I am having a very difficult time deciding what to be for Halloween. I think I have three problems:
I am not rich and therefore am not willing to spend more than $20 on a costume I will probably not wear more than once.
I do not want to wear something that looks cheap, despite the fact that it will be.
I don't know how to sew.
If I could solve any one of these problems by Oct. 29, we'd be in business, because I would still have time to put something together by Halloween. However, I don't see a solution coming. My plan now is to raid my closet to see if some of those dresses I wore to my high school dances and banquets still fit, go to Goodwill to see if they have anything I can butcher into an acceptable costume, and possibly spend a little bit more than $20 if I can find something that I can use with other costumes in the years to come. If you have any other suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
P.S. What is the point of all those high school dances and banquets? They are fun, I grant you, but does anyone really go to that kind of thing in real life? I have not been to an event requiring a dress/gown like those since I graduated. I would love to attend such an event, but I've never had the opportunity, and certainly not two or three times a year.
October 16, 2008
October 10, 2008
The Derby
There is an annual event here which the locals simply call 'The Derby'. When I first heard that term, I figured it was some sort of race, most likely with cars. Michael and I went to The Derby last night, and, well...I found out that Southerners will get into anything.
The Derby is not a race, but it does involve cars. It is held in 'the pit' and the cars entered do not run well, the polite name for them is 'junker'. Some are decorated, some look like they have been pulled from a junkyard just a few minutes before The Derby begins. The pit is sprayed down so that it's nice and wet, and the cars are announced and begin to fill the pit. Then the air horn sounds, and 'the heat' begins. What is the heat? It's when all of the drivers in as many cars as will fit start purposely running into the other cars in an attempt to either trap or disable them. They keep running into each other until all the cars but one or two are disabled. Then the first and second place cars are declared by the judges. Several more 'heats' follow. The the second place cars from each of those have their own heat, and the second place and 'reserve Grand Champion' are declared from that bunch. Then the first place cars from the previous heats have their own heat. From that the first place and the Grand Champion are declared.
So, Michael and I spent our evening watching grown men drive cars with the intent of crashing into each other in a mud pit. Apparently, they make it a mud pit so the cars can't get up too much speed. They don't want anyone getting hurt, you understand. They require the drivers to chain the bumpers on to the car or take them off, and to wear helmets and neck braces. They also have firefighters and EMS there in case any cars catch on fire or anyone does get hurt. And the firefighters were needed. 3 cars caught on fire. Two needed the big fire hose to be put out. The other yielded under a fire extinguisher. Thankfully, no one was really hurt.
And the shameful part about all this? Michael wants to do it. Yep, he wants to make a junk car run just long enough that he can smash it into other cars. Even worse? I actually began to enjoy watching it. It's like a car accident, you can't help but look. And you get caught up in the mob mentality. It's really hard to not laugh at people who are purposely trying to run into each other. Laughter leads to cheering, cheering leads to planning to go next year, and planning to go next year leads to planning to get there early so you can get a good seat higher up in the bleachers. What have I become? Frankly, I don't care. It was fun. I still enjoy classical music and fine art, but I enjoy watching grown men smash their cars together and watching for some to catch on fire. When in Rome, right?
The Derby is not a race, but it does involve cars. It is held in 'the pit' and the cars entered do not run well, the polite name for them is 'junker'. Some are decorated, some look like they have been pulled from a junkyard just a few minutes before The Derby begins. The pit is sprayed down so that it's nice and wet, and the cars are announced and begin to fill the pit. Then the air horn sounds, and 'the heat' begins. What is the heat? It's when all of the drivers in as many cars as will fit start purposely running into the other cars in an attempt to either trap or disable them. They keep running into each other until all the cars but one or two are disabled. Then the first and second place cars are declared by the judges. Several more 'heats' follow. The the second place cars from each of those have their own heat, and the second place and 'reserve Grand Champion' are declared from that bunch. Then the first place cars from the previous heats have their own heat. From that the first place and the Grand Champion are declared.
So, Michael and I spent our evening watching grown men drive cars with the intent of crashing into each other in a mud pit. Apparently, they make it a mud pit so the cars can't get up too much speed. They don't want anyone getting hurt, you understand. They require the drivers to chain the bumpers on to the car or take them off, and to wear helmets and neck braces. They also have firefighters and EMS there in case any cars catch on fire or anyone does get hurt. And the firefighters were needed. 3 cars caught on fire. Two needed the big fire hose to be put out. The other yielded under a fire extinguisher. Thankfully, no one was really hurt.
And the shameful part about all this? Michael wants to do it. Yep, he wants to make a junk car run just long enough that he can smash it into other cars. Even worse? I actually began to enjoy watching it. It's like a car accident, you can't help but look. And you get caught up in the mob mentality. It's really hard to not laugh at people who are purposely trying to run into each other. Laughter leads to cheering, cheering leads to planning to go next year, and planning to go next year leads to planning to get there early so you can get a good seat higher up in the bleachers. What have I become? Frankly, I don't care. It was fun. I still enjoy classical music and fine art, but I enjoy watching grown men smash their cars together and watching for some to catch on fire. When in Rome, right?
October 8, 2008
Back on the Baby Train
A typical conversation between my husband and I goes like this:
Me: How was your day at work?
Michael: Like normal. We...(Explains several things about his job that I still don't understand.) How was yours?
Me: Well, I (Explain several things about my job he doesn't understand). What should we have for dinner tonight? I thawed ground beef.
Michael: It doesn't matter, I like everything you make. Except, don't make that thing with the cheese, pasta sauce and noodles...that was wierd.
Me: Yep, that was the one experiment of mine that was completely disgusting. Don't worry, I won't make that.
*Smiles*
*Comfortable silence*
Michael: So, when do you want to have a baby?
Yeah, that's where they all end up. We could talk about work, food, family, friends, politics, music, books, ANYTHING, and we always end up talking about when we're going to have kids. Here's the deal: we both really want a baby. Like, now. But, since I will have to carry this child in south Georgia, I'm attempting to plan conception sometime in late summer so I won't be miserable by the end of the pregnancy. I could handle it, many women do, but I don't want to if I can avoid it. I also don't want to think about the amount of electricity it would take to cool the house to what I would deem is an appropriate temperature, and how much that would cost. So, we're planning, and here's the plan: I lose weight, we try to conceive sometime in late summer or very early fall. However, if that doesn't happen by late summer or early fall '09, we're probably going to try anyway. It's getting to the point where we're sick of waiting, no matter what good reasons we have for waiting. The same thing happened with the wedding, and there was a little regret, but we continue to see that it really was for the better. And as far as worrying about regret with a child? I don't even know if that's possible in our circumstances. We're adults, married, in love, and want kids. Now if this darned weight would just go away, we'd be on the way. Or rather, baby would be on the way.
Me: How was your day at work?
Michael: Like normal. We...(Explains several things about his job that I still don't understand.) How was yours?
Me: Well, I (Explain several things about my job he doesn't understand). What should we have for dinner tonight? I thawed ground beef.
Michael: It doesn't matter, I like everything you make. Except, don't make that thing with the cheese, pasta sauce and noodles...that was wierd.
Me: Yep, that was the one experiment of mine that was completely disgusting. Don't worry, I won't make that.
*Smiles*
*Comfortable silence*
Michael: So, when do you want to have a baby?
Yeah, that's where they all end up. We could talk about work, food, family, friends, politics, music, books, ANYTHING, and we always end up talking about when we're going to have kids. Here's the deal: we both really want a baby. Like, now. But, since I will have to carry this child in south Georgia, I'm attempting to plan conception sometime in late summer so I won't be miserable by the end of the pregnancy. I could handle it, many women do, but I don't want to if I can avoid it. I also don't want to think about the amount of electricity it would take to cool the house to what I would deem is an appropriate temperature, and how much that would cost. So, we're planning, and here's the plan: I lose weight, we try to conceive sometime in late summer or very early fall. However, if that doesn't happen by late summer or early fall '09, we're probably going to try anyway. It's getting to the point where we're sick of waiting, no matter what good reasons we have for waiting. The same thing happened with the wedding, and there was a little regret, but we continue to see that it really was for the better. And as far as worrying about regret with a child? I don't even know if that's possible in our circumstances. We're adults, married, in love, and want kids. Now if this darned weight would just go away, we'd be on the way. Or rather, baby would be on the way.
September 30, 2008
The Bailout
I wasn't going to post about this, but I have to. I can't think of anything else to write about, for one, and I'm just sick of hearing about this and having no where to voice my opinion. So, you lucky people, you get to read it. :)
1. If I owned my own business and let people buy on credit there would be no bail-out for me if they couldn't pay me back and it killed my business. I would be able to declare bankruptcy, but that is all the help that would come my way.
2. I realize that the businesses that are in trouble will probably cause an economic crisis if they are allowed to fail.
3. I also know that many of these businesses are in trouble because their board members, CEOs, Presidents and assorted high management make more money than anyone really needs to survive, and therefore the business does not have enough savings to support themselves after making bad credit decisions.
4. The government (read: tax-payers) did not force any of these businesses to extend more credit to people than they could afford.
5. The government did not force any of these businesses to advertise about the low credit rates available and make people believe that a variable-interest mortgage (read: debt) was a good idea simply because of the low rates available now.
6. The government did not force any of the people now in trouble to borrow money without looking at their true financial situation, what they could realistically afford, or without reading the fine print and understanding that the current interest rate and payment will not stay as it is, but will most likely rise to a point that is, perhaps, unaffordable by the borrower.
EDIT: Apparently the government (read: democrats) did require a certain amount of sub-prime mortgages to be given by each bank. How in the world did democrats think that would be a good idea? Seriously! I took AP Macroeconomics in high school, aced the exam at the end of the year, and could have told you it was a bad idea. You don't force banks to lend money. That's like forcing lactose-intolerant people to drink milk and eat ice cream: All you end up with is a big pile of poo. Gucci Mama posted a video that explains.
7. I have never met anyone that could not live comfortably on an income of $100,000 per year. Also, I see no reason for someone who makes more money than that (and also does not pay social security taxes on much of their earnings, because of the level) to need large bonuses every quarter, every Christmas, every time their birthday, wedding anniversary, work anniversary, or any other excuse they can come up with comes around.
8. My husband and I live comfortably on a household income of less than $50,000 per year. I can only imagine what we could accomplish with twice that.
Now, my opinion of the bailout may be clear from what I have said, but allow me to state it plainly. It disgusts me that something like this is considered necessary by the leaders of our country when it is clear to me that people who are getting rich and fat off of other people's woes are the cause of this whole thing. And who will benefit? Those same because even if the government puts a cap on what they can earn if their company is bailed out they probably still have enough savings to keep them living comfortably for years. And the 'tax-payer' benefit of having a stake in these companies? Paltry. For one, we will never see it, because the government will have it and reason that it needs to be held there to settle the debt Bush has caused (from a falling debt, might I remind you, and despite that during most other wars in history, our economy has strengthened). Also, even if we manage to ever get back to a surplus budget, will we really see the benefit? I think not. The credit companies are not the only ones hemorrhaging money. The government is bleeding to death and doesn't seem to realize it. The national debt, at the moment, is
That's crazy! But since it's in the trillions, so why don't we just add another 700 billion? That'll fix everything.
1. If I owned my own business and let people buy on credit there would be no bail-out for me if they couldn't pay me back and it killed my business. I would be able to declare bankruptcy, but that is all the help that would come my way.
2. I realize that the businesses that are in trouble will probably cause an economic crisis if they are allowed to fail.
3. I also know that many of these businesses are in trouble because their board members, CEOs, Presidents and assorted high management make more money than anyone really needs to survive, and therefore the business does not have enough savings to support themselves after making bad credit decisions.
4. The government (read: tax-payers) did not force any of these businesses to extend more credit to people than they could afford.
5. The government did not force any of these businesses to advertise about the low credit rates available and make people believe that a variable-interest mortgage (read: debt) was a good idea simply because of the low rates available now.
6. The government did not force any of the people now in trouble to borrow money without looking at their true financial situation, what they could realistically afford, or without reading the fine print and understanding that the current interest rate and payment will not stay as it is, but will most likely rise to a point that is, perhaps, unaffordable by the borrower.
EDIT: Apparently the government (read: democrats) did require a certain amount of sub-prime mortgages to be given by each bank. How in the world did democrats think that would be a good idea? Seriously! I took AP Macroeconomics in high school, aced the exam at the end of the year, and could have told you it was a bad idea. You don't force banks to lend money. That's like forcing lactose-intolerant people to drink milk and eat ice cream: All you end up with is a big pile of poo. Gucci Mama posted a video that explains.
7. I have never met anyone that could not live comfortably on an income of $100,000 per year. Also, I see no reason for someone who makes more money than that (and also does not pay social security taxes on much of their earnings, because of the level) to need large bonuses every quarter, every Christmas, every time their birthday, wedding anniversary, work anniversary, or any other excuse they can come up with comes around.
8. My husband and I live comfortably on a household income of less than $50,000 per year. I can only imagine what we could accomplish with twice that.
Now, my opinion of the bailout may be clear from what I have said, but allow me to state it plainly. It disgusts me that something like this is considered necessary by the leaders of our country when it is clear to me that people who are getting rich and fat off of other people's woes are the cause of this whole thing. And who will benefit? Those same because even if the government puts a cap on what they can earn if their company is bailed out they probably still have enough savings to keep them living comfortably for years. And the 'tax-payer' benefit of having a stake in these companies? Paltry. For one, we will never see it, because the government will have it and reason that it needs to be held there to settle the debt Bush has caused (from a falling debt, might I remind you, and despite that during most other wars in history, our economy has strengthened). Also, even if we manage to ever get back to a surplus budget, will we really see the benefit? I think not. The credit companies are not the only ones hemorrhaging money. The government is bleeding to death and doesn't seem to realize it. The national debt, at the moment, is
| The Gross National Debt |
That's crazy! But since it's in the trillions, so why don't we just add another 700 billion? That'll fix everything.
September 26, 2008
Imagine if you could Poke the Pope!
If you've been reading my blog I thank you, and you know that I am Catholic. If you haven't been reading my blog, thanks for stopping by, you should know from the previous sentence that I am Catholic. Now that we're all on the same page, I'd like to tell you about one of my Facebook groups, which is call the Papal Facebook Initiative.
This group is dedicated to gathering 1 million members, and then petitioning the Vatican to create a profile for the Pope on Facebook. The idea is that this would be an awesome way to connect with and minister to the younger generation of Catholics and Christians, as well as the general youth. Also, if you read the group page, there are some really cool things you could do if the Pope was on Facebook. These are my favorites:
Pope Benedict was on your friends list. You "Worked together for Christ" and "Met him through a friend."
A new Vatican Office of the Curia had to be created, called the "Papal Facebook Attendant." (Credit: Joe Mileski)
the pope sends you a gift: "You have received the Holy Spirit." (Credit: Jessica Condon)
thanks your superpoke application, you could throw a lost sheep at the Pope. (Credit: Giovanni De Stefano)
♥ Pope Benedict XVI is now in a relationship with God. (Credit: Valerie Banas)
Currently, this awesome group only has about 21,500 members. That's not even a tenth of the people they want, so here's what I'm asking: If you have Facebook, if you know anyone that has Facebook (even your kids), or if you know someone who might have Facebook, or someone who is Catholic, ask them to:
a)join Facebook if they haven't,
b)join this group,
c)invite everyone they know to do the same.
I think this would be an awesome thing, and I think the people who started the group are aiming for 1,000,000 people because of the impact that kind of request would have. If 1,000,000 people wanted you to create a Facebook profile, wouldn't you? Thanks in advance, and God bless!
This group is dedicated to gathering 1 million members, and then petitioning the Vatican to create a profile for the Pope on Facebook. The idea is that this would be an awesome way to connect with and minister to the younger generation of Catholics and Christians, as well as the general youth. Also, if you read the group page, there are some really cool things you could do if the Pope was on Facebook. These are my favorites:
Pope Benedict was on your friends list. You "Worked together for Christ" and "Met him through a friend."
A new Vatican Office of the Curia had to be created, called the "Papal Facebook Attendant." (Credit: Joe Mileski)
the pope sends you a gift: "You have received the Holy Spirit." (Credit: Jessica Condon)
thanks your superpoke application, you could throw a lost sheep at the Pope. (Credit: Giovanni De Stefano)
♥ Pope Benedict XVI is now in a relationship with God. (Credit: Valerie Banas)
Currently, this awesome group only has about 21,500 members. That's not even a tenth of the people they want, so here's what I'm asking: If you have Facebook, if you know anyone that has Facebook (even your kids), or if you know someone who might have Facebook, or someone who is Catholic, ask them to:
a)join Facebook if they haven't,
b)join this group,
c)invite everyone they know to do the same.
I think this would be an awesome thing, and I think the people who started the group are aiming for 1,000,000 people because of the impact that kind of request would have. If 1,000,000 people wanted you to create a Facebook profile, wouldn't you? Thanks in advance, and God bless!
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