Post Ho Ho Ho-sings....

Menu of the Day: 

In my glass: The Guardian. a good red from Walla Walla. I'll explain it after the menu.

Music: I just bought the Black Keys cd called El Camino and it's awesome! I love the video for Lonely Boy and will probably put it up for my first January blog post. It's hilarious. For those of you on Facebook, i already did.

Book: I just finished reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I had not read this book since i was 17 years old so re-reading it was like the first time. This book will go on my list of Top Ten favorites books of all time. Maybe in the Top Five even. The book is told through the voice narrative of the big tall Indian guy. Even if you have seen the movie 10 times like i have, you should still read the book. It's amazing. (Brian got it for me as one of my presents.)

What else i got: Bowling lessions...but sssshhhhh, it's a secret from the bowling league! I want to go back there and start bowling a 150 average! ..... I also got  a Kindle Fire (as you can see in the photo).... I think I'm going to like it! ..... I got other stuff, including a Memory Foam topper that i thought i wanted for our bed. But after three days of trying it i feel like i need a chiropractor and i never have back problems. So back it goes. Plus it made us both too hot.

About the photos: The first photo is Brian and his mom Christmas day playing Chinese Checkers while i made Beef Wellington. (for the first time). The second one is my favorite Christmas Moment when Ashley and her boyfriend and Kylee came over to exchange presents Christmas Eve with us before we headed out to the big family affair.

After that are photos of my Beef Wellington. I used Tyler Florence's recipe that uses something like a mushroom pate that i made called a duexe?.... Anyway that's the stuff you see on the proscuitto that goes on top of the beef tenderloin which helps to keep the puff pastry from getting too soggy. The mushroom stuff looks ugly, but it's very good.  It was fun to make and i would do it again.

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The Guardian wine:

My nephew Brian (Troy's son) got me the bottle of this good red called The Guardian. It's a Washington blend and very very nice. And kind of pricey. We had this conversation the last time i had seen him as we were watching Brian's band play in mid-December.

(That evening my other brother Scott was so funny going table to table with Brian's recorder interviewing all the folks in the bar about the band. As i'm watching this i say to Brian the nephew something that went kind of like this:

Me: Damn,  I want to be the funny one in the family! I am tired of being the boring one. Scott and Troy are so funny and love to party. I want to be more like them.

Brian (nephew): But you don't like to party.

Me: I know. I know.... But I'm going to change! I'm going to start doing wild things and be bad and funny and do outrageous things.

Brian: But it's not you. We need you to be you! You're  the matriarch in the family. You're the one we go to when we need to get straightened out. You always give it to us straight. We need that.

Me: I know, but now i want to go be bad so that i can come to YOU so YOU can straighten ME out.

Brian: But the Louvraks need you to be the matriarch.

Me: I don't want to be the matriarch anymore! The matriarch NEVER has fun. She just irritates everyone. I don't want that job. I'm sick of being responsible!

So i loved when I opened up this present from him that also included a very poignant note that I didn't read until i got home. That note means a lot to me. (My other Christmas Moment).

Highlights of the Year 2011

Eleven for 2011:
I am not sure if i will have time to get my 52nd post in for the year 2011, so i'm going to do it today before my mother in law arrives since the computer is in the guest room. Here are highlights. 


1.  In congratulating myself on reaching my goal. Here is #1 pick for my best blog post in 2011.  I think i outdid myself on this one....Click below: 


IMO, the best jojo blog post


2. The end of the Iraq war. And why wasn't this bigger news? Even i forgot to hang out my flag. I should have been more excited since i marched against the war BEFORE it started. How did it end with a whimper? I think it's because we're still in Afghanistan. And who knows what's next? Iran? North Korea?


3. I got to retire! Officially i am done Dec. 31. Though i am working through August 2013. But i finally got to put an end date to my dissatisfaction with working for the union. It's making me do something different.


4. Brian's in a new blues band that he can be proud of and one i love to go listen to. When i first started dating Brian in 1992 he had a dumpy little bachelor house and in his living room in the corner was a set of drums he had since he was in high school. He would play them while i got ready to go out. Now he has two sets of newer drums and living the dream. 


5. I'm still running and nothing hurts. That is an accomplishment. 


6. The best book i read in 2011: Cutting for Stone


7. Best new artist: Jason Isbell


8. Favorite new show i started watching on TV: Property Brothers


9. We almost bought a house.... and then we didn't. 


10. As a direct result of not getting the house we remodeled part of our kitchen AND all of both bathrooms. And now we've also commissioned the cabinet makers to build us a custom computer work station which is ready in about two weeks.


11. Nobody i love died or got sick in 2011. (And i didn't murder anyone i hate.)


What are your highlights for the year? I know i probably have better ones than these but i'm doing these on the fly without much thought. 
I hope all of y'all have a great Christmas and new year! 

Let's be honest....Stuff I don't like about Christmas.

1. I am not a good shopper because i don't like shopping and i worry about the gifts i buy too much. If you don't like cooking you are not likely to be a good cook. And that's what shopping is like for me. So this time of year is hard for me. I want to buy the right gift, meaning the one you really would love but don't even know you want. But I usually fail.

2. I do not like sending Christmas cards. And if i am being honest, i don't like receiving them if i feel like i have to send one back. Some people you know you can get away with not sending one because they know you well. But the obscure cousins in the family, i feel obligated. (And don't get me started on some of the manifesto Christmas letters that get sent out!)

3. Receiving a Christmas card from a long lost relative or friends who doesn't write even the briefest message feels like a hit piece. They are sending you a message and at the same time are withholding information. One of the reasons I don't do cards is because i feel compelled to write a little personalized letter with it and that takes too much time.

4. (Actually, it shouldn't since i only have about two friends in real life.)

5. Christmas parties can be difficult. Especially work ones. Brian and i do not make each other go to Christmas parties where we don't know the folks in the crowd. We go stag.

6. Taking down the tree is depressing. My tree, beautiful as it is, is already losing it's green color and i'm going to have to take it down a couple of days after Christmas. (At the same time i like that it's dying before i throw it out.)

7. I don't like the feeling i get when i miss the people who are not here. And i don't like the feeling i get when i wonder what the others are feeling who are even closer. It seems like as you get older there are more sad feelings than there are of that Christmas spirit feeling we used to get when we were little kids.The good news THIS year is that we did not have to put a loved one's photo in the tree. (Nobody in our family or of our friends died this year.)

8. I like playing Christmas music after Thanksgiving, but by about December 10th i'm sick of it. It's like playing a Greatest Hits album every day of the week after awhile.

9. I have only had one Christmas Moment all year. That's not so many for the season. Probably why i'm thinking about why i don't like instead of what i DO. I guess i better go out and make some Moments. Because that's my fault.

So i only have one more blog post to go for my annual goal!

Because i need 3 more....Here are 30!

i am going to steal a post from another blog. I put this up on Facebook today and many folks from my work started sharing it. It's called:

My disclaimer: i normally HATE affirmations or rules about how to be a better person. I do not like reading self-help books. But these are pretty straight-forward rules that everybody, i mean everybody, can use. 

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

But first. Menu of the Day.....

In my glass: Molly Dooker Two Left Feet. It's amazing. It cost over $25, but it's worth it.

On the stove: jojo's spaghetti sauce.

The Best thing: i am off work for 16 days in a row for the holiday!

What i wish: That i could sleep better without waking up at 2 or 3 am.

What i feel guilty about: That i should be wishing for ending World Hunger instead of sleeping through the night.

Music playing : Dustin Kensrue "Don't you wait for me" i think that's the title. I love this guy.

OK. here is the post that i wish i had come up with. I took out all of the explanations because blogspot won't allow so much text and i don't think they need explaining anyway.


**************
As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people.
2. Stop running from your problems.
3. Stop lying to yourself.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes
9. Stop trying to buy happiness.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness.
11. Stop being idle.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else.
16. Stop being jealous of others.
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself.
18. Stop holding grudges.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
28. Stop worrying so much.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen.
30. Stop being ungrateful.

Four More.

That's how many blog posts i need to hit my goal of 52 a year....

So here we go, just a random jojo thingie.

Menu of the Day:

Music: Sara Mclaughlin Christmas Wintersong cd ....(Normally she kind of irritates me, but i really like her Christmas cd)

Drinking: OMG, this is a fabulous wine that my favorite wine guy sold me. It's called....oops i forgot...let me go check....it's called The Ball Buster by Tait... Tom told me the guy who makes it calls his wife that. It's a big red and cost about $20....totally worth it.

The Best thing that happened this week: i got all of my shopping done and not only that. As of this evening i have them wrapped!

How I've been a bad girl: I did not do my On Demand exercises as much as i wanted. Only twice. However, i did run 4 days this week.

What i read recently: there was an article (i think in my Group Health magazine) that listed the Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms. I swear to y'all i had every single one of them listed. When i start eating frozen white bread right out of the freezer to get my carbo fix, i know i'm in trouble.

How i'm fixing it: Because i live only 2 miles from work i can run at lunchtime, shower and get back to work within an hour plus 10 minutes. I'm going to run at lunch to get through this instead of what i've been doing lately....running in the pitch dark at night around my condo circle.

What scares me: Newt Gingrich rising to the top of the shit of the Republican candidates. How did THAT happen? He wants to put poor little kids to work because he thinks their parents are such losers who don't teach them work ethics. Let's talk ethics and politics, shall we? OK, let's not.

Rest in Peace

Menu of the Day: 

Blog hits: as of today 22,715. Only 2 views today. :(

Wine: my first glass all week. Kind of rare for me cause i usually start the weekend on Thursday. It's Waterbrook Reserve Chardonnay. Pretty good, but not as good as the index card said.

iTunes: Dustin Kensrue's Christmas album. It's called "The Good Night is Still Everywhere". This is my favorite Christmas album of all that i own, i think cause it's so different from other traditional songs.

Least Favorite Christmas album: James Taylor's Christmas album. I know this will upset some people. But i think his voice is too whiney.

The Best Thing That Happened: Brian went out to to the Christmas Tree farm. I was at work. So using his iPhone he emailed me photos of trees he thought were potential Benedetti trees. It took about 14 emails, but in the end he found THE PERFECT tree. It's more petite and that's what i wanted. A tree that looks different from our past four years.

The Other Best Thing: I got my parents all done and a few things for Brian too. I'll be nearly done very sooon. My Dad  always wants a pair of 501 jeans, button fly. It's all he ever wears (except when he has to go to a funeral). His size is 33 waist, 30 length. He's so little! He gets smaller every year.

OK on with the blog post:

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REST IN PEACE:

1. Herman Cain's campaign. I watched the Lawrence O'D's interview last night with the mistress. Why, i don't know.... Anyway i think she is credible and i believe HER and not Cain. However, what the hell was she doing? IMO, she's really pretty much prostituted herself  in the whole matter because she didn't even love the guy but accepted the money. And in 13 years you would think she might have been able to find a nice guy to really love. Anyway, i expect that Cain will announce he is out and will make it seem like he is protecting his wife in doing so.

2. Blogging...Rest in Peace. (And Fuck you Facebook for killing it.)  I'll probably keep this up because i like looking back at my own stuff when i'm bored to see what i was doing the year before and so on. It's a nice history and easier to track than if i wrote it out in journals like i used to do....

3. Rescue Me... Last night I finally finished all 7 seasons of this show that was about New York firefighters starring Denis Leary. It was one of the most misogynistic and homophobic and sexist shows on TV. IIn spite of that I loved this show. I think because it shined a light on how absurd it was to be that way, sort of like Archie Bunker in All in the Family. I love Denis Leary. But it was kind of funny to think that he was supposed to be such a magnet for hot chicks. He's not THAT good looking.

4. ....though in Season 5 he seemed to have buffed up quite a bit! In the first few seasons i think i could have beat him arm wresting. Then all of a sudden his arms were great and FX had him showing them off, in various stages of undress,  so much it was like he was Matt McConaughy..... but i digress from the topic...

5. Rest in Peace: My flat abs. I've been doing those stupid workouts on the On Demand. I hate doing them more than i hate running. I'm not sure how long i can keep this up.

6. Rest in Peace: my ability to get a good night's sleep. I haven't had much sleep all week because i've been coughing all night long. (But you didn't see me post about my cold on Facebook now did you?...No i didn't, because i hate when people do that. but  i don't mind posting it on my own blog because it's not exactly public and i am not looking for sympathy.)  However I have caught up on Morning Joe on MSNBC before going to work and i love that show. (Mika is so cool!) And if i get a chance i'll post the really cool commercial they have for their show.


(edited to add, i tried to get it up here, but it's not linked to YouTube so i can't.) I can from Googling that The Huffington Post has it on their website  right now. But i can't get bloggerspot to make it happen if it's not YouTube.

Huffington Post - and the jojo blog have a lot in common. Only they have about 9 million hits a day and i have 2.

7.  Also edited to add: How could i forget? .....My libido. Rest in peace.

8.  and my tolerance level for assholes and passive aggressive people especially. )

9. And my memory for names. I used to be so good at that! Last night when i was semi awake i was trying to think of the good looking congressman who left the U.S. House to run for the Senate and lost. He was on MSNBC.... I knew his first name was Harold. I had to Google his last name. It's Ford.

I hate green bean casserole & other Thanksgiving musings

Menu of the Day:

Music: Shawn Mullins "Ghost of Johnny Cash"

Number of views of this blog since i started: 21,545

In my glass: a Cline Mouvedre. Really big and nice red. (first glass)

Ways I've been a bad girl: I've been bitching about going to Thanksgiving at my mom's house. Two years in a row we took off on our own and i loved it. But Brian wanted to do family. So we are. My parent's house is smaller than our 1000 foot condo and very messy and cluttered and they are having 16 people over!

Ways I've been a good girl: I didn't murder anyone at work this week. But i wanted to. I am at a point in my career where i can no longer tolerate repetitive incompetence or passive aggressive behavior without feeling my blood pressure rising. It's really time for me to get out of unions. I hope i can hang on until 2013.

The Best Thing this Week: I have finalized plans for our custom home office computer station with the cabinet makers. I can't wait!

What I'm bringing: I watched Guy Fieri make a REAL green bean casserole dish with three different kinds of mushrooms and real shallots fried up and a mushroom/chicken broth gravy and it looked great and fun to make. My mom always makes the soggy mushroom soup one. I'm also bringing twice baked sweet potatoes that you mash up with real whipping cream and brown sugar and put back in the shells and top with pecans - my mom will be disappointed that it's not the kind topped with marshmellows. (This is another Guy Fieri recipe)

About the Photo: Each weekday morning i get up 2 hours before i have to get to work because i like to read in the bathtub and each morning Brian brings me a cup of coffee. This is what he brought me last week. He found a mug at Starbucks that lets you write on it with chalk. The night before i had said rather excitedly that we'll be getting a Christmas tree in only two weeks. The message on the mug says "Only two weeks" with a little picture. So i took a photo.

On with the randomness.....

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1. HA! Newt Gingrich is now the Republican frontrunner. Now i'm starting to think that John Huntsman can be the nominee cause he's making the least amount of gaffes. Not that making huge stupid gaffes ever stopped the American people before from voting in an idiot.

2. And how about that commercial Romney put out that takes Obama's quote "If we talk about the economy we lose" which is REALLY Obama quoting McCain during the last election. I'm starting to think Romney has more balls than i thought!

3. It has rained and rained and rained here. Seems like every Thanksgiving time around these parts is when we get the terrible flooding and trees falling over. I am thankful that though my family will be squeezed into a small area i am not driving over the pass. (So there, that's me being positive and thankful! )

4. My husband bought a new car last week after looking for two years! I love it. It's a 2008 Honda Element in that cool burnt orange color. He sold his truck to his nephew and we still have the 1992 Honda Accord that we'll keep. But i love that his new ride has an airbag for me now AND a cd player instead of a cassette!

5. I turned on our Christmas lights outside tonight. (Brian put them up last weekend, a rare non-rainy day.)

6. Does anyone hear watch Parenthood? I just love this show. It's so real. And i care about ALL the characters, even the flawed ones. This is Ron Howard's (Opie) show. Let me know if you do. This is becoming my favorite show on TV.

7. I am reading Diane Keaton's book and much like i imagine her personality, the book is all over the place and jumps from subject to subject, but it works somehow and i like it. It makes me think i could write a book too, only i need to become a famous person first.

8. As i type, my husband is trying to figure out how to get his new Honda Element on his side of the garage AND keep his drum set over there. HAHAHA.... This i gotta see!

9. He just came in to tell me he hung up my new birthday bike from last year. The one i wanted with a basket and a little ringer. this means that i will unlikely ever be able to ride it again because it is SO HEAVY and i will never be able to get it down.

Ok, that's all i got. I need to try and make these shorter anyway and for some reason that is hard for me, even when i have nothing to say!

Who i would choose to put on Mt Rushmore....

Menu of the Day: 

on iTunes: Jason Isbell


In my glass: a really great Old Vine zinfandel by Dry Creek. I got it from Costco and it cost about $20 and is so worth it. On my first glass. 


Book: I just finished a really good book The Descendants, which is a movie starring George Clooney. I totally see Clooney in this role. I loved the character of Sid. I just started Diane Keaton's autobiography. (I used to have a girl crush on her back from the Annie Hall Days. ...much like by girl crush on Ali McGraw during the Love Story years. )


Ways I've been a bad girl: I missed my 10 minutes workout. I'm having more trouble sticking to my No Miss More than Two Day rule with this workout. It's easy with running, but not so much with the On Demand. (Also i'm having murderous thoughts about a co-worker.) 


Ways I've been a Good Girl: It's Saturday but i  worked today for a pre-retirement workshop today and late last night. The women who put this on  just love me because i'm so organized and do a lot of the work to make it easy for them. I also bought a couple of Christmas presents! Yay for me!




Ok, on with it: 


************************


1. I saw this post on Facebook today from a work colleague and loved the question: If you had to choose what authors should be on Mt Rushmore, who would you pick? My answer is: Richard Russo (TxGrits are you still reading? i always think of you cause i know you love him too); John Irving; John Steinbeck; and  Barbara Kingsolver, (or Louise Erdrich, it's a toss-up). 


2. Who would NOT be on Mt. Rushmore: The author of The Shack; The Twilight author; Jodi Picoult (because i think she sold out) and John Grisham (same reason). 


3. My music Mt. Rushmore would be: Van Morrison, Ryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, and Springsteen. 


4. This has nothing to do with Rushmore, but it just now reminded me that for three nights in a row i've had weird dreams and i'm in danger in each one, but luckily wake up before i think i'm going to die. And for some reason, Neil Young was in last night's dream. Weird. 


5. Maybe Neil's mad because i didn't put him on Mt. Rushmore!


6. The people in my family i would put on Rushmore: My grandmother Bop (who was the first person i remember ever being in my corner and who took care of me when i was very little); my husband (who is always in my corner now); my brother Troy (who has lived through more shit than any person should but is still standing strong in a way that i don't think i would be, even though i think i'm a tough cookie); and Kylee (for obvious reasons to anyone who knows me or have been following this blog). 


7. Movie stars on Rushmore:  At one time i would choose Jack Nicholson. And maybe he should be on there, so i'll go with him, Cuckoo's Nest alone is deserving by itself). Meryl Streep (I know, i know....almost cliche); Johnny Depp (because i think he's underrated) and Brad Pitt (for the same reason). 


8. News folks on Rushmore: Jon Stewart (he counts as news folks!); Anderson Cooper; Rachel Maddow; and Brian Williams. 


9. Movie stars who should NOT be on Rushmore: That Jacob dude from the Twilight movies. He's cute, but a terrible actor; Nicholas Cage; Meg Ryan (she's just annoying to me and i believe i would not like her in real life at all because she seems too high-maintenance); I'll come back and add the fourth one cause i just drew a blank and i know there is some actor out there i really hate but who is really popular. 


I might come back with a #10, i drew a blank just now. 

Stuff That is Befuddling

Menu of the Day:

Music playing: i just bought a cd off iTunes by The Everybodyfields. It was one of those Recs for You. It's blue grassy and i actually like it.

The best thing that happened this week: I designed and drew out plans for our custom computer work station for our back bedroom on Thursday, met with the cabinet maker on Friday  nd went to my nephew's post-wedding reception on Saturday. Very productive week!

Ways i am being bad: I did run today and actually added an extra 10 minutes. So i'm not feeling totally guilty missing my 10 minute core workout and it's the third day. (I'll do it tomorrow).

Book: I finished What is the What by Dave Eggers (about the Lost Boys of Sudan). And also the new book by the Still Alice author. The new book is called Left Neglected and was so good i read it within 24 hours. Now i'm reading the book The Descendants, which is a new movie out starring George Clooney.

Product endorsement!  I think i've mentioned my obsession with finding the perfect foundation for my terrible skin. I have older skin but it was so acne prone until my 40's and has been so sensitive that nearly all moisturizers create havoc with it.  But i think i may have found the perfect foundation for my older skin. It's Clinique called Even Better. It really does feel great and it's oil free and goes on nicely and covers well. AND it was difficult to choose between not one but two colors that seemed to work perfectly for me. That hardly ever happens. Plus my Lancome was $45 an ounce and this is less than $25.

OK. on with the Bedfuddlements....

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1. What is up with those Mormon commercials? Seriously? Is Mitt Romney's campaign funding these? Where will it stop? We probably need We are Muslim commercials more than this actually when i think about it. But what about We are Jewish. We are Catholic. Does the Mormon church really have that much money? Because these are very well done and must cost a bundle.

2. I am befuddled by Rick Perry and how he can possibly still be considered a valid candidate, but you watch, he will be. His "Oops" is exactly like Howard Dean's scream.  It's interesting to me that while the Dean Scream was ad nauseam played over and over, the Oops isn't as much, though it's getting a lot of attention.

3. Skinny jeans. Nobody, i mean nobody, looks good in these things. You have to be about 6 and half feet tall to pull these off, most of that legs,  and wear a size 1. I think only Giselle can rock the skinny jeans.

4. Those longs blanks on cds where you get a surprise song at the end. What is up with the dead air and why does anyone think this is a good idea? I have made playlists for folks from iTunes and forget that mofro's song Brighter Days has a long blank space before they do some improvisation. It's just stupid.

5. If Kim Kardashian doesn't make a case for gay marriage. I don't know what does. (I include myself and J-Lo in this too.)  I bet the divorce rate among gay couples would be far far less, per capita.

6. iMac Excel befuddles me. I LOVE Excel on a PC . But i can't figure out this 'Office' version for the Mac.

7. What the hell is going on in Greece anyway? Do i have to care about all of this?

8. In our state we voted in an initiative that got the state out of the liquor business, put people out of work, made it alittle bit scary for rural area convenient stores and was a record breaking money spender. Costco spent more than 22 and half million dollars to buy this vote. This pisses me off royally.

And honest to god, do we really need Kirkland Vodka? And is adding all the hard stuff going to cut down on the variety of wines to make room?

9. Blogger befuddles me. But i guess since it's free, i can't complain too much.

That's all i got for now, but i'll be back.

Everybody needs my advice!

RE: photo.... One morning during my summer vacation i woke up and Brian had made a happy face by the coffee pot using chopped nuts. So i took a photo. I love these things that my husband does. All the little post it notes, (i must have nearly a hundred of them saved up by now!), the cup of coffee he brings me every morning. It's the little stuff that counts so much. Probably my first advice would be to all husbands to pay attention to the little stuff. 



I was reading Dear Abby the other day, i don't even know why i read her anymore, she should be ashamed of herself. That bitch has the easiest job in the world because she never tackles anything big in her column and her advice is so banal.  (She and Mary Worth both need to die. Sorry louie.)


So this got me thinking about all the advice i wish i could give to people, if only they would ask. And i know y'all have some advice you want to give out too, so step right up and give it up! 


Advice by jojo: 


1. Barack Obama my advice to you is to get pissed off in a royal way every once in awhile for the shit you get blamed for that you know is not your shit. Take a freaking Anger Management classe... By that, I mean an Anger Management class that teaches you  HOW TO GET ANGRY. (Americans love rage!...Example: The Occupy Movement...LOVE those folks!  Take a hint.)


2. Facebook's founder Zuckerberg (is that his name?) needs to listen to me when i say he should limit the number of photos that anyone can post of their kid or grandkid. If you are on Facebook and you reach photo #25 of your grandchild, your Facebook account should be deleted, just like that, no warning. 


3. He should do the same thing with people posting about any kind of illness too. He should put a default in there that if you post more than 8 times about an illness that he sends your computer a REAL virus . 


4. I think Brad Pitt and Angelina should listen to me when i say to them, "just get the hell married. Then you will become boring to everyone, which is just what i think y'all want."


5. All of the Republican candidates running for President right now should just drop out. All of them. Every single one of them. And they should drop out all at the same time. Make a big announcement on Fox News, holding hands, standing side by side, to tell us they are not running. Here's what in it for them: By giving our country a rest from our Gone with The Wind-like presidential election campaign timeline maybe Republicans can win some kudos for that next go-round, not that i want them to.  (If i were Republican right now i would be so embarrassed to have these people running. Herman is no more qualified than i am to run for president!)


6. At the risk of sounding like Suze Orman (who i actually really like) ...Save money. That goes for everyone. I don't care how little money you make. Save some of it. Quit thinking you need stuff that in your heart you know you don't really need. 


7. If you are over 35 years old and wear bangs in a straight line across your forehead. Quit doing that. 


8. Do not look in that 3-way mirrors at your backside when trying on clothes. Only look at the front. 


9. If you wear perfume, be very careful how you wear it. Spray the air and walk into it. Like Audrey Hepburn. I can't believe how many women don't know this trick. 


10. If you are shopping for furniture or any kind of thing that is a big decoration/remodel for your house, Don't go cheap. I have a Drexel Heritage sofa that cost me two months salary back in 1983. It is still holding up and because it's made so well I'm going to pay to recover it rather than replace it. When you see something you really like in the home department but worry about the price, don't worry too long, you won't be sorry in the long run. But still keep in mind #6.  


Ok, i'm going to come back and give some more advice but i i'll do that so as to bump my comments. But come post yours! We all have great advice. 

What's going on.

1.  I still haven't mailed in my absentee ballot. I have even marked it (except for the City Council folks since i don't know them) and just need to get it in the mail otherwise they will start calling me. 


2. I am procrastinating about doing my On Demand 10 Minute Workout. I'm still sore from the day before. Workouts hurt. Running hasn't hurt me for years. That's why i like it better. But it does nothing for my core. I hate worrying about my core. stupid word.


3. Brian's band was great last night. Fun seeing all the Halloween costumes. Probably the best one was an Avatar chick. Then a couple of cavemen. The guy was pretty funny because he had to wear glasses with his costume. (We did not dress up.)


4. I returned my online raincoat and got a better one. Every time i buy a coat it looks like i'm wearing someone else's coat. And that's what happened with this one. Good news is i found a shorter one i like better and it was HALF the cost! 


5. Bought another pair of jeans which i may still end up returning. Or maybe altering. I cannot find a good pair of jeans! 


6. i WAS starting to think i might be wrong about Rick Perry winning the nomination because of his horribly stupid performances in the debates. But then i remembered how Americans voted in Bush and so i'm sticking with my first pick. I still think it will be Rick Perry. I feel like the polls are f*cking around by pretending to pick Cain. 


7. I'm back to reading Dave Eggers What is the What. It's very good and i wonder why i put it down in the first place. (I started it last summer). 


8. I keep thinking i might want a Kindle or a Nook or an iPad. And then i think i'm not sure that i really do. For one thing, if someone wants to steal my copy of What is the What i'm only about $15. I don't like the idea that i have to carry around an e-book worth something every time i go anywhere because i never go anywhere ever without a book. I'm afraid i'll lose it. 


9. My best nephew Brian (Troy's son) , came over Thursday to my office. He wanted to tell me in person that he was going to ask his girlfriend (of 8 years) to marry him. I was very excited for him because they seem to be in a very good place now after some tough times. I got to know before his Dad. (I think once he made up his mind he wanted to tell someone who was close to him and he couldn't find his dad.) He asked his girlfriend the next day and she said yes. 


10. Speaking of politics for a minute, i'm thinking i might not be overly thrilled with our Democrat candidate Jay Inslee. He's cute and looks like the quarterback that he used to be, but sort of seems like he might be an empty suit. HOWEVER, we have to be sure not to let McKenna in or we could be in for what Wisconsin just went through. 


11. I just don't like working for elections solely on wanting to be sure the other guy doesn't get in. I've done it before, but i liked it much better when working for Obama.


12. I haven't given up my thoughts about going to Occupy Tacoma. I just don't want to seem like that Catholic person who only goes to church on Easter and pisses off the regulars (who tend to run late to everything and have to stand in the back) because i get to sit in the pew (because i'm always on time). I need to feel committed to doing something besides showing up once and going out for a beer afterwards. (The photo above came from their Facebook page.) 


OK that's all i got. Not too inspired but it was a week and time to change the blog. 

Nothing Much to Report.

Menu of the Day:


Music playing: Jason Isbell's "Codeine". I recently bought this and LOVE it! Such a great song. 


The new song that i'm wearing out: If you want to hear a really beautiful song, check out Josh Garrels' "Don't Wait for Me". That's my new song.


Book: I'm reading three: still Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; Suze Orman's Action Plan (about financial planning) and the Lincoln Lawyer book "Reversal".


In my glass: J Lohr Chardonnay. First glass. 


The Best thing that Happened this week: Brian is in a new blues band and i got to see them for the first time. They are really good! And i'm excited for him, because like i said before, I never could get past the female singers in his old band who tried to sound like Janis J. Nobody should try to do that. Especially them. The lead singer in this new band is an older dude but has a great blues voice.




That's all i got for the menu. On with the random stuff .....


**********************


1. Now that the football games are over i should put on the Jillian Michaels On Demand stuff and do the workout that louielouie told me about. But i poured this glass of wine instead.


2. I bought a pair of those "These are Not your Daughter's Jeans". Here's the thing about those jeans: They are not exactly MOM jeans, but almost! Once i got them home and looked in a real mirror instead of the fakey Nordstrom mirrors i realized they had too much room in the butt and made my butt look like a big saggy square after they were worn for awhile and stretched out. Plus they had too much room in the legs. I don't even HAVE a daughter so i have no idea why i bought them. I had them hemmed, wore them once, and returned them for credit. I might be 54 years old but i am not ready for Mom Jeans. Plus the sizes are vanity. You have to buy a size smaller. 


I think that is where the hook is. 


3. The best jeans in the world are Christopher Blue and i have about 10 pairs, but they are wearing out and Nordstrom quit selling them in favor of these stupid Non-Daughter jeans. 


5. The thing is i cannot find a thing i like in Nordstrom these days. I feel like i'm either too young or too old. I hate to think i am ready for Lane Bryant. 


6. I hate to shop but  I have three shopping addictions: shopping for jeans, shopping for books, and finding the perfect foundation. 


7. I am thinking about getting my lazy ass down to the Occupy gatherings but i want to go as a group and i think we union folks should be there. I am loving this movement and want it to continue. I think they should be right outside every Capitol building. But i need to do something besides carry a sign. Only i want someone else to tell me what that need is. Like register voters.  Because i don't assume that protestors actually do vote. Because if they did, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. 


8. My advice this week: If you have mutual funds, 401Ks, etc. do not open your statements this month. I wish i didn't. And i wish someone told me not to. 


9. I just noticed i have 29 followers now and i for the life of me cannot figure out who the next one is.I click through and don't see any new names.  So welcome Follower #29. Whoever you are and i hope you post. 


10. I am starting to really HATE Facebook. The newsfeed is banal and boring and full of just quotes and shit. And it's kicked my blog ass and i hate that the most. Because i don't give a shit about your sniffles, or your kid's sniffles or where you ate your dinner. I think Facebook is the definition of ironic. 

Velvet Sledgehammer - my new favorite wine. And my new favorite commercial

This has been my favorite commercial for awhile now. I almost wonder if the little girl is really the father's daughter. I know y'all probably know it well. 


1. It's Saturday night and i just poured a shiraz called Velvet Sledgehammer. I bought a bottle of this also for our chief bargainer who is in part responsible for my new retire/rehire status. I thought it was a fitting title for a chief bargainer who had to put up with a lot of shit from our own union members. And he did with a lot of grace and patience. I got a wonderful thank you from him about my support for the bargaining team by trying to stand up to some of those shitheads. It's really very very good. (And velvet in the title is fitting because it is velvet-y.)


2. I have money in my iTunes account but i am finding that sometimes i just need to own the cd in it's commercial packaging. I still play cds on our stereo set up because the sound system is so much better and my iPod hooked up to it has a bit of static. So i play cds. Ryan Adams just put out his new cd and instead of iTunes i bought it from Amazon. I never seem to be able to find the cds i've burned. And like some books that i want to own (The Help, Prayer of Owen Meany, Broken for You, Cutting for Stone) i also need to own the storebought cd and not a download.


3. I also bought a raincoat online. i hope i like it.


4. I should be practicing my speech for Tuesday night. But i don't like to be too rehearsed for these kinds of thing. I know what i want to say so i'll just jot down notes and talk. That's gotten me through some funeral eulogies and retirement speeches okay. (That and a beta blocker!) lol.


5. I got all my paperwork for my retirement yesterday. It turns out to be better than i was expecting and more than the original quote because of how the bargain turned out, so THAT was worth celebrating. I can't believe i'll be done for good in only two years.


6. I probably should buy another bottle of the velvet for the chief bargainer.


7. Last night i bought Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion cd. I own it on vinyl and used to play it on my outside patio record player during the summer. But something is wrong with the record player. Probably since we keep it outside on our patio!


8. My husband just got accepted into another band today. A  blues band and so much better than his old band The Disclaimers. Truth is i never liked his old band because i couldn't get past the bad women singers. This new band is much better. As of this writing he is actually in THREE bands, but will be quitting the Disclaimers. He's so excited. And he's constantly studying it and practicing while at home. I think i have mentioned before that both of his cars sit outside the garage to make room for his drums. (He owns two sets).


9. Sometimes i think i need to learn a new hobby. Then i remember how i hate learning new stuff.


10. I didn't really have anything much to say today, but being the numbers goal oriented person that i am i saw that i have 12 more posts to reach my goal of 52 by Dec. 31. So here i am.


I guess i'll go practice my speech. What are y'all up to?

Here's What's on the Menu

Menu of the Day: 


Music: Your Life is Now by Mellencamp


In my glass:  a wine made by a friend called Two Loons. It's an amazing Cab Franc and i just paid $200 to help make it in the future. It's a local thing that they are inviting friends to join them to get involved in the labeling, tasting, bottling. 


What i'm looking forward to: My husband has been doing something late every single night this week for work and/or his band. Tomorrow is our 'date night' with cooking, music and wine. I love our date nights. 


What else is good: Work. It's been so busy for me and i love that. 


What i'm anxious about: I have been taking a public speaking class. I have to give a speech on something i know about at our last class next Tuesday. I'm going to pretend i am talking at a running clinic and my audience is made up of folks who want to know how to start a running program. 


What pisses me off: Obama not being able to get anything done (most recent Jobs Bill) because Congress is playing politics...again... just like with the Debt Ceiling Shit. No wonder he wanted out of the Senate so quickly.  


What i wish: I want Obama to kick ass and get pissed off. I want him to be as mad as Biden was when the vote went down. It's good to be calm and grace under fire. But sometimes i need to see the fire, yano? 


What else i wish: I'll come back to this. I forgot what i was going to add!


What I am procrastinating about: I need to take those iMac classes! They are already paid for!


What i hate about my iMac: i do not like this iMouse. It's scratchy on my desktop surface and it's not much better with a mousepad. ALSO, the biggest thing is sometimes i move it and everything i write disappears. I don't even know what causes it. It's happened on my blog and in email.


What I am starting to not care about: My hair woes. Right now it's too long. And this time of year it's fruitless to try to control hair that has weird waves and curls and bends like mine. Right now it at least long enough to simply put it in a french braid. So i'm good to go. 


What i also don't care about: The Republican debates. Though i have to say Kathleen Parker's column was great today. She is pretty conservative and i don't always agree with her but i liked what she said about the Republicans being too worried about religion since the Mormons are the smartest of the bunch. 


Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-shameful-bias-against-mormons/2011/10/12/gIQAR5WVfL_story.html
She says: 

"The use and abuse of religion to advance politically is a scourge on any nation, and no witness to Islamist theocracy should doubt it. Less dramatically, it is simply bad form. Americans of a certain age remember when preachers preached and politicians didn’t. Tent revivals took place on the outskirts of small towns, not in mega-coliseums led by presidential contenders. (See Rick Perry.)"

Bad thing i did this week: Actually it was last week. I went to pick up my Dad for his birthday tavern lunch. And as i was leaving i saw that horrible family photo hanging on the wall that was taken in Christmas 1991. It includes my sister's  ex-husband and my brother's ex-wife. (Mine was already literally 'out of the picture' by then.) Dad said he had already hidden it but she found it and put it back up. Mom wasn't home so i took it down and put it in the trunk of my car. (Where it still remains.) I know my sister is high-fiving me if she is watching. 


If i give it back I'm going to have Brian PhotoShop Brad Pitt as my sister's husband. And I'll have to ask Troy which celebrity he might want to be married to. (I already know it's not Angelina). 


So come tell us. Especially...what bad thing you did! And what is pissing you off. The negative stuff is always the juiciest. 

Just your regular random nothings.

1. I love my iPod, iTunes,  and my iMac so I was sorry to hear yesterday that Steve Jobs died. Not even all the money in the world could help heal him. I hadn't realized he was diagnosed quite a few years ago.

2. I got my first iPod from Brian for Christmas. It was the white one that held 5,000 songs. When i opened it up, i did not know what it was, though i had seen the U-2 commercial. I think it was either 2004 or 2005.

3. I learned to use a computer on an Apple II-C in 1985. Louielouie taught me and a few other enthusiastic educators from the junior high where we worked. I was hooked and could not wait to trade in my Correcting Selectric typewriter!

4. Louie actually bought one of those computers! I was so impressed. I think she was the first person in the District outside of the tech people to own one. Later that year, going through simultaneous divorces we started writing our reference book on how to be single. And after too much wine we accidentally erased the whole thing.

5. Later on we found out some dude plagiarized our work. I am not sure how that guy recovered our lost book from louie's computer, but when "He's Just Not That Into You" was published we found out just how close we had come to being wealthy. (If only we hadn't had that third glass of wine.)

6. Speaking of books, I just finished reading the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. I am now reading another Lincoln Lawyer book entitled The Reversal. Matt McConnaughy perfected this character in the Lincoln Lawyer movie. It's a pretty good read that reminds me of old Grisham, back around The Firm and Time to Kill books.

5. This has been a very busy week at work and i love it, though not so much two back-tback 12 hour days because i don't get anything done at home. No laundry, no groceries, and no time to dust! (I love dusting!) I am looking forward to doing nothing all weekend. I will probably go buy a bottle of special red wine tomorrow,  purchase some new iTune music, make a fire and lay around and read The Reversal.

5. I love summertime, but i am usually ready for it to be over too. What's great about this time of year is  waking up in the morning when the heat kicks in and i can smell the coffee that Brian is brewing through the vents. It's a wonderful way to start the day.

6. The big thing that i don't like about this time of year (besides know that our gray winter is following) is switching out my summer clothes and going back to my regular (lighter) Lancome foundation. I also don't like that first day of running in long pants. And right now for the first time this season, I am wearing my Sporthill long pants while i procrastinate my workout by updating this blog.

7. Oh yeah, and i don't much care for Halloween either. I stay home and give out candy, but i don't really like it all that much. I think it's the expectant feel of the doorbell which makes it hard to relax.

8. I'm thinking about a Kindle or a Nook (color) or an iPad. Not sure i need all the bells and whistles of an iPad, but i'm uncertain about the best fit for me. I'll have to do research. If any of y'all have an e-reader, i hope you'll weigh in. I need a long battery life. I want color cause i plan to get cooking magazines. And i need to not wear out my eyes.

9. I don't have much to add to this so i'll probably change it up soon with a theme. I saw that iSad image and it inspired me to update my blog.

10. I wonder if i should use some of my retirement money to buy Apple stock???? Did it go back up yet?

Coming Soon. A new post. Edited to add: Instructions that do work on how to post here.

Too much happening and no time. I'll get to it soon. in the meantime if someone wants to start a topic, go ahead and i'll add it to the subject line at the top later.

See second comment below for instructions.

Charr, and anyone else having trouble, I just tested these instructions and they do really work. The secret is being sure that you sign in to your google account BEFORE posting. then you must UNCHECK the box that says STAY SIGNED IN. I just did a test by trying to see if i could sign in and click ON that box, but it doesn't let me post. So if you follow those instructions it does work. I think only pc users have this issue. I don't know why blogger doesn't fix this. It used to not be a problem until the last few months.

Ten Items or Less....

My friend Julie (who posts here infrequently, though she should post here more... ) gave me this idea for a blog post. It's from a movie starring Morgan Freeman and one of those kids who have been in movies recently (Superbad?) ...anyway. here is what it's about.

List 10 things.

• List 10 things that you want to keep.
• List 10 things that you want to lose.

(Don't list the obvious, like your family, we all know that's a given. )

Here are mine.... And i have to say i am going into this knowing i already don't know what i might say beyond #1 and #2..

What i Want to Keep:

1. My belief about standing up for what i believe in, even when i know someone, maybe many people, might think i am wrong.

2. My ability to run. i know this is related to health, but it's something i've done for more than half my life (31+ years) and when that day comes that i can no longer run, i know that will be a hard day.

3. I want to keep all things that are in my trunk. My trunk is filled with letters, thank you cards, emails from my nieces Kylee, Ashley, and Brian and Josh, writings from when i was in high school, letters from my dad when he was on military leave in Japan away from us, homework from my civics class where i gave my opinions about politics at the age of 17.

4. I really want to keep my books. Even the ones in storage.

5. And my iTunes library. All 5400+ tunes.

6. I have a pasta bowl i really really love. I hate to think that it might break one day. And i hate to think that someone other than myself would break it cause i don't want to hold it against them. (That's why i always choose to wash it)  It's stupid i know, but i love that bowl.

7. I am not a jewelry person at all whatsovever. But my first husband bought me a set of Mikimoto pearls that are the best piece of jewelry i own. I don't wear them. But i like that they are somewhat of a heirloom. And i want them because i want to leave them to my niece Ashley . She doesn't even have to wear them. (Or maybe she could as a bracelet).) I just want to leave her an heirloom. One oldest daughter to another.

8. My husband said i should say i would love to keep my journals. But the truth is i am not sure, I wrote those in a past life that i don't really care to revisit and i would rather not lose the stuff i wrote here on my blog more than what i wrote in my journals from decades ago.

So i think i only have 8 thinks i want to keep.

Here are 7 things i want to lose: (I tried to do 10, but i can't)

1. I want to lose  this feeling of not knowing what my future will bring.

2. I wouldn't mind losing this iMac computer right now because it's becoming apparent to me that it's not all that after all until i learn it.

3. I want to lost that attitude that i don't like learning things.

4. I wouldn't mind losing one of our three vehicles. Not mine, of course. But i wish my husband would get rid of one of his two cars and make a decision soon about buying a  new one. This has gone on for over a year and a half now.

5. I would like to lose my Facebook account. I wouldn't miss it at all. i think.

6. I would hate to lose my eyesight. Shoot me now because it means i can't read.

7. i would hate to lose the money i have been saving for so long by whatever reason. The stock market, unemployment, posting bail for murder. i love having money in savings.

I don't think i can do a number 8,


Ten is obviously too many for me. Maybe it is for you too. Try to do 5 things if you can't do 10.