everything is wrong in the world when I see a jar of baby peas. My advice: stay away from the peas! Nothing you ever do will prosper if you eat the gerber baby peas. They are the peas of the devil!







Long ago when I was still in kindergarden I think, this "thing" happened to me. My brother who was three years younger than me was still small enough to be in a high chair. He was still a baby. Maybe I was in first grade??? It has been so long I do not know.

Well it was a saturday and mom was having her pokeno club meeting that night. She was cleaning up and getting the house ready for company. At the time when this green pea bruhaha began we were all in the kitchen, cleaning. My mom was cleaing out the pantry and my brother and I were with her in the kitchen.

Way in the deep, dark recesses of the panty she found 2 jars of baby food. One was a jar of gerber baby peas and the other a jar of gerber pudding, tapioca, I think. Well she was going to throw then out as they were the last of the baby food. My brother was just about to graduate to solid food.

I told my mother that I wanted the pudding. She said she would give the peas to my brother. All was set. Then suddenly the world shifts to the dark side of the pea and everything changes. It goes to "PEA" in a hell bag! I had to leave the kitchen for some reason that escapes me now. I was gone about 15 minutes. When I got back my mom was serving my pudding to my brother. I was very mad. I really wanted that pudding. I was totally upset that my mother gave my pudding to him. Doesn't calling something first count in a kids world?

Well, I decided to play it off, like it did not matter. Inside I was crushed, my spirit being whipped into something green and pea like! My mother said he began to cry and did not want the peas, but wanted the pudding so she gave it to him. I told her i would eat the peas. I ate that jar and boy was it yummy! (I learned early never to let them see you sweat peas)

well hours passed and it was time for the party. Mom's guest arrived around 7 pm and I was in my room watching the tele on my bed wrapped up in a pea green blanket. YEA, a PEA GREEN blanket.

I fell alseep watching tv and all was well. About 10 pm I woke up suddenly not feeling well. My stomach was churning and the party was still going on and I was trying to get up out of bed to make it to the bathroom when all of a sudden....projectile vomiting! Up came those peas all over my pea green blanket. You could not tell the blanket from the vomit. The peas and blanket blended perfectly.

All of a sudden my father comes in the room and sees that big, giant, reeking, pea green mess that is all over my bed and blanket. My mom comes in next. She just looks and decides that she is not even going to wash that. It was going in the trash can. My father takes the blanket to the trash can, they get me cleaned up doing a tag team and entertaining guests at the same time. I finally go back to bed.

Well after that night, I had been physically repulsed by the color pea green, I have not eaten peas in about 35 years and no child of mine has ever had peas or gerber green pea baby food. I cannot even wear clothes that are too close to the color pea green. For the longest time I wore no green clothes of any kind.

The gerber green pea phobia is stil with me today. I eat some peas..maybe twice a year. I still do not wear a lot of green clothes. Gerber baby peas? Why that is satans meal. After all, didn't Linda Blairs head spin around as she vomited green pea soup?





What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

My Sunday Afternoon


How I spent my dunday afternoon!
UHH! Sunday!
Killians is the only beer I drink!
It is a light amber beer!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

$20 Cheap Pink Suede Boots

There is a girl at work who is totally ghetto and so unprofessional that she does not know it. It is a sad situation because if you do not know that you are ghetto and unprofessional you do all sorts of things that are really embarrassing to yourself all in the name of trying to be somebody. We have a system at work where if another coworker assists you in getting some of your work done, you are to thank them—teamwork recognition. You fill out a form and put it in a box and at the end of the month all those employees with slips of paper in the box get candy. Something small but it is nice to be recognized by your co workers.

This girl who wears the cheap pink suede shoes---let me tell you about those shoes first. She is all too proud of pink suede boots she got at the FULL price of $20 at the mall at one of those urban stores that are in the mall one week and gone the next. You just know they may be fronts for some drug runners or something. She puts on those pink boots, jeans and a pink shirt and look out—Miss Ghetto Fabulous is in the Hizzouse! Makes me disgusted. She even has the multicolor hair/weaves to match.

Well I assisted her on her work by taking a call for her about 3 weeks ago. I wrote it down to remember who I helped as I knew that she would not be a team player and write me up. Today all the candy was given out and I got no candy from her. Now it is not about the candy. It is all about her NOT being a team player and that needs to be pointed out to her and management at every opportunity. She has so much to learn about the business world. I just do not think she will get it. EVER! All she talks about is going to the club.

What did I do? I wrote myself up and sent a copy to her, the manager and the people giving out the candy. My note said that basically that my write up for May was forgotten by her and may be an over cite. In addition I wrote that it was a shame I had to do my own wrote up because someone forgot. Of course she got loud and ignorant and ghetto with me, like I did something wrong.

I was expecting that reaction but I got my point across and management got to see another example of her not being a team player. She called me at my desk after getting her copy and asked if this was on her work very loud and angry. Of course it was. She asked why I did it as to letting management know . I told her that I had assisted her and she failed to do any employee write up for me and another employee that had assisted her with her work. She said she forgot. I told her that was what my note indicated and that she needed to be diligent in writing up people who helped her. She was still very angry. I told her no big deal… we were forgotten but I do not forget. I keep track of people I assist. She then slammed down the phone. She avoided me for the rest of the day and most likely will not speak for awhile.

I am just so disappointed! Not! With her not speaking at least I will not have to hear about any more cheap shoes/boots she has found at these very cheap urban stores at the local mall for awhile.



What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Women's Revenge!

WOMEN'S REVENGE
"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked. "No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN(A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.MARRIAGE SEMINARWhile attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor, "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other."He addressed the man,"Can you describe your wife's favorite flower?" Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it?The rest of the story gets rather ugly, so I'll stop right here.

WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."WORDSA husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000.The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time."The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!WHO DOES WHATA man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me." So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.......... "HEBREWS"

THE SILENT TREATMENT
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it.The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up." Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.






What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~

Better Than Sex Cake

Carnival of the Recipes

Better Than Sex Cake


Rich chocolate cake, caramel, toffee, and whipped topping
- need I say more?! Prep Time: approx. 30 Minutes. Cook
Time: approx. 1 Hour . Ready in: approx. 1 Hour 30 Minutes.
Makes 1 - 9x13 inch cake (24 servings).

1 (18.25 ounce) package
devil's food cake mix
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened
condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping

3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate
covered toffee, chopped
1 (8 ounce) container frozen
whipped topping, thawed



Directions
1 Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13
inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits
across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to
the bottom.

2 In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened
condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and
blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of
the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then
sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the
entire cake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars
into small chunks as opposed to crumbs - I like to have
pieces I can chew on!)

3 Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped
topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate
toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate
and serve right from the pan!

I have made this cake several times and it is heavenly!

Check out all the other recipes at this week's Carnival of the Recipes!

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~