Stupid Signs in America

I have got to share with you a sign that the kids and I saw yesterday as we drove around MA looking for house. Granted we were in the booneys, but this seems to be one of those unneccessary signs. "When cattle in road STOP". I've got to tell you that I'm not really sure what the other options would be. Cars may be bigger than cattle, but they would make a heck of a speed bump.

Christmas Gift Ideas

They say it is always good to dream. So when I was on Realtor.com today and say a widget for Neiman-Marcus' Christmas wish list, I decided to click away. I needed a diversion from no health insurance and a cancelled showing. And I found dream gifts for everybody:

DD, a horse enthusiast, who hasn't been able to get back into horseback riding because we just can't afford it right now. She will take one Three Chimneys Farm Thoroughbred Racing Stable Package - "You want the best, you go to the best. You want a working, turnkey, in-the-running thoroughbred racing enterprise right out of the starting gate? You go to Three Chimneys Farm. The legendary Kentucky farm has managed some of racing's winningest thoroughbreds, including history's only undefeated triple crown winner (a little guy named Seattle Slew). For this exclusive package, you get the works because Three Chimneys means business. They will build you a stable of 12-15 thoroughbreds and with your input will train them, house them, select races, enter them in races, provide you a personal racing concierge, and manage the entire enterprise for the next four years. As the owner, you get to name your stable and any unnamed horses, design your own silks, attend races, pose for pictures, give quotes to the media ... and keep all the purses and trophies."

DS loves legos. So I thought the Life-Size Replica in LEGO® Bricks would be best. It is described as "Acclaimed artist Nathan Sawaya is obsessed with LEGO® bricks. Uh, trust us, he is. He fills his New York studio with more than 1.5 million of the interlocking toy building blocks, and he can sculpt anything out of them — a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton or a 7-foot-long scale replica of the Brooklyn Bridge, for example. Given the skill and depth of his devotion to his art, it makes perfect sense to immortalize your own magnificent self with our 2008 His & Hers gifts. Send in detailed photos and measurements, then Nathan gets to snapping and BOOM! One-of-a-kind, life-size sculptures of yourselves in LEGO bricks. We priced our exclusive gift individually, so Nathan can "brickalize" you and the S.O., the kids, Granny and/or anyone else you obsess about. (Just make sure you have the rights to their likenesses; we're not here to judge.) "

There is even a perfect gift for DH - Authentic Guinness® Home Pub "There are plenty of reasons to raise a pint to the Irish. Saint Patrick, the Blarney Stone. One of the greatest occurred in 1759 when young Arthur Guinness founded a brewery at St. James's Gate, crafted a hearty, distinctive stout, and won a place in our hearts forever. Celebrate the 250th anniversary of that first delicious keg with our exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime gift. The folks at RiRa Pubs will design a fully functional, traditional Irish pub and build it in your home in 2009. It will be crafted from historic Irish architectural elements and authentic Guinness artifacts. There's also a VIP trip for two to Dublin with first class airfare, luxury accommodations, and insider access to the magic still being made at the historic working St. James's Gate brewery. (All members of your party must be at least 21 years of age.) Plus fresh Guinness Stout for your pub. For an entire year. "

Granted the total cost of these gift would be higher than our new house, but hey at least its a dream. They may end up with a horseback lesson, a box of legos, and a bottle of beer, but at least the thought was there. Check out the Neiman-Marcus Christmas Book to dream a little yourself.

No Health Insurance - The Real Economic Crunch

Today brought to the forefront the crux of yesterday’s rant.

DH called at about 2pm, “Your worst nightmare has come true.”

I couldn’t even think. I thought he was kidding. “What are you talking about?”

“XXXXX is going out of business.” He went onto explain that the employees of the company that we used to work for were asked to leave the premises on Friday and that today a police officer was standing outside the shop. Now you are probably asking how this affects us if we don’t work their anymore, but one, they owe my husband money for commissions and two, our health insurance is covered under COBRA with them. As I explained yesterday, we can’t get put on the new company until we move to MA, we can’t move to MA until the house sells. Anyway, I called the health insurance administrator and to make my day, he informed me that my insurance was not ending at the end of the month which is bad enough, but that it was retroactively being cancelled to the middle of last month. I tried very hard to compose myself and object because we had not only paid for September already but also for October to which he nicely replied, “We’ll be sending you a refund.”

Of course, I’m calculating the full cost of DH’s meds for last month, plus DD’s trip to the pediatrician, and my mammogram. I’m thinking this is not going to balance out. Of course, I may not have elected the pediatrician and mammogram if I knew that I did not have health insurance.

While we are trying to mull through the very few options that we have available, DH breaks the mood with, “On the positive side, I found an Alaskan quarter today.”

So here is the summary of my day, my family no longer has health insurance, but we have an Alaskan quarter. You’ve got to laugh, because otherwise you’ll end up crying in a locked bathroom (ooops that was earlier today.)

Trading Spouses or Trading Houses?

Talk about being caught in the economy . . .Grrr! We went to look at houses (and I saw the room with the map – it could be used as an office) today, but I’m just not sure that it is worth our time. Without our house selling, we can’t move. However, if the old company goes out of business or next September comes, we will be out of health insurance. I don’t blame people for not wanting to move right now given the economy, but I have to move and I need someone to buy my house.

I have begun to blame HGTV and such shows that show perfect houses. My house is not perfect, but it is in very good shape. Whoever buys this house will buy a better house than our family bought 12 years ago. We thought that we would be here forever so we didn’t start with the cosmetics like the kitchen and bathrooms. We focused on the big ticket items furnaces, gutters, roofs, and a new bay window. I have no one makeover my house and given the fact that we keep dropping the price, it sure doesn’t inspire me to spend more.

My husband and I have always worked hard and been honorable (or at least tried to be). But I am beginning to wonder what is right and what is wrong. Correct me, but I believe that our friend Joe Biden mentioned the other night in his debate with Sarah Palin that banks should work to alter the rates and the PRINICIPLE of homes that are being repossessed in this crisis. My home is not being repossessed and we work hard to keep it that way. I am not opposed to the banks working with those in financial trouble. I think they should work to adjust the rate or the term, but the PRINCIPLE. Could someone take that special marker to my house first? How would you ever decided who deserved a reduction? Or how much they deserved? How is this fair to other homeowners let alone taxpayers that are not homeowners?

I realize that like the Parable of the Vineyard Workers I should not worry what others get or don’t get, but one, this is the ultimate redistribution of wealth – taking from those that can barely afford it so that they soon too need a handout from the government and two, if we don’t make this change by the time our health insurance expires we will fall to that level anyway. Also, DH is commuting everyday to Mass. Thank goodness right now his boss is paying for the gas, but if that stops then we won’t be able to afford to get him to work. And while his boss is paying for gas, it doesn’t make up for the mileage that is being put on the truck, eventually it will give out and then all we’ll have is another bill.

I’m trying to think outside the box and even found a house online for less than $50,000 in a small town in Mass. Although it might need a lot of work, we could at least move up to it and use it as our primary residence, thus moving us to Mass and allowing us to be residents and therefore making us eligible for his new employer’s health insurance. It would be inexpensive enough that we could wait for this house to sell. After that, we could buy what we originally planned and either rent or sell the other home. Where would I get the $50,000 given the credit crunch, you ask? I will admit the idea of Trading Spouses crossed my mind - - anyone know their web address? See the economy has made me delusional.

Vote on Capitol Hill

I officially do not understand politics. Monday this bailout plan is unacceptable and fails in the house. In the meantime the Sentate piles the bill with pork and now the Congress may pass it. WHAT?

We'll know in a couple of minutes, but this is disgusting.

Recommending a Book to Read

Have you ever been embarrassed or sorry for recommending a book to your book club or to a friend?

I am currently reading Away by Amy Bloom. I had mentioned it as a possible read for our book club previously. Fortunately someone else in the group had read her work and recommended against it. Mind you, this is not because it was a bad book (so far it is rather good in fact). However, some of the content is rather racy and probably not appropriate for a church reading group.

The problem with choosing books for a book club is that there is an expectation that you know that the book is good. Frankly, I don’t have time for that. I’m lucky if I have time to read a book once let alone twice.

The last time I got caught mis-recommending was for the book Mists of Avalon. I had taken cue from one of the public radio hosts that I admire, Faith Middleton. On her book show, she had recommended a quick read. Boy, did I get an earful when people picked up the book and found it to be 912 pages long. Even I looked a little critical at it. I enjoyed the read, but many did not enjoy the female side of the Arthurian Legend.

You would think I learned my lesson but I definitely cannot be relied on to read the book in advance, but I will be surfing more for people’s comments on books. You’ll notice I’ve already added a book blog for review on my blog reading list. As always, I also appreciate any suggestions.

Have you made a bucket list?

DH is watching the new Knight Rider and they were just discussing their bucket lists. Do you have a bucket list started?




For those of you that don’t know what a bucket list is, it is a list of things to do before you die. There is actually a movie called Bucket List, but I haven’t seen it. I need to put that on my list of things to do, but I don’t think it quite qualifies for my bucket list.

Number one on my bucket list has to be visiting Italy. Maybe number two is taking a cruise. I definitely want to write a book too.

What is on your list?