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 |   Nadanother blog...sheesh, I guess I DO blog. Completed. |
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I've had a rich past, yet am making a new one with plenty of life's experiences to draw from! I invite you to come along and see what trouble I get into. I'll blog about my life, present, past... whatever comes to mind at the time. I'll try not to be too serious most of the time, heck we get enough of that just living. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Happy New Year! For the mirroring blog series we do on Saturdays:
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| to begin soon! I know I mentioned packing on a little weight...okay like 5% of my weight. Now this is not a complaint, I mean it gave me an excuse to buy some new jeans...who could get upset at a legitimate shopping excuse? The reason I mention it at all, is because I was speaking with a friend today and was asked, "How do you stay so fit?" The truth of the matter is I'm not fit. I don't go to the gym, I don't go out walking, nope...nothing. I'm so out of shape it's not even funny. I should swim, but our pool is so deep it's freezing cold. Please don't think I'm whining, or making excuses because I do take responsibility for my actions inaction. My genes must be fairly good, but I'm at a point in life that if I don't get into some sort of fitness routine I'll be of no use to Hubby, much less myself. Besides that, I do have the memory of my mother, who never exercised a day in her life, as a sort of preview of how things could be. GULP. All of this serves to set the stage so I could reveal to you today my new, improved master plan: I bought some 3 pound ankle weights...to add to the 2 pound hand weights I bought a few months ago. I swear, I am going to find them soon! I know even if I don't do anything else, I need to tone up this oldish body of mine. Sure, clothed it looks pretty good....but OMG, when I change I freak myself out! Who is this person standing here naked? It can't be me. I don't have...gulp...folds. I don't jiggle. I don't do sag well either! However, I also don't...live in total denial ...it is me. Sigh. So, those push-ups I've been doing for two days, over the past few months, are about to increase in frequency. Yep, I'm going to strap on those ankle weights, lay my butt down and start doing some serious leg-lifts. As opposed to those funny ones. I'll turn on the oldies station and make myself do some stuff...like sit ups, lay downs, slide up and down against the wall...and walk with those weights. Yep, and I'll do some arm thingy stuff too....what was that mantra? "We must...we must...develop... our bust?" Gawd, I think I'm past that one, but hey, staving off batwings I'm all for. Anyway, I velcro'd those weights around my ankles as soon as I got home and sat down to write my blog. I got up and down three times to....get a soft drink, grab a tootsie pop and let the dogs out. I swung my legs up on the bed, put down the hand weights and began typing. You know, I'm feeling more toned.... just maybe I can keep up the pace! I can feel the burn already. This is kinda fun. Wanna join me?  |
| Yesterday I had a blog topic for today...today it is nowhere to be found in this old brain of mine. Oh wait....maybe....oh well heck, let's see if this was it. Of course if it isn't how would I know? I think I was going to tell you all about Hubby's and my night in the cocktail lounge of the Four Seasons. We do enjoy the social scene there is, but then you know that from my other talks about the Monkey Bar. A rather apt name now that I think of it. The bar consists of three rooms; the front room, where anyone who enters can be seen, it has tables, and two niches as well as several couches. The second room contains the bar and barstools, as well as several areas with couches. The third room, or Outer Mongolia, has some tables, couches and a piano...it also is at the entrance of the dining room. Obviously we prefer the first room for people watching, so getting there at 5 or so is perfect. On a Monday night, the hotel bar is the stomping grounds for businessmen. We were there for several hours and at times I was the only woman, and never were more than three in the front room. Hubby and I just enjoyed watching people come in, looking around for the people they are meeting. I noticed several of the women that came in were....tipsy already, to put it politely. I mean, they tried to walk straight, and kept slinging their big purses up on their shoulders. Well helloooooo....if you are wearing a minidress up to your wazoo, you can't have a drink or five and be expecting to walk in 4-5 inch heels...and balance an overstuffed handbag the size of a small state on your shoulder...and look sexy. I mean not even if you are twenty-five can you do this, much less a more...ummmm, mature woman on the prowl. I believe these women are categorized as "cougars" nowadays. In my mind the word slut comes to mind and ya'll know I know what they look and act like. If the shoe fits.... Anyway, there was one young man there, very cute...in a David Cook sort of way (for you "Idol" watchers). He was sitting on a couch, by himself. The couch layout is two couches facing each other, a table in-between, and a chair at each end of the table. In other words, he was "inviting" someone to sit down. We noticed he ate some dinner, had a glass of wine, read a magazine and did some phone...texting. He actually looked pretty comfortable. Then "she" came in. "She" is of the cougar variety...maybe on the younger side of of it....long dark hair parted down the middle, designer mini-mini...big chandelier earrings, phone in hand and......chewing gum like a cow chews cud. Gawd. (She seemed like....please forgive this characterization, but a New Jersey gal. Think Mira Sorvino in her movie part she won the academy award for.....I just googled her and found out she IS a N.J. gal.) Anyway, she goes in-between one of the couches and sits in the chair facing the entire room. I said to hubby, "now that's confidence." The young man looked up...then back down. That chewing gum thing was....so ugly. I watched her for abit, but soon grew bored watching her text and talk on the phone. Then, in a few minutes I saw her get up and go to the ladies room. "Oh, now she's trying to get his attention." I said. "You think so?" Hubby says. "Uhhhh, yeah, she turned her back to him when she wriggled out of the space...watch when she returns." Sure enough...that move had caught his eye. Duh. They began to chat when she returned, he bought her a Margarita. Just as it was at the point he leaned into her more intimately, I said to Hubby, "She's waiting for some people." "Ya think so?" "I do." About five seconds later two big, handsome black guys walked by and she yells out, "Hey Jeff...." She nearly tripped over herself to get up and go kiss the one. Meanwhile, the Idol look-alike's jaw dropped, and the other guy kept poking his friend in the back to say....let's keep moving she is someone we don't want to hang with. After introductions, the two guys moved on, and the gal and Mr. Idol resumed conversation, albeit he did seem more subdued. Hubby looked at me...like I was wrong....until about three minutes later when three more black men came in and sat down with her. (It's a musician hangout...always a few rappers and their friends in....the manager keeps us informed since Coolio and Hubby bump into each other there often.) She introduced them to Mr. Idol...who then packed up his magazine etc. and took his skinny butt out of there, alone. She kept on chewing and yakking. That's when Hubby said to me, "Gawd, you always are right. I'm so clueless." It was time to leave...I mean score me 1 and Hubby 0.  This is the pool area just down the hall from our room at the Four Seasons...I took it on our way to the bar. It's on the fourth floor of the hotel. It's just gorgeous I think! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I must have heard that question, from Hubby, about five times this morning alone. Yeah, yours truly had a "lunch date" today with a male, here-to-fore unmet in reality, internet friend. This man, Ric, one I happened to have mentioned in a blog before, as he is in the Navy and works for NATO, has been an online friend for 8-9 years. Neither of us remembers exactly for how long. The truth is it never really mattered, he lives in Virginia and me in CA. As fate would have it, he was sent out here for a week to attend some meeting...about 100 miles from me, in fact very near Disneyland. We began to see the distinct possibility of a face-to-face meeting about a month or so ago, however I wasn't sure it would be possible as who know what would be going on with Hubby. I told Hubby about it last week, that we had picked Tuesday for me to drive to LA for a half-way meet lunch. That's when Hubby reminded me I had to go with him to the doctor Monday in LA, so we might as well stay overnight and I could come home after my "lunch date". Ric was late, but knowing where he was driving from and how CA freeways are, I didn't get too concerned. He wanted Mexican, but for the life of me I could not think of any Mexican food restaurant that was good. The last time I did a Mexican restaurant in LA was when my comedian friend and I met...last July. That place sucked. I made a note that just because it was a famous place did not mean it was good. I chose a place called Hamburger Hamlet, on Sunset Strip. It's about as Hollywood a place as you get, well, Old Time Hollywood anyway. I did notice how horrendous the traffic was, and parking, though they did have parking available in the building, it meant parking in the high-rise medical building that was above the restaurant. I'd asked Ric to call when he exited the freeway so I could tell him how to get there and park...my phone never rang. In fact I called my son to make sure I could get a signal inside of the building. As it turned out he's smart and came inside the restaurant about 20 minutes late. (i}Imagine over two hours to go exactly 32 miles. I wouldn't have blamed him if he turned around and went back, but he is a gentleman through and through. I should mention that I recognized him immediately, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw how tall and big of a man he is! Probably 6'7" and 275 lbs., when I stood up to give him a hug I felt like I was hugging a giant redwood tree. I had to back up to see his face. The pinched nerve in my neck I've had for three days wasn't going to improve like that, so I suggested we get a booth.Twenty-seven years in the Navy and he's raised three children alone while doing it...what a terrific, decent man. I wish I knew someone looking for a sweetheart. But of course most women don't think they want a nice guy...but that's a whole other entry. All too soon my date was over, as Ric had to be back at his hotel to give a presentation at 3 this afternoon. I think I left him about an hour forty-five to get there. I probably made it home before he did, and I had a 76 mile drive! Sorry I forgot to mention I'd be away, but I see ya'll survived. Have a wonderful evening! |
Now there's a funny headline, especially since it is not sexual...except in your minds. What I was referring to was coming up with another blog. Okay David McClain   here ya go!Well, as luck would have it, a blog topic just came to me...literally. It's nearing 100º outside and you know Hubby, gotta work on his tan while the sun is shining.  So he comes into the air conditioned bedroom and asks me to accompany....well actually, to grab the battery (which has been recharging all morning) and go attach it to his pool lift.Now mind you, this is a $6,000 piece of machinery that will allow Hubby to transfer from his electric cart to sit in a waterproof chair, swivel over the pool and lower himself, via a remote control, down into the water. Then when he has had enough he pushes a button an up he goes, swings himself over the pool decking and viola...he has had an independent swim! Okay, that's how it is supposed to work anyway. Cesar set it all up and recharged the battery Friday before he left us for the weekend. Well, guess what....the battery had drained yesterday, so Mike plugged it in this morning. Now, I left the comfort of the a/c, grabbed a hat and put on some flip-flops (metallic pink, lol) and headed down with Hubby to get the recharged battery hooked up so he could dunk himself in the pool. Everything went very well, I even tested the swivel, and lowering the seat in the water! The problem came when I hit the  symbol. Zip...zero...nada...it stayed right where it was. I jiggled wires, unplugged and plugged them back in, removed the battery and put it back....but the seat never moved in an upward direction. Oh it still moved  or  , or  ....but not . Grrrrrrrrrrrr. I stood there sweating, as was he....and then  ...I spied two little sort of "reset" type indentations, marked EMERGENCY, under the words "up" and "down". Ahhhhh, but I needed a pen or something, so asked Hubby if he had a pen in his bag of goodies he carries. "Nope." I went through every drawer in the poolhouse, even opening the mini-fridge looking for something to depress those tiny holes...finally on the floor I saw a small branch, a sturdy one. I ran out, silently thanking the rat who brought it insideand gave it a try. First the DOWN hole...YESSSSSSSSS! Then I went for the UP one. Nothing...so I push harder...nothing. By now I have unleashed a few expletives...maybe more. "Sorry babe, guess there will be no swim today either." He looked so sweaty...so disappointed. Why does life have to get even more complicated just when you think you've covered all of the bases? I threw down the stick and headed up the ramp with Hubby behind me. I felt horrible, even though it wasn't my fault the thing didn't work. Then I had a flash! "Honey, do you think you could stand up next to your cart?" "Yes, why?" "Trust me, just do it." Knowing full well it was going to be tough for him. "And hang on, okay?" He struggled but managed just in time to see me with garden hose in hand and turning on the water......... I really enjoyed hosing him down with the frigid water...and no retaliation! But I had better watch my back for the rest of the day! "There are no problems, just creative solutions"....yep! |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** "Take Good Care of My Baby" 1961-Sung by Bobbie Vee Please follow the link to find this entry:
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| "Ladies and gentlemen I'd like to welcome you to this opening season of "Rate The Dinner". As you know from our short intro (yesterday's blog), the big birthday dinner this week was held at one of Los Angeles' most difficult restaurants to get a reservation for, Craft. However our family, this first show, used the rarely thought of "Fake Hour Reservation" for 6:30 p.m., an unheard of dining hour, but exceptionally clever. Remember, the dinner will be rated in several categories: 1. Cleverness of the reservation process. 2. Best use of time. 3. Variety of interpersonal experiences. 4. Food, service, and ambience. 5. Parting shots. Without further adieu let's introduce you to this week's contestants, the S family: First up is Scott, the younger son of the "Birthday Mom"." (The studio audience goes wild...whooping it up. He is a silver haired fox"...which always has mass appeal.) "Sitting next to him is his lovely wife Christine. Notice her resemblance to Princess Diana." Again the audience whoops and hollers with all of the enthusiasm of a left-over Jerry Springer audience. And it may well be. "On her right is Mike, a bachelor and a grandchild to the Mom. As such, the youngest member at the table. He also celebrated his birthday a few days ago, and doesn't look a day over....30?" The girls in the audience begin screaming and fainting, so gorgeous is he. Hey, it is my show. "Alright...let's calm down so we can finish the introductions." The crowd falls silent, straining to hear who is next. "Seated next to the young man is Nada, his.....(gasp) mother? Someone must have made a mistake, she is far too young and vibrant..." he presses the earpiece further into his ear..."Oh...my, the card was right! Let's have a big round of applause for her then!" A lone "WOOT" was heard, but the crowd hushed whoever it was, and security removed them without incident. "Sorry for that. Next to her is Hubby, another son of the Mom, and older brother to Scott....whoa look at his tan! I almost thought you were related to George Hamilton. It says here you recently underwent open heart surgery?" Applause and suddenly the audience breaks out in a standing ovation. The broad smile and a nod yes first acknowledges him and then he turns to the adoring audience. "To his right is the lovely matriarch of the family, and birthday girl, Sue!" We notice she turns to her left and mouths W-H-A-T did he say? Of course she was speaking into Hubby's deaf ear so he just shrugged and smiled. The audience claps even louder. "And finally, we have....uhhhh....Mr. Can-Hardley...the note says he is the ninety-five year old, off and on again interloper on family affairs, known to disrupt every family event for the past five years." Mr. C.H. tried to look up, but the snarl of discontent is weighing his face down. "I'll have a sour apple martini, NOW." The drool is caught by his tie and the camera as the announcer rolls his eyes. The audience is booing and holding up signs...one of which says, SPOILSPORTS-CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM! The family dinner panel nervously laughs, except for Nada, who nods in acknowledgement and emits a chortle in anticipation of the night's recap. She immediately gets an elbow in the ribs from Hubby. "Thank you for the warm welcome of the panel. Moving right along, I'll ask you all to hold up your cards for each category. The rating system is on a scale of 1-10. Let's begin with the reservation process...Scott?" "I'd give it an 8. Relatively simple, straightforward to book, since we are not celebrities or frequent re-diners there." "Christine?" "Oh, I give it a 9, I love it when he makes reservations, I don't have to mess up my newly remodeled kitchen, with CaesarStone countertops." "Uh-huh. Mike?" "A 10...I just got invited at the last minute and they fit me in." "Nada?" "Sigh. A tad early for me, but then I do understand we all had to drive several hours to get here. Besides, I got drunk before they even arrived, so a 9." "Hubby, where do you stand?" "Definitely an 8...the earlier the better, we were seated at 6! But a tad disappointing no early bird menu. And a big Thanks to my sister-in-law for the plug for CaesarStone." "And Birthday Mom?" "Huh?" In his so called stage whisper Hubby yells, "WHAT IS YOUR SCORE MOM?" She smiles and raises a 9. Hubby leans over and semi-shouts to her, "Oh, very impressive mom, a nine." "Oh..." She turns red, "I have it upside down, it's really a 6., Tee-Hee." "Okay then....Mr. Can-Hardley?" "Ahem...Mr. Can-Hardley your score please." He looks up and snarls, "A big fat ZERO." The audience is hissing and booing, some have to be restrained from storming the stage. "R-e-ah-l-l-y?" The announcer looks out at the audience. Nada interrupts..."Yes, they are out of Apple Schnapps to make his martini and so the whole night sucked to him. Excuse me, but can we just rate it all at once...I mean this show is moving a tad slowly." She shoots a glance over at Mr. Can-Hardley. "Okay, if you are all in agreement then, lets just rate the food first, then the overall experience. Please raise the cards for how good the food tasted now. Scott gives it a 6, Christine a 6, Mike a 10, Nada an 8, Hubby a 6, Birthday Mom a 9? Yes, a 9, and Mr. Can-Harley yet another 0. Alrighty now, seems it was not the best meal for the group. Finally let's rate the overall experience. Scott?" "Yo, so Dog, the people have spoken, nice room, friendly service, hellacious hike for diners who can't mount stairs from valet park. Flavors so subtle (read nonexistent) that Chef Tom seems to be ignoring his own advice re: seasoning. Diners unanimously in search of Padma as substitute for taste. Eschew fish, go fois gras & pork or you'll be checking GPS for In & Out. (Sorry vegetarians) - menu is too big for adult attention span - I drove home thinking "if only I'd had the . . . ." BUT, it was fun and good and close and fine for an 83 year old's birthday party. Other good news. . . big room and convivial atmosphere, and we could all hear each other, 'cept for my mom and the dinosaur we call, "Mr. Can-Hardley." They could only hear each other complaining. I give it 7 overall." (**See note) "And now for Christine." "Oh wow...my food was good, if slightly undercooked...and...well I'd give it an 8. Yes, an 8." "Mike, how about you?" "Oh dude....totally blew me away with the iced tea, strong enough to keep me up all night. The pork was incredible and I loved their take on a spinach salad....a 10 dude." "Nada?" "Oh....I do wish I hadn't asked Hubby if I liked Gorganzola cheese, because he did say "yes" and it turns out it is blue cheese....GAG ME...but my pork with apricots and the pureed potatoes were to die for! MOST of the company was wonderful (shoots daggers and the barely conscious Mr. Can-Hardley) so I would give it a.....ummmmmm....8! However the post-dining experience was a 1." "And for you Hubby?" "I'd just like to remind my wife that I am not her personal memory pill....but I would give the whole experience an 8." "And Birthday Mom, how did you like the evening?" "Oh, it brought me to tears several times, I ate everything, I just loved it all, especially the Pear Martinis. I'd give it a 10." A big round of applause is heard. "Well ladies and gentlemen that brings to a conclusion the debut edition of Rate the Dining Experience....so sorry we ran out of time before Mr. Can Hardley could give us his big fat ZERO...but hey, we had a good time and I'll see you all back here same time next group birthday celebration of the S Family! Fade to black. **Scott actually wrote this paragraph and I have his permission to use it! Thank you so much! |
| Why me? Okay, I'm over it. So... last night we went to Los Angeles to go out to dinner with Hubby's mother and brother. My son came too, as it was a special dinner to celebrate their mother's 83rd birthday. Amazingly enough, the traffic to LA was light enough that we got into town an hour early. Scott and Christine would be picking up the "Mom". Hubby assured me his mother told him Mr. Can-Hardley would not be joining us. Of course I said, "You must have talked to her before he pressured her." I was assured he would not be coming. We were going to a new, hip restaurant called "Craft". It is owned by Tom Colicchio, some of you may know him as one of the judges on the Bravo Network's reality show, "Top Chef". My brother-in-law loves trying new restaurants, however this is one time he should have checked out how accessible it was. We had plenty of time to find the place, it's in a part of West Los Angeles known as Century City. It's like a mini NY, tall high rises, but very show-biz oriented. The new MGM skyscraper is there as well as CAA or Creative Artists Agency (agents). We saw the restaurant was a stand-alone building on a corner of the agency skyrise. Of course it being LA they had valet parking, but I noticed about twenty stairs to get up to the level where the restaurant entry was. Not good for wheelchairs. We pulled over to ask the valets about Handicap Access/Entry and in broken English we were given sorta directions. Gulp. It was like an underground city in there and I wondered, if after a drink or two, we'd ever find space 141 on whatever floor of Hell we had descended to. Oh well, more pressing was finding the elevator...it seems they had escalators out the wazoo...but finally we found it and made the ascension back up to find ourselves on the ground floor of a humongous glass tower in front of Security. We could see the restaurant though, about a half a block away. Good thing we were half an hour early! When we reached the restaurant they offered to seat us at the table, so we did. I noticed the table was set for 8...I knew it! I look over at Hubby, "Honey...I thought you said Mr. Can-Hardley wasn't coming, there's seven seats." One of my brows raise. "Oh that was just in case. Scott and I discussed it and figured we might as well ...just so IF by any slim possibility he did come he'd feel welcome." "By whom?" Mike almost spit out his iced tea. "Be nice." Lance took a sip of his tequila. I, on the other hand began to chug my Smirnoff Vanilla Vodlka. We finish our drinks, and now they are 25 minutes late, we've gone over the huge menu about a dozen times and changed each of our minds depending on what we remembered from the last look. We've attacked the wooden boxes full of bread, noted that the chairs were too low for Mike andI. We felt like we needed booster seats...as Mike said to me, "Well, the food won't have far to go to hit our mouths." It's the little things. Sigh. Just as Hubby was going to call Scott, I saw his mother come around the corner......and I turned to Hubby when nobody else was right behind her and said out of the corner of my mouth, "Uh-Oh." Sure enough, I could hear the unmistakable sound of his creaky old bones walker shuffling along in his usual pace of about a foot every ten minutes. The day-glow green tennis balls on the walker calling attention to his every scoot. Hubby turned to me, "You sure called that one right." Well DUH....that man will stop at nothing to annoy me. It's a battle Royale...Mr. Can-Hardley vs Nada. As soon as Scott and Christine got to the table he ordered a double scotch...and when the waiter brought it he ordered another. Scott was very annoyed I could see. I gave mother-in-law the card I wrote, which made her tear up. Now that made two of us. We managed to almost get through dinner when Mr. Can-Hardley announced he had to get home because he didn't want the assistant to leave....I won't drag this reasoning out, suffice it to say, nobody was going to get dessert. GRRRRRRR! Oh yeah, and Hubby said we would take Mr. Can-Hardley home.  That could only mean one thing...I was going to have to walk him to the corner and have Mike and Hubby pick us up there, or it would be just about...oh say, now we would be getting back to our house. Determined to be polite I began the excruciating walk and small talk. By now it is 9:45...and the night chill is whipping up between the skyscrapers and I find my teeth chattering....who knew I'd be stuck outside for a half-hour slow shuffle in a wind tunnel when I dressed for dinner? We finally made it to the corner and I'm standing with him, okay kinda weaving from being inebriated, when all of a sudden he yells at me..."Help...I'm off balance." F**k....Mini-Hercules in stilettos drunkenly turns and grabs his 6'4", 200 pounds of meanness and literally keeps him from crushing me to death there on the corner. As long as I had him captive....he was going to hear what I had to say: "Hey, if you know you are going to be ruining everyone's night by having to go, and you hate every restaurant we take you to, and the meal sucked, and the walk is too long, and...and...and...why in God's name do you not stay home and think of Sue and her family once in awhile? Every family event we have becomes all about you. Gawd you are heavy." I guess he did not live to 95 by being nice. I'm taking notes. Sheesh. Oh there is more to the story, but hey, I'm still wondering why when the bus drove by I didn't just let go of him yelling, "TIMBER-R-R-R-R-R." In my dreams!Suffice it to say he got home alright, which is a whole lot more than I can say...ouch my back...... |
| Happy Birthday Mother... But you aren't getting a yellow handbag either. I assure you my mother would have laughed if she were alive! In fact, knowing her she would have gotten me the yellow handbag, because...well she is my mom.Here is a photo of my mother and father and me, taken just after my baptism in Tachikawa, Japan in 1948. I love this photo. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I'm going to talk to you about something that's been irritating me, this tax rebate. Okay, as I understand it, 139 million of us are eligible, merely by filing our 2007 return. Even if you normally don't need to file a return you must in order to get the rebate. Huh? So if you never pay in, you just use the benefits of everyone else's taxes, you can get money. Interesting, but hey they should get some money. Oh, but some filers, such as high-income filers, will not qualify for a stimulus payment, most will. And what is high-income? The stimulus payment -- both the basic component and the additional funds for qualifying children -- begins to phase out for individuals with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $75,000 and married couples who file a joint return with AGI over $150,000. The combined payment is reduced by 5 percent of the income above the AGI thresholds. Oh gotcha. And let's see, low-income workers, Social Security beneficiaries, certain railroad retirees and those who receive certain benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs who normally don't file may receive a stimulus payment if they do. Certain people are plucked who wouldn't normally file, but will now. Gotcha. Let's see... For people filing joint tax returns, only a total of $3,000 of qualifying income from both spouses is required to be eligible for a payment.. A combined total of $3,000-well heck yes, give them some, they need it. I've gone to the IRS pages for some of the above information/clarification, but then I see this question: "If I'm filing a tax return this year just to get a stimulus payment, by when do I have to file?" Uh, please tell me this is NOT one of the most asked questions. How could you not know the deadline is April 15, and...if you need an extension to file what excuse could possibly be valid? Just asking. My whole point is that I think it is wonderful our government wants to stimulate the economy, really I do, but at what expense? We have trillions of dollars in national debt, and is this going to help to pay it off? No, but I'll tell you what it will do....it will not be going to go into savings accounts, it might help pay off someone's debt, but more than likely people will buy something, probably made in China or elsewhere, something that will break, and then be added to the huge mounds of trash because we are wasteful and don't think about it except one day a year, if that. And this is why on this Earth Day I'm not going to buy some yellow bag or anything else, and I'll reuse one in my closet. And I'll sprinkle some lavender rose petals from my own garden around the lovely old oak tree where mom's ashes are. And no at my house we are not getting any refund by way of the economic stimulus package. I'll do my own economic stimulating when people start supporting my business again. Somehow making $48 in the past two months isn't very stimulating. Hey, I'm not down on anyone except the government who is so short-sighted. |
| Boy, did I make a huge mistake today. I know, "what has she done now?" I had an appointment this morning that meant I had to leave the house by 9 a.m. Not normally a big deal, but Hubby has been taking his sweet time in the mornings, not that I begrudge him that luxury. But if I was going to get to dry him off, make breakfast and get ready there was a bit of a time crunch. We get up between 6-6:30, but like to watch the morning news with our coffee. We did it though! Anyhoooo...I ended up wearing a pair of black lace....high heels..lol... with my dark washed jeans...and my navy Armani blazer with a crisp white tuxedo style shirt. (Maybe TMI here, but I did spare you on the undies, lol.) I've had these heels since just before our cruise, and wore them exactly twice on the cruise, which ends up averaging out to about $150 per wearing. Well, that's just not acceptable to me. If I am going to spend $300 on a pair of shoes, I need to be able to wear then enough to make them leverage out. So today was the day I'd start. I've owned the blazer for about 12 years...so it has now worked out to be about....$3.00 a wearing, and getting cheaper by the wearing. Am I the only one who amortizes their clothing? They looked great with jeans, I really hadn't planned on doing anything after my appointment...but since I was finished early and looking nice I figured I'd take a drive to the Camarillo Outlet Mall and see if I could find a yellow patent leather handbag. I know, but this year it is THE color to wear with black...or navy or white or green...you get the idea. I figured I could pretty much get through the whole spring/summer with not changing handbags. Gulp. I didn't find a yellow bag I liked. I did find the Ann Klein outlet and managed to find an adorable pair of black and white linen pants, a navy and white sweater and a matching navy and white skirt though. Then, I escaped there only to walk by stumble into the Calvin Klein outlet store where I was able to find the size and style bra I like. Three bras later my poor feet were absolutely killing me...so I spied a size 5 pair of navy ballet flats and added them and a black camisole. Well, I do have to go out to dinner in LA on Wed. night for mother-in-law's birthday, and have so few things that fit now. I got home to find my message machine flashing one new message. Who do you think it was? Just my credit card fraud department, lol...did I authorize the use of my card twice today? Boy they are sure on the ball since that fraudulent WalMart spree in NJ in January! Good for them. In fact now they'll just text me when they want to know if it's me. Whatever. So I had a good day of unintended retail therapy...but now to start amortizing..... |
Today my Hubby had another huge step forward in his healing process, he drove! Yep, he took a drive all by himself...what's next a complete shower alone? He is able to dry part of himself off now, but as I said to him, "Hey, I don't mind you dry some of yourself off, but leave the good parts for me!" Pretty soon he should be able to cut down on the number of pills he takes too, that part really annoys him. One good thing that has come from his surgery is that now we eat breakfast. Yes, for the first time in our married life I make breakfast every morning, not just a bagel on Sunday. Hmmm, it isn't half as hard as I had imagined either. I scramble some eggs about twice a week, one day we have waffles, another some yogurt and toast and cereal, fruit and toast the other times. Oh, and we have fresh squeezed orange juice too. I don't think I've eaten breakfast regularly since I was a kid. Maybe that is why I am a size larger. Hmmm...well at my age I need the "fuel".Today is massage day, and I sure could use it this week. Yesterday I managed to spend the day on the computer, and now I'm paying for it in soreness. What I won't do for my blog and those I read.  So I just have to mention the debate the other night between Clinton and Obama. I tuned in after it began, but apparently I didn't miss much. In fact, I may have missed more by watching it. Okay, that was just me being sarcastic, but it got me worked up. It's no secret I am not a Hillary fan. Her Husband was a skilled politician, and maybe she is also, but I cannot find any reason to vote for her. None. Everytime she attacked Obama, I had better comebacks with some substance than he did. The whole lapel flag pin thing annoyed the heck out of me. What in the hell does a lapel pin of a flag have to do with anything? I thought his answer was good, that the mere fact he was running for president should confirm his commitment to our country. For heavens sakes, our country will let people burn the flag, so it shouldn't be a crime not to wear one on your lapel. Watching these two annoy me, and the people/journalists questioning them made me cringe. I want the prelims over with, and then, perhaps some issues will be discussed. Finally, I was watching television this morning, when a columnist from the LA Times came on to discuss a book he's written. I had gotten to read his columns that gave him the impetus for the book, so it was interesting to me, but what really grabbed my full interest was when he mentioned a novel writing contest. He explained that he had written the first chapter for it, and readers were writing the other chapters. Hmmm, sounds like our Interactives doesn't it? Well, here is a link to the site...and the rules...unfortunately only another 4 chapters to be written, but hey, why not? A chance to be published in the LA Times is nothing to sneeze at, and it is not allowed to be more than 600 words!http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-novel,0,1741827.special |
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