Harry 4th of Birthallowinemas Day!

My husband keep saying "there are no new original thoughts." I am fairly certain he has not peered inside my brain lately, because I can't imagine other people thinking the things I think of.

Harry 4th of Birthallowinemas Day is my original idea.

If someone has thought of it before... I will give you credit.

The Glory of 4th of Birthallowinemas Day is it can be celebrated any day of the year!

Harry is just a combination of Happy and Merry... I thought Harry had a nice ring to it.

So... If you're looking for a card to wish someone a Harry 4th of Birthallowinemas Day... look me up! They come in a range of designs... or better yet, create your own.

No new original thoughts... sheesh!

~January 2, 2012~

Elated to be alive!

The cold air outside invigorates me... Brisk walking seems necessary.

Working out was painful today... but reminded me why I need to keep moving;

We must never let the pain catch us or it eats us alive.

'Can't catch me...

Smile. Hug. Smooch. Love...

Every Damn Day!

~2012~

I'm feeling good things for the upcoming year.

I am certain that good things are coming my way.

I will make a positive impact on the world every day...

(-:Even if it just with a smile:-) 

No public promises

No looking back and wondering "What if?"

No slighting others because of jealousy

No gossip

Just appreciation for every second of every moment of every day...

Life is Good...

I'm gonna Live It!

Join me in Living!!!



Current Economy = Legal Slavery

Without getting into political teams, I am attempting to rationally discuss the current economy. Giving you a little background on my middle class peasantry will be depressing, but a common tale, we hear daily on NPR, C-SPAN, Fox News, and all of the other informative places we get our daily news. If you want to get to the meat of my blog you can skip a few paragraphs and not read about the past few years... I give background info because the experiences have brought me to the reality of being lured into legal slavery.

I am a middle management school administrator in the area of special education. I was working for cooperatives in the far southwest metro area of Minneapolis, in counties that were projected to have growth beyond their borders about six years ago. I commuted 60 miles each way on a daily basis when gas was over $4/gallon.  My salary was nice... not six digits... but approaching the higher end of the 5 digit salary. My spouse is an educator who is working in a private school, and has a moderate salary with benefits such as always being in town and available for our three children (priceless), allowing our children the private education w/o paying tuition, and belonging to a small school community that we thoroughly loved being a part of.

We purchased our Southern Minnesota 1910's built home in 2001 for well under $200,000, despite the fact that the bank was willing to give us a loan for over $300,000 ~ unfreakingbelievable ~. We had two cars back then, and both were under 10 years old at the time. We were, oh so proud. We now have 3 cars and I am fairly certain all have over 100,000 miles, none were purchased new. We only had two drivers 10 years ago, and now we have 5 (3 under the age of 22 and one male driver age 18)... one can just hear the insurance companies cha-chinging from our bank account.

I couldn't breathe for four years. Through all of it I was only unemployed for 3 months and collected my unemployment checks quite readily. I applied here and there... but there was a lot of movement with other school districts downsizing middle management positions as well. Competition was tough and I started to take it to heart.

The long and short of it... I am now working in a small town, 75 miles from home for $25,000 less than I made 4 years ago. We continue to make our house payments on our house that has depreciated over $30,000. I have an apartment in the town I work in that I pay $400/month, which is about the equivelant that gas would cost if I commuted daily. Time on the road is wasted. I miss my family during the week, but we do what we have to do. Next year we will have 3 kids in college... I hear of people working a few hundred miles away from home and going homes on weekends. That must be exhausting, my heart goes out to them. Single parents have to move where the jobs are, and many companies are paying employees well below the poverty level... because people have to work.

I think that the royalty who handed out the loans, talked about the "trickle down theory", moved jobs to Mexico and over seas for cheaper labor, and sit on their loopholes for the wealthy, have been in cahoots for over a half century and succeeded in creating an economic society comparable to slavery of the south in the not so distant past of the United States. We are owned by the banks, who have been given bountiful bonuses for their "good work" from the tax dollars of us: the working poor... their slaves. Our owners, continue to build bigger and more beautiful banks, that resemble castles with lots of windows and high ceilings, while our homes have depreciated about 20% in the last five or six years. Many of us owe our owners much more than our houses are even worth now; therefore we can't move on, because our losses are far to great and no one will ever give us a loan (nor should they).

What have I learned from all of this? Someone always has it worse off than I do. There are some people who very much need to be royalty and control us peasants. Being a peasant isn't the worst thing that can happen to us. Money does not equal happiness... happiness comes from who you spend time with and whether you make a positive impact on the world. I can handle my life as a peasant, the kings only think about themselves and how they can get more $$$ and power.

Mostly, I learned that history repeats itself... I feel stupid that I was suckered into slavery, and I'd bet that I'm not the only one.

Seriously Folks...

Paranoia

I crawl through the forest in the dark fog

Proceeding with caution.

For if I upset the balance I will disappear into the darkness

I hear their whispers, cursing, sneering, laughing

I feel their breath on my neck, they thrive on the scent of fear

Their lips touch my skin and they lick the salt from my sweat

I keep moving forward, for what lies behind no longer exists

Stopping means I will be eaten alive

They will follow but will never get what they want

I focus on what lies ahead

All that is left is here and now

Forever

Father forgive me... yet another confession...

I've never been one to steal. When I was 7 or 8 years old I was accused of stealing bulk candy from Woolworth's in Chippewa Falls, WI and I was mortified. The store manager grabbed my arm and said, "You can go to jail for stealing candy." I told him I didn't steal any... (but he could see in my eyes that I was thinking about it). It's like... OK Seriously Folks, you fill a bin with millions of cinnamon disks and expect kids to just walk by without being tempted? I really hadn't taken any candy!!! Honest... but I wanted to.

In college I may have let some of my wants get the best of me. Occasionally we would end up with a new lighted beer sign, pilsner glass or other household goods in our apartment or condemned houses. Once we even acquired a 2 gallon industrial sized container of  Lysol which we used for a couple of years ~ Bad idea to leave the storage room door open when Sara and friends w/sticky fingers were around. The funny thing is, we had to leave it in the parking lot that night, because we didn't drive ourselves to that "club." In the morning when we were out and about IT WAS STILL SITTING OUT IN THE PARKING LOT... we figured that meant it was ours!

So... last week I was in a department store and I was drooling over a skirt that I really really really had to have. I tried a skirt with different print but same cut on the day before, (shopping for boxers for my hubby), and bought the skirt because it is not often that I think, "Hey, I look really good in this." I was in the store exchanging the boxers for my hubby. So I looked on the clearance rack, 60% off and there it was, on the hanger waiting for me... screaming my name. They even had my size. I tried it on... just to be sure, and was sold. Then the money guilt started in with me... "is this a want or a need?"  "You just bought one yesterday." Another voice said, "Aw come on, you work so hard!" You deserve it! Then Jimminy Cricket said, "Even if you did steal it, which you won't, you could never wear it because the guilt would kill you!"

  

I left the fitting room before the devil got the best of me and started to look for a lime green top to match. I found a few perfect matches, as the designers and marketers certainly know what we want. I left all of the tops on the hangar and decided to check out before I did any more damage. The counter in the department I was in was closed so I had to go to the one by the exit. On my way to the exit I silently set the skirt down in the swimsuit section and left the store... ashamed of the thoughts that ran through my mind.

OMG maybe this is the beginning of what Sr. Mary Ida warned me of... I am being possessed by the devil. Is this the early stages of kleptomania? Am I going to spend the last 50 years of my life behind bars? What was I thinking? Do other "typical" working class professionals ever have these thoughts or is it just me? Am I going to burn in hell for this? I was elated by leaving the store with just my hubby's boxers... the whole experience traumatized me.

I gotta go now... the skirt is still on the rack (I checked yesterday) and I am going to head to the store and get myself a skirt... with cash!

Seriously Folks... Keep an eye on me

Sweet Summer Time...

Is it already July 6th?

 Like tomorrow is my dad's birthday, July 7th?

Oh for crying in the beer... my sweet summertime is slipping through my fingers...

Like sands through the hourglass...

We wait all year for this luscious month of July. Many of us are soaking up a week off in the sun (don't be like me and forget your sunscreen). This morning when I woke up I felt completely relaxed. I have no huge projects looming over my head, I am in the midst of 10 days off of work, the weather is simply gorgeous, and I am alive and well. Life is good....



Wait... my phone is buzzing... Ahhh... it's work... apparently I am alone in my time off, I have received several emails today. What should we do with this ______?  How do you want to handle _______ budget? If we hire _______ today will we still be within the guidelines of the union? I think back to the days before smart(er than Sara) phones, cell phones, email, and all of the modern technology I am truly addicted to. When my dad went on vacation for 2 weeks he had no contact with his place of employment. Can you imagine? 

Seriously? I think now that we have all of these hotels with "free wifi" (oh wait, those are the hotels we stay in, you five star hotelers have to pay a minimum of $10/day AND pay for your breakfast~ I'll never figure that one out), and phones that help you "stay connected" even while you are on vacation, it's time to reevaluate what we are doing to ourselves. On my vacation I should not feel obligated to respond to my boss, parents I work with, or teachers I supervise. Am I wrong in this kind of thinking? Honestly? When I woke up stress free because I was "off" it was my full intent to remain stress free until next Tuesday, the 12th of July. Like my message on my voice mail says, "I am out of the office until July 12, leave a message and I'll return your call when I return." It also says that on my email "out of the office response." So why do the same people keep sending emails?

Note to self... respect every one's time off. Nothing is so important that I need to take some one's downtime away from them by asking questions that can be answered next week... when we're all back in the office... looking forward to next July when we get to take a full week off and soak up enough summer to get us through the upcoming year.

** I do get more than 10 days off but for this 10 I need VACATION**

Seriously Folks... Stay cool!