Christmas

So hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

We received a number of DVD boxed sets, so I've been spending time with the family and ignoring everything else. One of the sets I got - Peewee's Playhouse -- I watch that and wonder--What age group was that show really meant for?

My kids have been laughing like crazy. PeeWee Herman is not the most normal of people, yet despite his goofy antics, I've never seen my kids laugh more in my life.

I watch it now and I still find it just as amusing as I did when I was a teenager, but I see things now that were so sexually suggestive that I'm surprised I never caught that in the past.

What's more funny is "Larry" Fishburne - aka Lawrence Fishburne - as Cowboy Curtis. I would love to hear him talk about that role!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad, etc.

First, can I say that Carlos, a Mexican exchange student from my high school days, has forever ruined the song Feliz Navidad. I can't hear that song without screaming for the station to be changed. He serenaded us for months with that puppy and 17 years later I still can't listen to it.

I also have this issue with one local radio station that switched to an all-Christmas songs format right after Halloween. But that's between me and them!

My kids are officially out of school now, so I'm not going to post for a few days at least. In the meantime, I welcome anyone to go to my son's Blog. He's supposed to keep it polite, he knows mom is watching, but sometimes he cracks me up with his venting. It's kind of a "Complaints on the minds of your average pre-teen" type thing.

http://vermonterwithpie.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful holiday--whatever you celebrate--and may it be safe, happy and full of good times, family and friends.

Haircuts

I have had long hair since I was about 14. It's varied in length over the years, but yesterday I grew sick of it. (Not the first time.) I decided that I was going to have it all cut off. I vowed that this time I would not chicken out as I have for about 5 years running. My husband needed a haircut anyway, so I managed to get 2 cuts for 7pm and we went out to dinner first. I had this game plan, I had a couple of beers and then went. I found a cut that I felt would suit me and the book said it was best for my face shape and hair texture and curl...

Watching 6 inches of hair fall to the ground is a breathtaking event. The panic sets in, but I was determined to make sure I didn't chicken out. In the end, I was totally amazed with the outcome. Not to mention having your hair dried and styled in 3 minutes is an amazing feat!

I'm kind of sad that I didn't do this when my kids were small!

Baseball

As Boston fans, my husband woke me up with screams of outrage when he learned Johnny Damon was leaving Boston for the Yankees. Me? I'm not really surprised. The sport is no longer about the fans, it's all about the money. I spent 12 hours, yes 12 HOURS, trying to get tickets when they went on sale a couple weeks ago. Every game I tried, there was a waiting room to actually be allowed in to purchase tickets, and eventually I gave up. My husband's father always shunned Boston saying it was too expensive, so he's never actually been to Fenway to see a game. In the end, he won't go this year either. After not being able to acquire tickets to the games we could make, I went onto Ebay and found numerous listens by scalpers that were already on Ebay at 9am that morning. Am I surprised? No. Again everything in baseball is all about the money - tickets, player salaries, you name it and money buys...

Thanks, but I'll stick to football. At least there I have been able to successfully acquire Patriot tickets and it hasn't set me back a ton.

"Santarchy"

Have you heard this news story? http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47958

Okay, so I guess I'm confused. The "Santa" wannabes are tired of commercialism, I agree, but they then turn to violence to get their point across? As the true meaning of spirit is about peace, love and goodwill towards man - can they now explain their actions? I'd love to hear their excuse. Personally, I think they were looking for an excuse to become rowdy and pull off some petty theft so they used the real group "Santarchy" as a front for their juvenile and destructive behavior.

Do your taste buds change with age?

I'm curious. As you grow older, do your taste buds change? I have spent the first portion of my life detesting beer. I couldn't drink the stuff. Hops tasting like perfume just disgusted me. So I was shocked when in the past two or three years, I found beer more appetizing than a sweet wine. I can't drink zinfandel anymore, it tastes like sugary grape juice. I'll still drink a wine a few times a year, but it has to be very, very dry. Burgundy has become a favorite.

However, as the months pass, I find myself becoming more and more intrigued with beer. I've always enjoyed helping my husband with his home-brewing. Making beer is a science that is extremely fulfilling. Now as I make it, I find myself drinking beer and being able to pick out the hops that the brewer uses. This shocks me. I also am surprised that the light beers I used to love just don't satisfy me in the same manner. I'm branching out. I still can't stomach stout or the really dark beers, but my husband cracks up when I order Peroni or Moretti at our favorite Italian spot. Take me to an Indian restaurant and I'll order Taj Mahal every time.

I'm convinced that it has to be something to do with your taste buds altering as you grow older. Otherwise, I'm baffled.

King Kong

Three and a half hours... that's a long time to sit through a movie! Even for an adult. Now I do have a comment that I've made before and will make again - TODDLERS AND INFANTS DO NOT BELONG AT THE MOVIES! Especially not a movie with roaring apes and dinosaurs. I cannot believe that there was a two year old there and then an infant in a baby seat. If you really can't get a babysitter, plan it more in advance. The two year old was removed from the theater screaming because she was scared half to death. I question the thought-process of some grown-ups.

Now my husband is a huge King Kong fan, but he also believes that no one can do justice to Ann like Fay Wray. He loves the classic. However, he also finds Naomi Watts to be quiet adorable, so he felt this one might be able to top it. It didn't work for him. I'm open to anything with dinosaurs. So I was more than happy to go.

The basic premise is this: It's 1933 in NYC. A down-on-her-luck actress, Naomi Watts/Ann Darrow, finds her vaudeville act has been shut down without warning, so now she's starving and turns to petty theft in order to eat. However, a less than scrupulous director (Jack Black/Carl Denham) is pushing to film a movie at this never yet explored island - Skull Island - despite the fact that his funding is being pulled - he's got a day to hand over everything. Denham moves to get everyone onto to the ship he's hired, film the movie, and return to the U.S. with a hit before the people who are funding his movie can stop him. When his actress drops out, he needs to replace her (a size 4) in a hurry. He heads to a burlesque house and spies Ann standing in the distance. He feeds her, talks her into the project (which has been written by Adrian Brody/Jack Driscoll, a playright who she admires), and they head off, barely beating police.

Eventually, they wind up crashing into Skull Island where Ann's screaming seems to have ticked off some beast. Natives become restless, and steal Ann in order to offer her to King Kong. By now Jack is in love with her, so he sets off on a mission to resuce her. A number of other ship crew join him. Only dinosaurs roam the island and King Kong isn't about to let his new "girlfriend" out of his sight.

So the movie is action-packed. I don't think I've ever spent more time reminding myself to breathe. I will give Peter Jackson credit at the suspense in this movie. The problem is that during the whole ship voyage (which is incredibly long and really didn't need to be stretched out that far) you could tell it was green screen/computer work. It looked fake at times, so that started to ruin it. Another problem is the directors use of the speed up/slow down cinematography. Some scenes were slowed down to a crawl, almost dreamlike, and that effect grew tedious. Others may like it, I don't.

King Kong is well done. It's impossible not to fall for him, and by the end I really wanted to see him destroy the ever-whining Denham, whose character is a pain in the behind. I'm not going to say how it ends, most already know, but whether Denham gets a comeuppance (and he deserves one) is up to the viewer to find out.

Again, three and a half hours is a lot of movie to sit through. Half an hour was spent watching previews, the theater could have done everyone a favor and cut it to a 2 or 3 previews, instead we sat through EIGHT of them. Eight was absurd.

If you do go, and I recommend it because some of the "action" scenes have your stomach clenched and you do forget to breathe, plan to get up a few times. I highly suggest taking breaks during the first hour which is all the voyage to Skull Island. You won't miss anything of importance.

Okay, so help me out!

Growing up, I was always a blonde. I lived most of my life as a blonde, but three years ago I was dared to try something new - I turned into a redhead. Now surprisingly, the number of comments I got from complete strangers over the gorgeous color of my hair became absurd. I seriously had people stop me in stores to tell me they loved my hair. It seems trivial, but having been on both sides of the haircolor prism, I think redheads have MUCH more fun. I never went back and even though I've contemplated it (keeping up with red hair when you are not naturally red is a task in itself) I don't think I'll ever go back.

Anyway, so today. My son announces he'd like chicken for dinner and he even goes downstairs to get me chicken from the freezer. So I decide to put it in the crockpot for the day, I take it out of its packaging and proceed to slice my knuckle up really nicely while trying to remove the absorbant stuff that they put under all meats. (Providing you can call tearing up your knuckle NICE). It stung like mad and I was dripping blood. After I'd washed the cut (More of a huge amount of skin peeled back) I looked at my son and he started laughing. I understand the humor in this. How many people can say they've sliced their finger open on a frozen chicken breast? I've decided I must be the only person in the world. Therefore, I'm on a mission. Has anyone else ever done such a stupid thing?????

Hey it's the holidays aka GOOD will towards men.

Okay, I know I touched on this earlier this season, but I find myself needing to return to this subject. I realize that Christmas shopping can be horribly stressful. If you are the type who gets angry, then can I PLEASE suggest shopping online???

Of all insane places, I had to go to Walmart. I tried using a local photo print shop and they did a horrible job with my prints - in fact, they cut off half of a head while they went crop happy, so I refused the pictures and had Walmart do them instead. It's cheaper and I'm afraid the quality is much better with the 1 hour photos. Unfortunately, this also meant dealing with insane holiday shoppers.

While there, we bought a replacement printer for the Brother printer that died its Error 41 death. So I was in the electronic section, the clerk said the line started "here", so I looked around and not another soul was around, so I got into line. Ten minutes later, some guy comes up and starts accusing me of having cut ahead of him in line and he was getting very aggressive, so my husband suggested we just leave and go pay up front. So I did so. It's not worth getting into fist fights which is where this guy was heading from the looks of it.

So I have no fear of the "Self-serve" registers and I got into one of those lines. Unfortunately the machine balked anytime someone had something from the electronics department. It took us 40 minutes to check-out. I wasn't thrilled, but no line was moving faster...

Here is where people need a reality check. Behind me, a woman got totally frustrated with the line and decided she was leaving. I understand that. What I don't understand was why on earth she then body checked a man to the side of me. Literally shoving him out of the way so that he fell to the ground with this creepy sounding thud as he fell to the ground and whacked his head on my ankle and the concrete floor (I had good boots on so any injury to me was buffered). Everyone around us thought he'd broken his hip bone by the way he got up limping and my husband and I are betting that he had one hell of a headache that afternoon - if not a mild concussion. He took a very hard fall. It was after this that the woman suddenly said "Oh, my God I feel horrible. I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone but I was so fed up with things."

So lesson learned for her, but I don't think that's good enough. If you have issues of this nature and your anger is going to get the best of you, then just don't go out mid-afternoon on a Saturday. Someone is bound to get hurt. IN this case, I suppose it was the guy's pride that had him fleeing the store without letting store employees call in for medical treatment.

Somewhere along the way things are getting too far out of hand. It's CHRISTMAS, a time for giving from the heart - not for trying to beat each other into submission! So please, stop, take a breath and then lighten up! This isn't what I want my children learning about the holidays and I doubt many others would want their children watching adults fight over lines, certain toys, etc. It's just not what Christmas is about!

Karaoke Revolution Party for the Xbox

Okay, I admit it. I freely admit it, actually. I am a Karaoke Revolution junkie. I love that game and most people won't play anymore because they have issues trying to beat me. Apparently, I'm good... It's hard to judge yourself though.

Anyway, I have one complaint. After owning the first game and now buying the new game that mixes singing and dancing, I want Xbox to explain one thing to me... how come they set it up so that you can't add the songs from the first game to the second game. Asking people to pay $75 for the downloads on top of $40 for a quick Xbox live subscription is obnoxious, especially when the bulk of the "new" songs available for download were on the first game. I just checked over the list and there are only about 20 songs that interest me, so having to buy the packs and not being able to buy individual songs - I think I'll pass. I'll just work on getting platinum and diamond records in the Expert mode thank you very much.

So if Xbox really wants to do it right - they'll let you add songs from the first version of the game - after all, we paid good money for that game! And then how about letting people buy individual songs at the average 99 cents a piece. I think that would make a whole lot more sense!

Holiday baking

It's getting to be holiday baking time again! This year I'm going to test out some of my favorite recipes using Stevia to take some of the calories out of it. One of my all time greatest are these flourless Peanut Butter cookies. I have to toy with the Stevia to figure out the correct measurements.

But these cookies are so easy -

1 c PB
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg

That's it. Mix together and bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

How about your favorite recipes? Get in the holiday mood and share!

Printer reliability

Can I spend today NOT recommending a printer? Sure, I can and I'm gonna!

Eight months ago, my eight month old Brother MFC3220C printer died. Literally, died. It got the error of death (though at the time I didn't know about this error from death). Basically, I turned on the printer, it beeped ferociously at me and the message on the display says "Unplug your machine and call Brother."

So as the printer was under warranty, I called Brother, they Fed-exed me a reconditioned printer at their cost stating that this error was extremely common and it is that the printhead has jammed. So after it happened, I did a little research of my own and found that thousands of owners have run into the same issue.

So eight months have passed and guess what! I just turned on my printer and again there is the kiss of death message. Only this time, it is no longer under warranty as the replacement printer is only covered for 3 months. So I have to buy a new printer. I'm not happy, nor will I ever buy a Brother product again.

My issue. If THOUSANDS have encountered this jamming printhead, then why hasn't Brother recalled the printer and created a more reliable product???

Medical Profession

Okay, after watching the news and then reading the newspaper, I have a few comments for today.

First, moderate drinkers are less likely to become overweight. Okay, well someone forgot to tell my butt that!!!!!! And at the same time, I read just last week that women who drink are twice as likely to get breast cancer as those who never drink... So which do you choose?

Which leads me to today's hot story. Shaving your armpits and using deodorant regularly can increase your risk of breast cancer. So I guess we are all supposed to be really hairy and stink really bad???

I realize that just about everything you do in today's world puts you at risk for something. So unless we all are locked away in germ resistent rooms (uh oh, no sun... lower levels of Vit. D which decreases serotonin and can cause depression, so that won't work) Hmm. You can't go hide out on a deserted island because you might burn and sunburn can lead to skin cancer... No hiding in the basement with artificial sun because they you are at risk from radon-induced lung cancer. I think we are all in trouble.

What I really want to know - why the focus on all these disagreements when there are really critical breakthroughs waiting to occur. Stop arguing over shaving and deodorant and let's find some cures!

Virus Emails

Okay, after receiving a couple of virus laden emails yesterday that McAfee happily caught and destroyed before it ever even reached me, I am left with a question. No, make that two questions.

First, why would a virus sender think that titling the subject "Warning this is the FBI, you've been entering illegal websites" will actually work. I saw that subject and laughed hysterically. Like the FBI is really going to make online arrests now???????

Second, obviously the fact that this virus is still spreading - well it makes me wonder who in their right mind would then open something that is so stupid?

I can guarantee you - no matter the crime - the authorities are not going to give you a warning online. They'll show up at your door unannounced, armed with a warrant. I can just see the next virus now -

Subject: This is the police. You're wanted for questioning in a murder. Please send in this quick survey and we'll be around later to arrest you...

;-)

Cancellations

Okay, I'm in right now reading this year's list of cancelled shows. Some of them are no-brainers.

Kitchen Confidential - sorry but I found the show pretty repetitive and dull.

Threshold - I didn't mind the start of the show, but it's up against tough competion. I think the 10pm time slot sucks for those of us on the east coast anyway.

Reunion - I can't say I've ever watched it. There is no way I was giving up CSI for this show. But even before that - you have a murder mystery spanning 20 years time in one season? Had the show survived it would have made for a pitiful second season unless they had brilliant writers.

Martha Stewart's The Apprentice. I won't even go there. I hate those shows and couldn't do enough justice to bashing them.

Alias - I can actually see that show fizzling out. It's gotten pretty lame recently.

Night Stalker - why remake a classic only to change and ruin it?


In general, my favorite shows are staying - Cold Case, CSI (the original one that even I will admit is losing its luster), LOST, NCIS and Without A Trace.

I'm happy to see the show that most critics started out panning - My Name Is Earl - has become a huge hit. That show amuses me.

Other than that, I'd like to see an end come to The Simpsons. Yes it is the longest running cartoon, but it's grown very old. And how about no more reality tv for a while? I think many of us have shown a lack of interest!

The world is going mad

Okay, last week I ran into the most absurd issue. I was asked to pick up donuts before going to my parents' house. I was going to stop at the local grocery store, but decided instead to go to Dunkin' Donuts. So I drove into the drive-up line and asked for a dozen donuts, the woman told me they were out of donuts. Absurd... So I instead drove to another Dunkin' Donuts where they heard my store and then proceeded to tell me that the Milton location has fryers and the equipment to make the donuts on site, so there was no reason for them to be out of donuts. Yet, they were...

I thought I'd heard it all until today. I went to my local post office - they close at 5 and it was a little after 4:30. The clerk refused to take my packages. She claimed she'd been too busy to accept any packages and that I'd have to drive to another location or come back another time and hope she is less busy. The post office REFUSING to take more packages? I swear the world is going insane...

Food for thought

Before I continue, let me state that a convicted child molester did move down the road from me about 10 years ago. As soon as word got out, via the school, I was outraged that a sicko of this nature was out and living in a family neighborhood. Nothing has changed, I still think it is absurb.

So with this, I sat down and watched Kevin Bacon's THE WOODSMAN last night. If you've never heard of the movie, Kevin Bacon is a man convicted for molesting two young girls, he's served a 12 year sentence and now he's back on the streets fighting the odds. He doesn't want to be one of those offenders who commits the same crime. Okay, so I'm finding his character admirable, but I have no faith in him.

What bothers me - Kevin moves into an apartment across the street from an elementary school. Enter one of those WHAT WERE THEY THINKING moments. That's like putting a plate of chocolates in front of a chocoholic and telling them not to touch. Yes, so maybe his character has gone through, no is still going through therapy, but to place him across the street from a school. That's insane, yet I also know it happens - hence the child molester who moved down the road from me a decade ago. (And in this case, he molested again, so he's back in jail. Unfortunately, the school didn't get the warning out in time. In their defense, I'm sure they didn't know. The laws protected the criminal back then.)

So anyway, there is an interesting twist. Kevin knows the tricks a molester uses. He watches the behavior of a man who parks in front of school every day and Kevin knows it means trouble. I did appreciate that. It made me like Kevin's character--almost.

In the end, I can't tell you what happens. It is a little corny, but possibly realistic. It's not a bad movie and I can say it was an interesting role for Kevin Bacon to have taken on. I've always found him to be a little creepy - now I find him even creepier, but that's not a bad thing. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

So we've had our first really good snow storm at my house. The yard is white. My deck needs shoveling-anyone want to come do it?

My daughter finds snow magical. However, I just feel the chill in the air and want to go right back inside.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and there's supposed to be another snow storm. I'm not sure what this means for us now - as we have to do some driving. The bigger issue is that the weathermen are all over the place trying to predict how much snow we are going to get, when it's going to hit, and how long it will last. I have a feeling it's going to be another of those years when they can't make up their minds, so they don't do a forecast until it actually starts happening!

Anyway, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. And I'll end with a recipe that we tested out last night. If anyone drinks Sam Adams beer - there are two bottles of their Cranberry Lambic in the mixed box. Now, I like beer but Cranberry Lambic is more like fizzy cranberry juice with a dash of hops. Not very enjoyable. So I'd set aside the bottles to use in cooking. Yesterday, my son (he's 12 and just getting into cooking) asked if he could make something. So I pulled out my trusty cranberry nut bread recipe and made a few alterations. This bread came out very nicely!

SAM ADAMS CRANBERRY LAMBIC NUT BREAD

3 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups chopped cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp orange zest
3 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
12 oz Cranberry Lambic Beer

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the dry ingredients together. (Flour, sugar, & baking powder.) Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix thoroughly.

Pour/spoon the batter into 2 greased loaf pans (or I used a bundt cake pan) and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes (depends on the type of pan used).

Holiday Shopping

My favorite time of year - NOT - is upon us. This past weekend, I went out and got as much Christmas shopping done as I possibly could, the rest I'm going to do online.

Even now, the stores were horrific. We're talking people so frantic to get a deal that they are willing to mow children down with their carts. I am certain this is why I hate the holidays. People forget all about being neighborly and go out of their way to be first at everything.

So this blog entry is dedicated to the woman who hit my daughter with her cart and then proceeded to look at me like it was my fault that my daughter got in her way. Jess and I were alone in the toy aisle, there was room to go around her, instead you pushed your cart into her to make her move. I watched you, where you were going became an important quest for me. You were in a huge rush to get to the section where they had the boxed set of Disney books and CD's on sale. I proceeded to follow you --there is the potential for stalking there, but I had something else in mind after watching how you shopped, you were one of the push it aside and come back for it shoppers-- you set aside the collection of Chicken Little books, it was the only one, and then you proceeded to look for others. I reached over and snatched up that box of Chicken Little Board books, before you could react. I tossed it into my cart and walked away while you were yelling you'd planned to buy it. The devious side of me could have cared less what box set I picked out for my neighbor's little girl, but because you'd hurt my daughter, I felt an urge to be evil. Maybe two wrongs don't make a right, but this time I'd had enough.

A little tip to others - if you are contemplating buying something, put it in your cart while you decide. Usually, and I'll say usually because I have had people snatch something out of my cart while my back is turned, if it is in a cart, the item is then off limits to others.

Meanwhile, enjoy your holiday shopping this year. All I can say is that I'm glad I'm done!

I have a new reality show...

And it is called WHAT ARE AMERICANS THINKING???

Suffice it to say, I've been watching that VH1 show - But Can They Sing? That show is like a train about to encounter a deadly wreck. No one can sing, Morgan Fairchild makes the best stab at it, and usually she's tolerable, however the rest of these saps are being told they are wonderful when the truth is they really, really, really suck.

Bai Ling - whoever told her she can sing and whoever keeps voting for her really need to have their hearing checked. When she was talking about wanting to sing in a lower tone, she was right, I could actually tolerate her then. I decided today that the only reason people vote for her is to keep laughing at just how tone deaf she is.

Carmine Gotti. As much as I hate to agree with that guest host - "Cat caught in a muffler" is just about correct. He's horrible.

Michael Copon's performance of You Give Love A Bad Name was awful.

I wasn't much fonder of Antonio Sabato's remake of Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love.

I'd like to see these actors/actresses given a chance to pick their own song. Right now, the vocal coaches aren't doing a very good job with selections.

Can a house choose its owner?

Recently, I've been watching an "event" going on in a local household with semi-interest. You see in the past, the owner of this house was a really nice guy stuck in kind of a bad situation. He ended up refusing to speak up for himself and it led to a very unhappy second marriage, fall-outs with all of his close friends, and I think lost a good piece of himself. It's all hear-say from here on out, but I've heard his daughter from his first marriage took off to live with mom because she couldn't stand her new step-mom and then he eventually lost his other daughter when his second marriage fell apart. Had he stuck up for himself many years ago, I do think things would have turned out differently.

So now the new owners - he tries to stand up for himself, but often, in my opinion, gives in too easily. He's a great guy who is in another bad situation. And that leads me to wonder, can a house draw a certain type of person to it? Is it the area? It's just odd that this one house draws people who do not have the self-esteem to stand up for themselves.

So this leads me to wonder - did my house draw me to it? Am I destined to pick houses with sinks that LOVE to leak? Leaking sinks is a whole other issue though. ;-)

Nano Writes Cont. Part 2

So, I have a little more than 20,000 words done now. 5,000 more and I'm at the halfway mark.

I'm amazed at how much I am dreaming about these characters. I'm not sure if I enjoy it or not, waking up at 1am and fighting an urge to turn the computer on is a major issue at this point.

I've gained a new respect for those who have published a book. It's a lot of fun, but boy does it eat away at you at the same time!

Human Control Experiment

I've decided that at the heart of LOST is a small group of madmen who are trying to see if they can manipulate humans to do things they would never dream of doing. Shannon chasing after the ghost of a boy.

Sayid falling in love with a white woman.

Jack being forced to save the life of an enemy.

Michael realizing the importance of fatherhood - a kid he barely knew is now his driving force.

A number of people pushing in numbers and the enter key because a video tells them to.

I do think Shannon is dead, though we'll find out for sure in the future.

I really don't care about that chick from the tail section who disappeared.

I'm still iffy on Sawyer, he's a hottie, but in reality his home was robbed and I'm sure that violation of your privacy would put thoughts of moving away in your head.

I can't stand this Ana. She just annoys me.

Terry O'Quinn (Locke) has been one of my favorite TV actors (Millenium though the network idiots cancelled it) for a while. So I'm happy as long as he is in it!

What are they thinking?

I got a notice from our health insurance agency yesterday--they are no longer paying for certain types of birth control pills--mainly all Ortho pills. Now this really doesn't affect me, thank God. But I wonder about the thousands of women who are affected? Are they now supposed to have children even if they do not want them? Are they being forced to use condoms or have their tubes tied? I just don't see the logic in this companies' thinking.

It makes no sense to me.

Being Unbiased

Unbiased was a word I heard far too much of last week.

It started with the incident surrounding the letter I received from the school. I did talk to the principal and then the attendance committee's ringleader, and they explained their case. They used to only send this notice to parents of children who were obviously skipping school. However, those parents claimed it was biased to send the letter to the children whose parents were not calling in to report that their child was sick. Those parents feel that every child should receive the letter. So the policy changed to prevent a lawsuit over biased/unbiased behavior.

I still disagree. The reasoning per the school is that the past three years has shown an increase in the number of children whose parents are either not calling the school or whose children are skipping school without their parents' knowledge. Those are the people being targeted with this letter.

As a parent, it is their duty to call the school when their child is sick. So if they fail to do so, that's their problem. The deserve the reminder.

If the child is skipping without the parents' knowledge. Again, they need the letter.

To claim the school is being unfairly biased by not sending the letter to all students is asinine. First, it is our tax money that pays for the postage used up to send out the unnecessary letters.

Second, I know people with horrible credit ratings who are then charged higher interest ratings because of it. Does this mean it is a biased world and that EVERYONE should be forced to pay the penalty of bad credit? Can you imagine if the bank suddenly declined you a loan because you live near an area known for higher levels of debt, even though your own credit rating is stellar?

In essence, that's what these complaining parents have done.

It's just like at my husband's place of employment. A half dozen workers were abusing the ruling on personal calls. Some were spending more time on their phone than they were working, so the company decided no personal calls for anyone. It's unfair. Now if I need to get my husband a quick message, the receptionist comes on and denies me access. It has to be a life or death emergency before she will put a call through. She even admits that she has only recorded me as having called him twice this past year, while he has co-workers who were getting calls 6 times a day. Yet, phone privileges were taken from everyone.

It's absurd. I'm not sure I like the message we are sending our children. Doesn't matter how you behave, you will be punished for other people's irresponsible behavior.

Nano Writes cont.

So the competition started on Tuesday. I just finished today's writing -- I'm up to 7000 words just about. So I think I'm doing well.

So to celebrate my accomplishments to date, I figured I'd post the snippet that appears at Nano Writes....


The air around me buzzes of holiday festivities. Lavish Christmas displays are going up at a rapid pace as I walk through each narrow store aisle searching for the next item on my list. Each item on the list has been suggested emphatically, I know these items are not just suggestions, though I still question the necessity.

Brilliant reds and greens practically fly off the shelves into awaiting carts. There is no doubt about it Christmas is in the air. This is where life comes to a screeching halt. Shocked faces turn towards me as I scream the next few words, following each word with a dramatic pause – “It is freaking August.”

Yes, Christmas in August. Charlie Brown® isn’t quite as simple-minded as some may think. What happens next seems rather blurry, but this is how it goes…

Here I am trying to gather all the items from the three-page list of items necessary for my children to begin school, and I’m assaulted by Christmas displays. Half a dozen workers dressed up as elves are busy stocking shelves with glimmering lights, inflatable snowmen, and electronic Santa and reindeers. I assume that the elves are store clerks, but who knows, when you assume you make an ass out of you and me. Maybe they really are Santa’s elves straight out of the North Pole.

It should be illegal to put up a Christmas display before Thanksgiving! It is at this moment that years of pent up frustration come pouring out. “IT IS FREAKING AUGUST YOU MORONS.”

“Hey, lady. Tone it down or get out of this store.” Simple words muttered by one of Santa’s supposed “Little Helpers.” All they do is piss me off more.

“August,” I yell again. August. You know the month that brings an end to summer vacation. Summer’s last hurrah before the cooler fall months arrive. Christmas is in winter. What the hell do you call Christmas in August?”

“Commercialism, lady. It’s plain and simple. So deal with it.” He grins knowingly before continuing arranging things from the top of a stepladder, leaning as far as he can without falling over. I think it is the elf’s sly little grin. A facial expression that effuses evil and not tidings of joy as some might think. A grin that tells me he thinks he has won. At this point, I realize that there is nothing left to lose.

Gripping my shopping cart more tightly than ever, I watch as my knuckles become white from lack of blood flow. I’ve had enough of the elf’s behavior. I’m sick of Christmas displays in the summer. I’m tired of people telling me how easy my life must be. I’m going to show them all.

I turn slowly, my own evil, little grin now plastered on my face. Little do the elves know it, but they are about to face my wrath. One pale, blonde elf is standing in the back of a stepladder holding it with a lackluster passion. Not thrilled with her job, she seems to be going through the motions while off in her own little fantasy world.

I’m not much for bowling, at least not until today. But, this seems like the perfect time to hone my skills. I eye the ladder, aim my cart, and run like a madwoman. Perhaps, madwoman is a little too strong. Nonetheless, I am certain I am breaking all kinds of laws here, but man does it feel good.

The squeak of the right rear wheel punctures the otherwise deafening silence as nearby shoppers gaze at me with concern. I know what they are thinking—call for a straightjacket, this woman is nuts.

Cart and ladder collide solid bang. I can feel the sting of metal hitting metal all the way to my teeth, and my hands certainly took a bit of the collision, but I don’t care. I watch as the smarmy elf falls with a bone-shattering crunch to the hard tiled floor.

“Ooh, that must have hurt like hell.” It’s my turn for the evil grin, and I follow it with a full belly laugh. A laugh I haven’t heard in years. Tears come to my eyes just thinking about it. I wonder if it’s more of a sin to now run back over the groaning elf.

“Hey, lady. Will you move your damn cart already?”

Pressure on students?

For a while now, I have been under the firm belief that some school systems push their students too hard. My son is a straight-A student. He prides himself on A's. So today, I get the mail and there is a letter warning me that my son has missed too much school this year. That the new school policy is that no child should miss more than 6 days in a school year. I'm a little steamed.

For years, the school policy was that no child could go to school if they were throwing up or had a fever. My son has always been inclined towards ear infections, even after his adenoids were removed and tubes were put in. With his ear infections come a fever, and we know if he has a cold that an ear infection will follow. He spent so much time on antibiotics that his body built up a resistance, so the doctors no longer will prescribe antibiotics unless we beg and plead.

So since August, he has missed school twice because he was throwing a fever and throwing up. The third time, he was feverish with an ear infection. I stay home, so it's not a big deal for me to care for him. I will grant that I am benefited by my working from home because it allows me the freedom to keep my kids home. I have never, and will never, send my children to school if they are sick.

His sister is never sick. When she is sick, I have to fight her to keep her home. So it's not like I push the system. I only keep my children home if they fall into the school's "never send your child to school sick"guidelines. Not many other parents do or are able to abide by that same rule, and as a parent whose has had both children come home after sitting at a table where their classmate has thrown up on their books or clothing, I'm thankful that I'm not the parent sending my very sick child to school to infect others.

So anyway, today I get this letter telling me that I am allowing my son to be sick too often. That the new school policy this year is no more than 6 days total or they will be issuing severe warnings and holding meetings to address the absent child. I am infuriated. My judgment is being questioned, and I do think I know if my child is sick or not.

So what it comes down to is now that my child goes to school and if he's sick enough to go home, the school will let me know - OR I have to send him to school with a doctor's note the next day. So I have to pay the co-pay to have my doctor write a note stating that "Yes, Chris was too sick to go to school." I find this absurd.

I think at base, it upsets me because there was no forewarning. This new "school panel" decided this year that they needed to do this. I can understand if Chris was failing, but he's still pulling straight A's. So it's not like missing a few days has caused big issues. His sister usually brings him his homework, and if he is feeling up to it, he'll do his homework in bed or the next morning if he's feeling better. However, there was no warning that the school had changed the policy, and they sent out this brunt letter telling me to call the school because he has been absent too much.

I guess it all comes down to this - Big Brother is even watching our children now. I love the new lesson my children are learning now - if you're sick, too freaking bad. Thanks, Vermont!

Happy Halloween

We live in a neighborhood with over 100 houses on the 1 mile long road and again Halloween was a bust. We had a total of four children -- needless to say those four kids scored!

It makes me wonder if parents just don't trust people anymore, or if Halloween is a thing of the past. I'm quite visible in my neighborhood. I'm always outside with my kids, walking around the neighborhood or chatting with neighbors. Yet, again a total of four trick or treaters. It's a shame that that little aspect of childhood seems to be a thing of the past.

Nano Writes

To those who signed up - it starts tomorrow. Good luck to all, may you all prosper with your writing!

I've toyed with my outline. Then changed the entire story to something else last minute and now I'm in a new mind set. So I'm curious to see if I can complete it in the month's time!

The joy of snow...

I watched a little girl sit out in the snow/rain mix this morning and have this absolutely wonderful time making "slush" angels (she kept calling them snow angels, but it really was more slush than snow), snow/slush men, creating Heffalump tracks, and just in general she was having more fun than I've seen any child have in a long time. She came in with the adorable rosy red cheeks that kids get after they've been playing in the cold. Her exposed hair was dripping wet... and all I could think the whole time was how much I loathe snow. Snow means cold, damp, and generally miserable conditions.

So it makes me wonder, I used to be that rosy cheeked kid playing in the snow - trying to stand up in my sled and make it all the way down the hill without falling flat on my behind. (Snowboards... there's something I should have invented since that's what we were really doing...)

My son hates snow now, he's like his mom and snow means cold- but I remember his wanting to be out in it all rosy cheeked. My daughter still loves snow and was up eating breakfast at 4:45 this morning hoping that they'd have a snow day so that she could stay home and play in it. No such luck, though I've heard the high schoolers are out early because the power went out. But I wonder if everyone loses the magic of a first snowfall or if it is just those of us who have lived a lifetime of cold winters and never-long-enough summers?

Snow???

So every year I have this one goal, this year I am sticking to it more than ever. My goal is to not turn my furnace on until at least November 1st. So at this point, I have one more week. With the price of propane at all-time highs, I really want to hold out as long as possible!!

So the weatherman today announces that because of Hurricane Wilma, we are about to get nailed with the remnants of this storm forming a "snowicane." His phrase - not mine. I'm not very happy. Snow to me means cold temperatures and I'm just not ready for either. I realize some of you never see snow, but I've had my fill of it. Snow means drivers "forget" how to drive and they attempt to drive the speed limit while snow builds up. Vermonters can be great snowy road drivers, but the more people that move from non-snowy states, the crazier winter driving becomes. Especially when more and more SUVs are on the roads and some people have this tendency to think that 4wd makes you invincible in the snow - trust me it's NOT true.

I've heard that the Farmer's Almanac says we are in for one of the snowiest winters in a long time, but I really, really am not looking forward to it at all. I'd like to hope they are all wrong! However, if they are, I have this plea to those driving on Vermont roads this winter. Road conditions can change in a heartbeat around here, so if it's snowing - slow down, allow extra time to get to your destination, and remember you are NOT the only one on the road. You have to be twice as alert as usual.

A little more serious a topic

As most know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Friday was National Mammography Day.

I've lost two friends to breast cancer. My hairdresser and then this spring my mom's close friend/next-door neighbor growing up--she was like our second mom growing up, and we knew if mom wasn't catching our misdeeds, that Sarah would. It's still shocking to think that they are gone, even more so for their families.

Please, if you can, donate to this very worthy cause. Make sure you have a breast exam yearly and mammogram if you are in the right age group. I also want to mention that Hansen's Organic Sodas have red tabs on their cans. Mail these tabs in - for every tab they receive, they will donate 10 cents to Breast Cancer research.

Lost -- Another one's gonna bite the dust!

So I am thoroughly addicted to the ABC show LOST. I've never missed an episode and love the mystery behind the island. With all the twists that are thrown at you, it's impossible to know what's going to happen next.

So anyway, there is another cast member leaving the show in three weeks. I read a rumor that Shannon is going to be the one to go next, and personally that kind of makes sense given the fact that she's barely been featured this season. But I've also read interviews with the actress who plays Shannon that she's not the one. So who do you believe? Anyone else have guesses about who is next to go?

Company Policies

I ran into a situation today that ticks me off. I can understand the policy, especially when a number of my husband's co-workers push personal calls to extremes. But in this case, I think some modification needs to be made.

I rarely call my husband at work. Years ago, I'd called him because I was having a rough day (I used to have panic attacks daily) and I needed to hear his voice. The secretary who answered rudely hung up on me and told me never to call again with trivial matters, so I turned to my former sister-in-law to help me through the rough spots instead. Now I'll only call him if it's pretty important.

So today, I really needed him to pick up something at the store before he heads home. I called his work and the receptionist tells me they have a new policy this month - no personal calls at all unless it is a matter of life or death. So, I asked if she could take a message then and she refused. Said I could tell him myself when he gets home.

Where my husband works, cell phone reception is a major issue - they are right behind the National Guard base and near the airport so cell phone service is limited at best unless they are outside. So now, I have no way of texting him a message or getting a call through until he is in his car, and even then he barely knows how text messaging works and he won't answer a call when he's driving. So this means the milk I needed is now something I'll have to go out and drive 10 miles to get myself - when it could have been a quick stop on his way home.

I do understand that some of my husband's co-workers have abused the phone call privilege. However, if they kept track of who is getting the calls, they'd see that the last time I called my husband was back in the spring when I'd taken the kids to a friend's house for dinner. It's not like I call him three times a day like these other guys he works with. And even at that, if I can't personally speak to him, that's okay, but they should be able to get messages to their workers. Outright refusal is a little too big-brotherish for me.

Rainy Days

It has done nothing but rain here. So I've been going on this mad cleaning kick. Just how messy does a kid's bedroom have to be before you cave in and do it yourself? My daughter's room was horrendous. Her rats are sweet, gentle, but wickedly messy creatures. So there was litter under her bed and I was throwing a fit at the number of socks hiding under her bed. It's no wonder she ran out of them!!!

So now her room is immaculate, and I'm wondering just how long it will last. My son is messy, but he doesn't compare next to her!

My 2nd Post today---

It's making up for the one I'll most likely miss tomorrow as it is a school day here, so I'll have kids around.

One of the reviewers here (Deb) sent me a link to a November challenge that I'm going to do. http://www.nanowrimo.org/ You have one month to write a 50,000 word novel. Now I figure that's about 1700 words per day. That sounds manageable, but then when I add in everything else in my schedule, it's going to take some planning. However, I really want to prove to myself that I can do it! So I accepted this challenge yesterday and can't wait to get started!

Who else is up for the challenge?

Wallace & Grommit

Due to the rainy, suddenly much cooler, weather, my husband and I decided to go catch the matinee for Wallace & Grommit. I know the movie is rated G, so I expected plenty of other families to be there. What surprised me was the parents of kids no more than two years old who felt their child was ready for the movies. The little girl in front of us was about two years old and she was potty trained supposedly, but she ended up wetting her pants and crying uncontrollably because daddy got very upset. My feelings are that he NEVER should have brought her in the first place. There were other children who were screaming/crying because in essence the new W&G movie is a little scary. Someone called it "a horror movie for vegetarians" that's kind of accurate.

First, the movie should have a PG rating in my opinion. There are sexual innuendos, funny to older kids and adults, but lost to little ones. (At one point Helena Bonham Carter's character is stood behind a pair of canteloupes and she asks Wallace if he'd like to touch her melons. Another scene has a naked Wallace covering himself with a box that says "Nuts may be inside.")
This movie does contain typical Wallace & Grommit humor - everyone should expect it - so parents who were upset with the semi-violent scenes (a were-rabbit biting and "killing" veggies, shooting/airplane fight with Grommit) and such should have expected it. Wallace and Grommit are British and British humor is included. If you are unfamiliar with the characters, perhaps you should check them out a little more first before bringing your 2 - 4 year olds.

I liked the movie. Still isn't better than The Wrong Trousers, I don't think, but it is enjoyable.

Book Banning

I read a book today that was okay, but I have this issue now because I was reading the author's bio and read that he successfully led a book banning campaign against his local library. See I have this thing with book banning - FREEDOM of speech... If you don't like the book's topic, then don't read it. The fact that there are people out there who deem themselves a God of sorts and that they MUST remove books they find offensive for the general population really bothers me. If you don't like it - don't watch it, read it, listen to it. I'm sure those same people have some food they can't stomach - be it brussels sprouts, spinach... Can you imagine their response if you forced your way into their home and forced them to eat that intolerable food???

Taxes

It's time for us to pay our property taxes again... I dread this upcoming event - handing over $2300 in property & school taxes seems insane to me for the size of our house and school system.

Anyway, this led a few of us into a conversation recently on taxes. So I am posing my questions to everyone out there to see if anyone knows the answers.

1. Why do you have to declare your state tax refund (refunded money because you OVERPAID your taxes in the first place) to the IRS? Isn't that double taxation? Isn't that partly why we rebelled against the English centuries ago?

2. I just bought my new car last fall for $17000, but I talked them down to $12,000 because it was Fall and they wanted the 2004 models off the lot. So then I paid sales tax on the entire $17000. My question is since I've now paid sales tax on that car, why will the state make anyone who buys it in the future pay sales tax on it again? Again, the whole double taxation comes to mind. In Vermont, if you buy a used car, you must pay sales tax on it when you register and sales tax is based on the Blue book value of the car, not what you paid for it. So if you buy a car for $3000 used and the book value is $5000, kiss 6% of the $5000 value goodbye. Now if you paid $6000 for the car valued at $5000, the state will take the tax based on that $6000 value.

LOST addiction

I am totally hooked on the show - LOST. So last night, I arranged everything to make sure I was home in time. Now I've seen it and so many questions pop up. I'm beginning to think this show is all about careful planning - not fate. It has to be planned that Jack would end up facing a man from his past on this very island... And I would swear that his father has something to do with it all.

Movies anyone

Okay, it's time for the movie industry to explain something to me!! Because Ophelia felt like dumping some rain on Vermont this weekend, my husband and I decided the movies sounded good on Friday night. We had some free passes to use up, so we headed for the theater. Now WHY was the only PG movie showing playing a 1:00pm showing when kids were at school?

Thankfully our children are older - 9 and 12, so I felt okay with the movie we all ended up choosing. Though the fact that my children wanted to see a romantic comedy still stuns me - we went to Reese Witherspoon's JUST LIKE HEAVEN. Really the only issue was seeing an old man's behind in an Emergency room which is pretty accurate of what you can see in an ER, so that doesn't bother me.

I am bothered by the fact that the only movie at this theater that was under a PG13 rating was one we didn't want to see. Hollywood needs to look at the movies they are releasing and realize that there are kids out there who do go to the movies. More PG or G options would be nice, and I think it might get more people in the theaters. Had my kids not been interested in JUST LIKE HEAVEN, we would have skipped the movies completely.

Will it work?

I have been waiting for the show, BONES, to premiere and finally last night it did. I am just not sure I really like it.

I think my problem lies with the fact that Hollywood really changed Kathy Reich's character. I can see creating a whole new character with a new name, go ahead and keep the career the same, but I think taking a long-time fictional character - making her younger, more athletic, and changing her location is just maddening. The Temperence from the show isn't like the one from the novel. She kicks butt, she's young, no daughter involved, she is based in the D.C area instead of Montreal. In reality, she is a new character with the same name. To me that's wrong, it wasn't what I was expecting.

I think the show has promise, more so with those that haven't read every Kathy Reichs book. For the long time fans, this new Temperence is going to be hard to get used to and if you manage to adapt, the books will then feel wrong.

Posts with links

Twice now I've had posts with links on them. While I normally would allow such behavior, these two "links" have contained Trojan viruses that were caught and quarantined. I am deleting and banning all who post virus ridden links.

Red Sox

I grew up in a household where the Red Sox were the team to root for. I still remember in 1986 they made the World Series and for five days our geometry teacher brought in coffee and donuts for all --until Game 6 and then class changed!

I ended up marrying a Red Sox fan. The game was on in the background while I gave birth to my daughter, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

So this weekend, my husband discovered Bronson Arroyo's new CD. For those unfamilar with Bronson, he is the Red Sox pitcher who wore dreadlocks all last year. Now his hair is back to normal and I still say it looks weirder now than it did then. Anyway, the CD turned out to be quite a surprise. I'm still not sure he'd have gotten a recording contract had he not already been a sports star, but more power to him for realizing his dream!

Gas Prices, Part 3???

So I was just reading a story on gas prices and how they've reached this all-time high--


By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 18 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Damage to Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines by Hurricane Katrina pushed retail gas prices to historic highs in the past two weeks, with self-serve regular averaging more than $3 a gallon for the first time ever, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.

The weighted average price for all three grades surged more than 38 cents to nearly $3.04 a gallon between Aug. 26 and Sept. 9, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.

Self-serve regular averaged $3.01 a gallon nationwide, according to the survey. Midgrade was pegged at about $3.11, while premium-grade was at nearly $3.21.

So what I want to know is where are they getting these prices from????? The LOWEST I've found around here is $3.19 a gallon and that's effective only today after prices dropped. Last Tuesday when I tried to gas up, the cheapest was $3.49 a gallon in this area. I had to drive 30 miles to get a price of $3.39 a gallon. All these prices are regular - I won't even go there for the super and premium because no one can afford them!!!!

I would be thrilled at this point to have $3.01. Someone tell Vermont that their prices are screwy - and as we were in NY yesterday and prices were about 20 cents higher over there - someone needs to tell NY that they have their prices jacked up too high as well!!

I have two roads to go with - either there is some serious price goudging going on in this area, or the Associated Press needs to do their homework a little more thoroughly.

Demise of a city...

Growing up, I used to LOVE taking trips over the lake to Plattsburgh over in New York. The city had a military base and two malls which made it a treat in my teen years--the change of pace was refreshing, and taking the ferry it really wasn't a long trip at all - especially for a car load of teens.

It has been four years since my last trip to Plattsburgh. After the base shut down, the town started faltering. One mall closed down and the other seems to struggle. The weather was gorgeous yesterday, so my husband and I thought the kids might enjoy a trip on the ferry. I'm saddened to see that nothing has improved over there. I'll say I did enjoy the Super Walmart. Vermont keeps shooting one down here, but I've never seen a 10 lb bag of potatoes for under $2 in any of my local grocery stores.

What bothers me is that lack of change. Hooters shut down years ago, and the mall still has failed to bring in a new restaurant in the mall. The food court has lost three eateries since our last visit. Ames still sits empty. It's almost as if everyone has given up on even trying -- though I know the current mayor is struggling to revitalize the city. I'd like to think something will change, but after four years and still no improvement, I'm doubting it will happen.

When Ames shut down in Vermont - Kohls was quick to snatch up the space. In St. Albans - Ames turned into a TJ Maxx and the more useless Peebles. Those spaces filled rather quickly. I'd have thought the same would happen just over the lake, but it hasn't.

I hope years from now that I return to Plattsburgh and find major improvements, but some how I just don't see it happening...

The HUMANE???? Society

I guess my faith in mankind has been shattered partially today. As I'd stated in a post a few days ago, we found ourselves in the possession of a stray cat last Saturday morning. She's a good cat, but she HATES, and will attack to kill, other cats and dogs. So my own cats are not thriving, nor is my dog. All three have taken to hiding under beds in an effort to avoid the new cat. Despite shelling out $200 to pay for the stray's vet care, my husband and I decided she'd be happier in a home without other animals. It has to be more humane than our keeping her in a dog kennel all night - she yowls like crazy and it's been three nights since I've slept.

So today, we took her to the "Humane" Society who told us flat out that since we were from a town that didn't pay their "membership" fee, they refuse to take in an animal. It didn't matter that I just spent $200 on vaccinations, meds, etc. They told us to leave with the cat and not to bother coming back because they won't take her and that our local animal control officer only deals with dogs, so he refused to take her as well. At this point, I was ticked off. I understand the Humane Society's issue. However, since I walked in with meds, proof of vaccines, vet records from our visit, food and a cat crate, all they really needed to do is supply her with water and care until she is adopted out. Instead, the person agreed that our options are to continue caring for her or stop feeding her and hope she goes away. This cat was down to 6.5 pounds and not in good health, I'm furious that the humane society's stance is that I just should have let her starve to death. That's absurd and not very HUMANE.

After talking to our vet, he said our best option is to try to give her away through the local paper - but that odds are we will not get any takers. The only other option is to keep her outside year round and hope she can take a Vermont winter. At this point, I'm almost thinking it's more humane then to have her put to sleep. 40 degree below windchills are not anything I would force an animal to try to survive.

Flood aftermath or pets???

I haven't decided where to go with today's topic, and I thought about it all day, so I've decided to make two comments.

FIRST - I question the looting in Louisiana. I read yesterday that massive numbers of police officers have turned in their badges and a couple have committed suicide. I'd like to think that as humans in tough times, we would have the strength and decency to remain civil, yet for some reason it hasn't happened. People smarten up. Yes, you've faced a horrendous tragedy and things will get worse before they get better, but the story I heard yesterday sickens me. My son's classmate's parents are from Louisiana and have friends down there still. One of their friends was given permission to go back into his house to get additional clothing and rescue his dog. He walked into the house and was shot at point blank range by someone who had taken his house over as a shelter. That's so wrong. What's worse is that the hospitals are so overworked, they all turned him away because he was the victim of a gun shot wound. And for those who want to cry racism - I'll have you know this man is white, so don't even try to say he was turned away because he was black. I find both acts to be inhumane and unjustifiable.

#2 - I will never understand and probably never will--- if you have a pet, why abandon it? There has been a stray cat hanging around all summer, I know it had been raiding my bird food for the past week until I put it into a lidded bucket. All of my neighbors have chased it off numerous times and no one knows whose cat it was, but bets are on it being the cat of a young guy who was living down the road temporarily this summer as that is the house it kept going back to. Finally this weekend out of desperation it came crawling up to my husband begging for food. We fed it and now happen to be the proud owner of a two/three year old recent mommy. No one knows if the kittens survived or where they might be, but this poor cat is the most friendly cat I've ever seen. We took her to the vets today and she's clean of everything except ear mites. Why someone tossed her out so easily is beyond me. We happen to live near Lake Champlain and it is quite common for a summer camp resident to up and leave without their pets, but she is a sweetie and I just can't imagine abandoning her. If you really like a kitten or puppy, but don't want to stick with the pet come adulthood - do everyone a favor and foster your pet temporarily - talk to your local animal shelter - they are almost positive to have a foster program.

Site update

I've had a bit on my plate, so the update is going to be late. I have been watching a five-year-old in the mornings, so I'm not on the computer much. I am also throwing a b-day party tomorrow, so that's taken up my afternoons.

Rest assured, by Monday all the reviews will be online!

Tracy

Gas Prices, Continued.

$3.19 a gallon compared to $2.519 a gallon two days ago. This is insane. I would like to see actual statistics that shows the U.S. is severely low on fuel and that the gas companies and government aren't just using the effects of the hurricane to gain more money. I keep hearing that there is a shortage now because refineries were affected, but I still haven't seen anything statistical.

What scares me most is that the gas stations and the news are saying that the price will top $4 a gallon in the Northeast before there is any relief.

My husband and two of his co-workers are looking into setting up a carpool, even if it is only the three of them. We're all for car pooling anyway, but my husband's hours (7 to 3 with no room for moving a schedule) have made it harder in the past. This time, it's worth it for me to drive my husband 7 miles north so that he can then head south. 7 miles is much better than 17 miles.

I know I've heard people having to choose between gas or groceries, and without a job groceries are more of an issue, so they are skipping groceries to pay for gas. Others are in a panic over fuel prices when winter comes. I now feel much better that we tapped into our home equity line of credit to pay for a full year of propane - it locked us in at a$1.89 rate. But my parent's are paying over $4.00 a gallon for their propane - when is this going to end????

Netflix

Six months ago, we signed up for Netflix after our local video store upped their "new releases" prices to $4.00 a movie with a one-day return still in place. One or two movies a week was running us $16 - 32 a month. So we signed up for Netflix and now pay $19 a month with tax and can have as many videos as we want per month. We tend to watch three per week - though I know that will change when the new shows start airing.

I've been nothing but thrilled with the Netflix service we've had so far. They pay the shipping both ways. The local mailing address keeps mailing times to usually no more than a day, two tops. And I'm getting new releases in my mailbox on the same day they come out. It's been wonderful. And then if we go a couple weeks without watching a movie, it's still no big deal because there really are no late fees!

I highly suggest looking into Netflix if you are looking to still rent videos with a little more flexibility.

Back To School Shopping

I did my shopping last month, but I do have a complaint that goes out to a good number of stores and clothing manufacturers. Two years ago, our school opted to come up with a dress code after numerous younger girls were coming to school dressed like Britney Spears. The code states, quite simply, that no spaghetti straps are allowed, shirts must cover the midriff, and shorts and skirts must be at least one inch longer than the length of the fingertips when your arm is hanging down to the side of you. That's nothing different than when I was in school. My issue comes with finding clothes that meet all of these issues. First, I thank Old Navy for actually getting it right. Without Old Navy, I would have been hard pressed to find anything.

I went into Marshalls and TJ Maxx first and every pair of shorts and skirts I picked up in a size 10 (children's size 10 no less) barely covered the butt cheeks. They were horrendously short. While I was able to find jeans, I still needed some shorts for the remainder of summer. There were a few decent shirts, but a lot have one normal sleeve and then the other side is a spaghetti strap. Children don't need to be dressing like this and I'm upset with the fact that manufacturers feel there's nothing wrong with it --it's the current trend...

I found a load of shirts that showed stomach - again no 9 or 10 year old needs to be exposing skin. Let them be kids!!!!!

Finally at Old Navy, I was able to find decent shirts for an affordable price. But even then, some of Old Navy's (some, not all) shorts and skirts were cut very short.

It's times like these that I wish I wasn't a complete flop with a sewing machine - I know I could create a decent outfit that was eye catching without being trampy. Leave the low-cut, skin exposing outfits for the adults--the only crowd who I think should be wearing them--maybe...

Hurricane Katrina

I just read that the hurricane has made landfall. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who are currently or soon to be hit. I hope all goes as well as it can, especially for those in New Orleans! I was watching the news last night and they were saying that one of the biggest issues will be getting the flood waters back out of the city once the storm has passed. Water can get in, but the wall keeps it from getting back out - not a pretty situation by any means.

Hopefully, things will not be too bad.

Tracy

Fall Foliage In Vermont

I know next month is when an influx of tourists start coming into Vermont hoping to see the foliage change. Usually hotels, inns and the likes book up very early, so my advice is to book early!

This year, I'm guessing that the foliage will be turning a little early. We've had a tremendously hot summer with a dry spell for a couple of weeks. That always messes up the foliage. But my real proof comes from one of my trees that started changing this week. Leaves on that tree are turning yellow. It's early for them, but this week we got trapped in this weird cycle of cooler temperatures (high 60's to low 70's) and at around noon every day this week so far, the sun vanishes, black clouds roll in, and the skies open up for about five minutes with a deluge of rain. I think that has really confused some of the trees on our land.

We're heading back to normal temperatures starting today--though I admit I was enjoying being back in jeans and sweaters. What this will do to slow trees turning, I'm not sure! The thing with foliage season is that it will do what it wants regardless of what people predict. :-)

Parental word of advice

I had a very busy day yesterday. Someone I know had been very sick for two days, severe stomachache, vomiting, fever... Symptoms started on Sunday and were progressing steadily.

So on Monday I talked to his mother after he'd called me asking if I had any tea (which I always have in the house), so I made him a cup of mint tea, added some extra sugar and walked it over. I took one look at him (pale as a sheet of paper), asked him if he'd ever had his appendix out--he said no, and then went home and got in touch with his mother. Told her I was seriously thinking his appendix was the issue and that she needed to get him to the docs ASAP. In a nutshell, she came home that night after work, asked him how he was feeling - he said better and that he really didn't want to go to the ER (he's scared of docs) so she left it.

This is where I don't want to get preachy, but I'm going to anyway. As parents we are responsible for our children's welfare. I don't think anyone will argue that point. If your child pushes you aside when you suggest a doc, then force the issue. If my kids are that sick, I don't give them a choice, they go whether they want to or not. In this case, the pain to the right of the belly button, fever, vomiting all suggested appendicitis to me. So yesterday, he came crawling to my house (not literally crawling, but he was walking like the hunchback doing this shuffle walk) and I asked him again if he'd been to the doc. He said no, so I told him to call him mom at work and I'd take him. No putting it off any longer. Thankfully, he isn't one to tell me no, he usually doesn't put up too much of a fight with me.

So I did take him for her, the doc saw him. Called his mom, called a surgeon and asked if I could get him up to the hospital, which I did. I'm still waiting to hear what's going on, I know they were doing a CAT scan, and that the doc said he was 90% certain that it is his appendix and that is has ruptured, hence why he started feeling better. No one came home last night, so I would assume the surgery is over, but this kid is like my son so I'm a little worked up right now waiting to hear if all went fine...

But if your child has a stomachache, ask where! If it is to the right of the belly button, go to a doc ASAP, regardless of what your child says. The doc also said if hunching over is more comfortable than that can also be a sign. Fever, vomiting - other signs. Even if you take your child to the doctor and there is nothing other than a stomach bug, it's worth the time and money spent. A ruptured appendix can eventually kill, and no child or parent wants to face that!!!

The Mysteries of Football

Let me start out by saying that years ago, I was totally hooked on a show called 21 Jump Street that starred Peter Deluise, Holly Robinson and Johnny Depp. They played young, undercover cops who went into high schools posing as students and broke up crime rings or whatever within that high school. I loved that show and recently rented the boxed sets so that I can watch them again.

So anyway, Holly Robinson now Holly Robinson Peete, has just written a book titled GET YOUR OWN DAMN BEER. It is a women's guide to understanding football. Now in my household, my husband's life is not complete if he misses a Red Sox, Patriots, or 49ers game. The television is on a lot during sports seasons (which really go year round in my house with little to no gap between the end of football and the start of baseball.) While I have always been interested in watching the players (face it some of them are gorgeous!!!), the rules to football prove to be illusive. I get the whole idea that one team is the offense and one is the defense and that they must run down the field to score their touchdown. But it is the terminology and nitpicky rules that have me utterly confused. No matter how many times my hubby has tried to explain things to me (sorry but phrases of "you have four downs to get your yardage and earn points" don't work for me.)

I ended up eagerly looking foward to reviewing Holly Robinson Peete's new book. If anyone can explain the game of football in layman's terms, I figure a woman should be able to get the job done! Women's minds don't always work on the same wavelength as men's. So Holly starts off her book with humor, always important, and then makes this clear statement (I'm going to sum it up instead of running downstairs to get the book) -- you have four CHANCES to move the ball 10 yards. If you do that, you win another four chances to move another 10 yards. See now that makes sense to me. So last night, we put my new found knowledge to the test. Dallas vs. Seattle. I was able to call the penalities with ease. I had the terminology down! It felt amazing.

My hat is off to Hollly for actually getting through to me! And, of course, as an added bonus the list of admirable football behinds can be found within. Short of missing Adam Vinatieri's posterior, I have to admit she's pretty much on the money.

Movies

I loved Shrek & Shrek 2. Especially #2, which I felt was geared towards adults with many references to movies and music from the 80's.

So this weekend it was rather rainy and dreary, so after sitting around all afternoon with no plans - I got that itch. We've all had that MUST GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING itch - I'm no different. So after fighting it for a couple of hours - my husband announced that he thought it would be a good idea to go to the movies and maybe even to dinner if it was in the budget. So after some quick thought... I realized his OT pay for last week was enough for dinner and the movies and we headed out.

We have a newer cinema in a town called Williston. It's a 35 mile drive, but I live rural and anything worth doing is at least 20 miles away anyway. Next door to the new cinema is this little Italian place called Nicco's Cucina. We'd never been, mainly because I try to do the low-carb thing most of the time. So we go into Nicco's (they have a deal - dinner and a movie for $20) and spent $80 including a pitcher of wine and desserts - but that included our movie tickets and we were too stuffed after dinner to bother with the concession stand.

So anyway - we went to see Valiant. It's by the producer of Shrek...and contains the same computer animations. I was pretty psyched - Ewan MacGregor, John Cleese, Rik Mayall... I love these guys and figured the movie would be filled with laughs. Sadly, while the movie is okay, it's nothing I'd want to see again.

The premise is this puny carrier pigeon (Ewan) who wants to join the services. He ends up being enlisted (after a bit of a snit fit by another pigeon who is trying to escape trouble) and then due to the failure rates of the other pigeons - Ewan's group is sent out to retrieve and deliver a top secret message from France. (This is based on actual use of pigeons during WWII). The movie has its charm, but it just wasn't as funny as I was expecting. With a top-notch voice cast, I think they could have done much better.

Coffee

We had this amazingly cool night last night - it was 43 when I awoke. So my first plan of action was to put on a pot of coffee, wear pants and a sweater and totally enjoy the cool morning air. It's been a wicked summer for most of us and the heat and humidity have totally messed up my system. Yesterday, with a high of 75 I found myself shivering when the sun would go behind a cloud--PATHETIC.

So after my first sip (and I only drink decaf, so there really is no caffeine rush, just the taste is enough to wake me up), I realized that giving up coffee completely would be a major challenge. It led me to wonder how many people drink coffee for the pick-me-up over just the taste?

I live in Vermont, obviously, so Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is a local product and commonly consumed in my household. (Special mention goes to my neighbor who happens to work there and keeps us well stocked with coffee. -- around here if you work at GMCR or Ben & Jerry's an employee perk is free take home items--so coffee for GMCR employees and ice cream pints for B&J employees.) But I am an experimenter, my second favorite place to find coffee comes from TJ Maxx. Their variety of decaf coffee is amazing. At the moment, I am totally hooked on some companies Kahlua & Cream coffee. I can't think of the brand (an Italian company) but their coffee is amazing. I don't have the issues with flavored coffee that some people do. And if I am showing a sign of a cold, you can bet that I'm grabbing a bottle of Jamesons and putting in a couple tablespoons to ward off becoming really sick. For some reason a hot cup of coffee with Jamesons in it knocks the virus out of me within a couple days. I'm not sure why, but maybe there is some logic to that somewhere...

But I digress, my main point today is how many of us can't survive without that morning coffee- and is it for the caffeine or is it the taste that wakes you up?

Bingo TV

We switched from Adelphia to DishNetwork a couple of years ago. I was sick to death of Adelphia's price increases... They'd sent us a note stating that prices were increasing for the third time that year and that to keep our $75 a month internet and television package, we'd have to drop 20 channels OR we could pay $138 a month and keep all the channels we were receiving. I dropped Adelphia quickly and we've been very happy with Dish in the past two years - our rates have increased only $2 total. I keep hoping that Verizon will get into this area so that I can drop Adelphia internet too, but so far that hasn't happened.

So I recently decided to try their Wednesday bingo night. I don't mind the game usually and the opportunity to win a prize makes it more enticing. I'm amazed at how quickly my little personal time out became a family event. Now my kids and my husband will grab a few cards from me and play along too. We still haven't won, and I'm not convinced we ever will, but trying is a lot of fun!

Rainy weather

I just did something that I do whenever I have the chance. This time my daughter made a comment--"Mom, why do all the people in cars keep looking at us like we're weird?"

She's right. Whenever I go outside on a rainy day with my kids and splash in puddles, I do get some pretty strange looks. It's quite sad, I think. Even my husband won't go play in the rain anymore. Yet--ten, fifteen, twenty years from now, my kids will still remember that mom would get soaked and go splash in mud puddles. This is quality time that I'm spending and it doesn't cost a penny. Have you seen "Singin' In The Rain"? Didn't the scene with Gene Kelly splashing away in the pouring rain make you stop and smile? Why don't more adults do that?

I'm not sure why some grown-ups give up splashing in the rain--we did it when we were kids--but I can guarantee that if you do make the effort to get out there and get wet with your kids, your relationship with them will never be better. It's the little things that count to a kid, and playing in the rain is very simple.

Gas Prices???

Not two days ago, I was complaining about the comparison between salary increases being way out of touch with the increased cost of living. And then yesterday I happened to need to gas up my car.

Now my husband and I both drive fuel efficient cars (THANK GOD) and usually get at least 30 miles to the gallon. I drove to our local gas station and found $2.499 was the current price for regular. I refused to pay that much and kept driving. NOTHING was cheaper. That's a 15 cent increase from the last time I had to gas up my car.

Now I know that I am not the only one who is dealing with these inflated prices, and I also know that Vermont is relatively inexpensive still compared to other states. But $2.50 a gallon is insane. Then on the news last night, there was an article on a recent poll. Families are having to decide between gas to get to work and heating fuel or groceries and they are picking gas obviously and skipping their weekly grocery trip. Now where I live, there is no public transportation. Unless you live in Burlington, South Burlington, Williston or part of Essex Junction buses don't run. We are too rural and small for subways or commuter trains. So public transportation isn't an option. To cut costs, you have to car pool, but for my husband he's a wierd shift and has yet to find anyone who is willing to set up a car pool. 7 to 3 is not the norm around here. Thankfully, I'm at home and only have to drive for errands which I try to pool together in one shot.

How can the government not do anything about this? The price of electric cars needs to be made more reasonable. Something needs to change with the crude oil price. I know someone who just returned from duty and happened to go into Saudi Arabia where the gas price there was a meager 5 cents per gallon. Can you even imagine 5 cents per gallon??? I can remember gas at 99 cents over 10 years ago, but 5 cents a gallon... I'd love it!

So what is everyone else having to pay at the pump?

What happened to common sense while driving?

Last weekend we went on a camping trip to the other side of the state. This is a 2 hour drive, mostly by interstate, and along the way I noticed many of my pet peeves were happening time and time again. When my kids are in the car, I get doubly frustrated by the way some people drive. So I decided today to share a few driving tips that drivers seem to have forgotten...

1. If you are in the on-ramp to get onto the interstate, you actually DO have to yield. The driver on the interstate should try to get over to the left for you, but that is not always possible, so if they can't move or haven't moved, don't try to pull into the side of their car in an effort to force them to move.

2. Sticking to Rule #1, if you are in the right lane and no one is coming up in the left lane, it would be nice if you did move over. I'm finding more and more drivers don't bother to move over and it is a pain in the behind having to come to a complete stop on the on-ramp and then accelerate in a hurry as you try to get back up to the 65mph of the interstate.

3. Stop signs... There seems to be a huge issue with them these days. They actually do mean stop. I'm all for a "California Stop" where you slow and then proceed slowly if no one is coming, but you actually have to make the effort to look both ways--emphasis on both ways. I've had more drivers run a stop sign when I'm on Route 7 and they are coming off side roads. They either are blind and don't see them, in which case they shouldn't be driving, or they ignore them, in which case I wish I were an undercover cop so that I could then offer the expensive ticket.

4. Construction or Obstruction depending on your point of view. Vermont interstates are a mess. Over the past winter, the top layer of asphalt crumbled away and there is currently a big push to fix those areas, so there is a lot of obstruction out there. So I was heading to our local Walmart (a 40 minute drive by interstate) and had this guy from Massachussetts pull up behind me in a construction zone where it was posted slow to 55 or get a double fine. Vermont's big on doubling the fine in a construction zone and I can guarantee there is always a sheriff there in the midst just waiting to get you. I have no issue slowing down. It can prevent the construction crews from getting hurt. However, the guy in this truck with Mass. plates apparently had issues and proceeded to tailgate something fierce while swerving back and forth. As soon as he noticed the sheriff he stopped, but this is just juvenile behavior that doesn't belong on the roads. There are double fine warnings for a reason, so deal with it, or skip the interstate.

5. Bicyclists - you guys need to follow the rules of the road too. That's a big pet peeve of mine. We live on the Champlain Bikeway, so we have bike traffic coming up and down our road and roads surrounding us. I was coming up my road one day and there is this T intersection where the traffic coming off Georgia Plains Road has to stop, but our road goes straight through and doesn't have a stop sign. So this person on the bike completely ignored the stop sign and went right out in front of me. I swerved and went into the grass and they kept right on going. That's a good way to get yourself killed. Another pet peeve is when traffic is stopped at a red light and a bicyclist runs the red light. You DO have to obey the traffic signals just as a car does.

6. Turn signals. I was pulling out of our local Maplefields (Gas Station/Convenience Store) and was making a left across traffic. No one was to my right and there was one car to my left, so I was going to wait and then she put on her directional signaling a right into the Maplefields parking lot. So I watched her slow and pulled out. Suddenly she sped back up and almost hit me while giving me the finger. If you are going to change your mind, be warned that other traffic can't read your thoughts - especially if your turn signal remains on, which it did until I lost sight of her.

7. No Turn On Red. This is one of my favorite stories. Down the road where our Costco is - there is the interstate off-ramp and a sign that clearly states "No Turn On Red." I have been there multiple times and had someone beep their horn when I don't make the right turn during the red light. I always get annoyed and point the sign out - not that it seems to make much difference. So one day, I was at that light again with an unmarked town cop car behind me, only I was turning left. So the next lane over a guy proceeds to make the right on red. Cop car lights came on and the guy was ticketed. It's always great to see someone get got there! Kind of makes up for all the times I've been beeped at.

8. And my other favorite story. Burlington is Vermont's college town. UVM draws a huge crowd and a good deal of these male college student drivers, drive like your average teen male. I had a kid in a car plastered with UVM stickers beep at me and swerve all over the place - I was doing 45 in a 40 zone and apparently that wasn't fast enough for him. He ended up passing me on a corner. Right around that corner was a state trooper who nabbed him. Again, any time this kid saved by speeding was taken up now by his waiting as the ticket was issued. I just hope he enjoyed it.

9. If you are merging from an on-ramp and there is a third lane, that third lane is yours. You don't need to suddenly pull out in front of oncoming traffic to get into the middle lane. Wait 'til it's clear!! We only have one section of interstate (that I know of) where this is the case, but every time I drive through there, the people coming in from the right immediately feel the need to cut in front of you instead of waiting until it is clear.

10. Trust local drivers. This one is important. We have a stretch of interstate through Burlington and South Burlington where it slows to 55mph for about 3 miles. I know the spots where the DMV and officers hide to catch speeders, so I always slow to 55-60. Yet, I'll have out of staters fly by me giving me dirty looks for having slowed down. Time and time again, I've seen those same speeders then get nabbed by the DMV truck that usually sits right around the corner. Usually locals know the quirks to the roads and it is a good idea to watch and follow suit.

I think I'm done venting for the day. I have to go to Costco later, which means I'll be heading out and I'm betting at least the No Right Turn rule gets ignored today. It almost always does.

New additions

I had a deal with my daughter... If she could pick up her room to my standards, we'd get her a pet rat. I have had a pet rat in my youth and despite their reputation, they make incredible pets. They are very intelligent and loving.

So yesterday, she got up at 5am and went to work. She had that room spotless by 10am and I owed her the rat. However, after a slight disagreement on what a rat should be named - Templeton is the only name for a rat... We ended up with two rats, a pair of sisters. I actually feel better with the two because they'd been caged together since birth and I think the remaining would have been miserable alone.

So this morning, I think they've been toted around on my daughter's shoulders more than they have spent time in their cage. Their temperament is incredible. When I snapped a picture of them for her, instead of running in the other direction, they immediately came towards the camera and climbed up into my hands to see what the strange flashing thing was.

I once reviewed a book that lists a rat as a great starter pet for your child - especially if you are in the city and can't have a dog. I fully agree. Rats are very social. Buy from a reputable dealer (our local pet store breeds them in the shop and then hand raises them.) Make sure they've been handled a lot and you shouldn't wind up with a biter. As a teenager, I had a rat (science class project where the class raised two rats - one on junk food and one on healthy food to see the growth differences between the two. At the end, two students were raffled to take the rats home. My little brother took one of them and then grew tired of changing the litter. I took over and that rat lived to be about 8 years old. Good age for a rat, especially one that had a passion for french fries. :-)

These rats are clean. I fully believe in bathing them too. Most rats have no issues getting into a shallow bowl of water. Mine never complained. Rats pride themselves on grooming, so don't think they are dirty disease infested creatures. In the wild that is true, but pet rats are cleaner than my dog who has a passion for rolling on dead creatures that neighborhood cats seem to enjoy dumping in my yard!!

Liveable Wages

This is a topic that I am firmly in support of in any conversation, and it came up last night. Our neighbor came over because the tube that his oil dipstick slides into had rusted completely through, much to his surprise since he'd had an oil change done last month, and he couldn't get the dipstick back into the engine block due to the tube rusting completely through. (I keep saying Ford just isn't worth it...) So his 1999 truck now has a big issue that he needs repaired.

Anyway, we got onto the conversation of how to pay for these surprises in this area. My husband just got a 60 cent an hour raise--first raise in a few years now. While we are thankful for anything, it won't cover the fact that our propane rates for winter heating has just increased 60 cents a gallon. We use about 800 gallons a year. Obviously gassing up the car has increased a lot. Electricity rates go up every fall (back to winter rates) and then let's not forget that the state of Vermont and the town we live in are asking for more money in property and school taxes this year. We are expecting a $400 increase there.

So how do families stay ahead? My neighbor went on about how he was just given a 50 cent an hour raise -- yet he works all over and the area they currently have him working at is a 40 mile drive one way. He never gets a company truck like some of the other construction employees, so the raise doesn't help him at all. I'm baffled. It's understandable that families are having to work more hours than ever and some work two jobs just to stay ahead.

In Vermont, you have to earn less than $30k to get any state aid. The average price of a house is $200k (A two bedroom, 900 square foot house on 2 acres in our neighborhood just sold for $195k.) A three bedroom farm house with no basement on 3 acres just sold for $210k. Mortgages are up there with property taxes and school taxes escrowed in--most mortgages for people I know are over $1000 per month.

The government keeps blaming television and video games for the declining morality of our youth, I disagree. I think it is the fact that many parents are having to leave their middle school aged kids unsupervised while they work more hours in order to pay the bills.

So if I can see this is a scary situation that's not getting better- how come the state and federal governments are still missing it?

Vacations

Whenever my hubby takes a week off, my schedule goes awry. Not that it is a bad thing, we've had a lot of fun the past week, but I find myself pushing everything aside--housework, laundry, reading, computer... And now that he heads back to work tomorrow, I keep looking around the house at all the things that have stacked up while we've been fitting in day trips and camping.

Camping is a whole other ball game. I can't see why people are so fascinated with it. By the time I'd packed the tent (and we have this monstrosity of a tent, huge, grand, and did I mention HUGE...) and then folding chairs, sleeping bags and pillows. There was no more room in the trunk. I think in order to camp, you must bring two cars or have a really big truck. I'd love to know how people pack for camping without going insane...

Willy Wonka

Last night, my husband and son went to see ISLAND with Ewan MacGregor, and my daughter and I went in to see WILLY WONKA. I am a huge fan of the original CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, but I also adore Johnny Depp, so I was anxious to see the difference. I am highly impressed.

Tim Burton is usually someone I can take or leave. I was expecting the new Willy Wonka to be dark, but in actuality it is a riot. I spent more time laughing than I have in a long time. Johnny Depp's slightly neurotic portrayal of Wonka is on the money and it's nice to see the odd part of that character more developed. We knew that Gene Wilder's character was batty, remember the river boat scene, but they never really played it up. Johnny Depp does so and the story goes beyond it to delve into Wonka's past and explain why he is a little wacky.

Having seen it now, I think those who hated the Gene Wilder version (my husband and son included) will really enjoy this new version.