Just…an Observation | and Sprinkles on Top

Doing Nothing is Not An Option

Posted on 09. Feb, 2009 by Deb.

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Visitors here know that the discussion of politics is not a typical thing for me. I talked about it briefly on Election Night. If isn’t that I don’t have opinions. I’m very opinionated and attempt to educate myself about what is going on in the world. As I educate myself, sometimes my opinions change. Sometimes, they don’t. The economy is on my mind just like many others of you. I’m self-employed and just because my business is good one day doesn’t mean that tomorrow my business will be the same. I am ever the optimist, but I am also a realist. I would be lying if I told you that I was not concerned. We are in a situation close to we were in the 1930′s…. The image below is from the FDR Memorial in DC and is just part of the Bronze Sculptures there representing the Depression there.

I just finished watching President Obama’s Town Hall Meeting in Indiana. A couple of things stood out to me in his comments prior to the asking of questions: “Doing nothing is not an option” and “If you have money, spend it.” and “people don’t want a hand-out, they want a job”.

I am watching the Senate just as I watched The House. I have jotted off emails to Both of my Senators, just as I do on a regular basis to my Representative. Something must be done.

Going about my regular business has made me even more concerned and very thoughtful about my own personal approach right now. When I traveled this past week, DFW Airport was light. As in eerily light with no one in line at the ticket counter when I checked my bag , less than a dozen people going through security and about four or five TSA agents just standing around. The hotel, though a boutique-ish hotel and small, was still sparse on the guest side. I stopped by Starbucks on Sunday to pick up a New York Times and the place was EMPTY.

I’ve made adjustments to my budget. The regular visit to Starbucks that used to be part of my routine isn’t so regular anymore. But that’s not just due to my personal pocketbook, part of that is due to the closing of my local Starbucks. The folks I saw for coffee for the last ten years have scattered and are going to other places – or else aren’t going much either. When I go out just to have coffee, I am going to a locally owned coffee house. I am not making frivolous travel plans, but when I traveled last week, I did use the car service I’ve used for the last three years to transport me to and from the airport. I’m not buying new suits at the rate I was six months ago, but I don’t need any new suits right this moment – especially with the loss of a few pounds. I did, however, buy a somewhat extravagant pair of shoes this past week as they are classics for my taste and will be worn by me for years with both jeans and skirts. And I bought them from a sales person that I know works on 100% commission.

Some of the changes I have not made include firing the lady who cleans my house. I can afford to keep her if I watch my own spending a little and she needs the job. I have not stopped eating out overall, but I am choosing to go to more locally owned establishments when I can. I haven’t stopped shopping , though I am careful with my purchases. I am exploring more locally owned shops, like a small independent grocer/deli nearby as an alternative to only shopping at a big-box store. I hated having to do major home repairs, but I was happy to find solid, independent skilled folks to do the work. And of course I’m getting my hair done and tipping my hairdresser just like I always have.

Who knows. Maybe my personal contributions are nothing but a teeny drop in the bucket to a few folks. But I am hopeful that it matters to those people I come in contact with and the businesses that I support. I just can’t in good conscious “do nothing”.

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Shaking My Head at The City

Posted on 08. Feb, 2009 by Deb.

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I enter and exit through my garage. The front door is for answering when UPS delivers and other such rarities, which means I open it maybe once a week. When I pull into the driveway and see something stuck on the door, I open it and clear it off.

This morning, after the grocery store, I saw something in the bushes. It looked like paper, which of course had me wondering what trash had blown into the front yard. But it was in the TOP of the bushes. I just went out to get it, since tomorrow is trash day and since I truly don’t want trash in the bushes. And it was a note.

Well, not really a note, more of a LETTER of NOTICE from the city that my street is scheduled for a Mill & Overlay / Asphalt Resurface. Which is nice to see the city tax dollars at work. But the note gets better:

“Your drive approach will need to be replaced along with several feet of curb and gutter. During the time of the drive approach replacement, you will be unable to park in your driveway for five days. We will knock on your door before we remove to ensure that your vehicle has been removed from the garage.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I think taped to my door or in the mail would have been a more appropriate spot for a note informing me that I would lose access to part of my own property. An important part of my property since it’s how I enter and exit. It’s nice they are fixing things, of course, but I’m left with all kinds of questions like am I supposed to park on the street? ‘Cause if they are tearing up all the curbs, where am I supposed to safely park. And there is a fire hydrant in front of my house, so, if I have to park in front of it, will they still ticket me?

I travel a lot for business. What if they knock on my door and I am out of town? Is my car STUCK in the garage?

The hand written addition on the bottom informs me that a crew is scheduled to start on 2/9/08, which is tomorrow. There is a phone number as well, so I can call tomorrow, hopefully before they begin work. I’m sure it will all work out. I’m just on the puzzled side and feeling like I’ve missed the secret handshake of Where to Place Important Notices.

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How could I forget….

Posted on 29. Nov, 2008 by Deb.

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I have loved being home for such a long stretch. It’s been over a week (we won’t count the one day trip to Chicago). I haven’t spent this solid a stretch here since April. What I have I forgotten, though, is the sheer volume, and cycle, of dishes and laundry.

Seriously. Where has everything come from?

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Dump Salad

Posted on 26. Nov, 2008 by Deb.

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Thanksgiving brings to mind family gatherings and, of course, food. I grew up in the south and the standard was Turkey and Cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green beans, and pecan pie. In the larger family gatherings, there is also the other rare food items that don’t get made except for holiday gatherings. I never had Broccoli-Cheese-Rice Casserole at home, but I could guarantee that my Aunt Bobbye would make it for Thanksgiving and my Aunt Betty would make some sort of jello salad.

Come now, you remember Jello Salads, right? Sometimes, it had actual jello that had been made in it, but at other times, it simply had the jello in it. I remember lots of lime jello salads with jello, whip cream, marshmallows and nuts. My favorite, though, was made with orange jello – the Dump Salad. Sounds so appetizing, doesn’t it? Oh. but it’s so good.

No, there is no large gathering of relatives this year – the immediate family is meeting at Cracker Barrel for an early lunch on Thursday and for dinner, we are going to a friend’s. My oldest actually has discovered a love of Dump Salad as well, so today, I made one just to have this week.

If you would like some nostalgia in YOUR fridge, try this:

1 carton of Cool Whip
1 16 ounce container of Cottage Cheese
1 package of Orange Jello – not made – dry
1 can of Mandarin Oranges

Thaw Cool Whip. In a large bowl, “dump” Cool Whip, Cottage Cheese, and Orange Jello. Stir well. Slide Mandarin Oranges into halves and fold in. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Happy Eating

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Channel Surfing

Lincoln, I have to say, is my favorite President.

This coming year is the 200th anniversary of his birth and there are several events in DC – mostly exhibits at various Smithsonian Museums. But also, the re-opening of the Ford’s Theater with two shows about Lincoln.

I’ve been to all the Monuments here in DC – Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, FDR…. the Lincoln is the one I can go back to time and time again. I can stand in awe of the marble statue and read the words of the Gettysburg Address as well as the words of his Second Inauguration Speech. Both were short speeches, but powerful. His Second Inauguration Speech ends with this:

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

When I can, I prefer to stay in the heart of downtown DC… The hotel I love is in what was once the General Post Office. Lincoln stood on these grounds and raised the flag here at the dedication May 22, 1861. Across the street is what is now the American Art Museum and Portraiture Gallery. It was the Patent Office in 1865…and is where the 2nd Inaugural Ball was held. Blocks away is the Ford’s Theater, where Lincoln was shot, as well as the Petersen house, which is where Lincoln died.

Today I visited the “Mask of Lincoln” exhibit. Photography was just really beginning to rise, and Lincoln took advantage of the technology and sat for photos often. There were both photos of Lincoln as well as sketches. The audio tour was unique, at least to me: use your cell phone to call a number and use prompts to learn more about particular pieces of the exhibit. Anyway, the exhibit was really amazing….Seeing the young statesman….the photos during the stress of war…and after the loss of a child…. Truly worth every moment of time I spent there.

If Lincoln were running for President during the media / television age of today, I don’t think he would have made it. Reporters would have dug around and discovered his bouts of “melancholia” as well as the hints of his wife’s mental instability. He wasn’t the most handsome man, and we are living in a time where looks tend to be important. In walking around other parts of the museum, I saw the paintings of Stephen Douglas, whom he was running against in 1860 as well as the painting of George McClellan. Both Douglas and McClellan were younger looking and more handsome than Lincoln.

I know I’ve rambled a bit. I have always been a lover of history and this city is really deep in my heart and visiting here reminds me why it’s important that we know our past as we live our lives in the present and plan for our futures….

Time for bed. Night, friends….

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Fish Oil

Posted on 08. Nov, 2008 by Deb.

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I twittered about it briefly tonight, but I am supposed to be taking Omega-3, which is really just fish oil. The last few weeks, I have simply slipped away from the regular schedule of taking care of myself doing things like vitamins and exercise, but that has got to change. Today, after I got my nails done, I went to GNC to get my Women’s Active Pack as well as their triple strength Omega 3′s. With traveling, taking a bunch of vitamins is harder, so the “packs” that GNC has available are good to pack, but bringing the big old bottle of fish oil is too bulky, so I caved. I also bought one of those little pill divider things to keep them in, which makes me feel incredibly OLD.

So, what is taking Omega-3 all about for me? Well, winter is approaching, and I have dry skin which is worse in the winter. I also have deal with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The doctor recommended some super-duper PRESCRIPTION Omega-3′s, but I balked at the need for a prescription for a dietery supplement. I am supposed to take three of them, along with an asprin, a multi-vitamin, and calcium.

And on that note, I am going to BED. Early flight tomorrow morning……

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Election Night

Posted on 04. Nov, 2008 by Deb.

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I’m conspicuously quiet when it comes to discussing my political views. Maybe it’s because I was brought up in the South and there are some things that are not supposed to be discussed with company in the living room – or even over coffee. Don’t expect me to passiontately endorse the man I voted for. Like the price I paid for my last car, it’s not something I’m going to talk about – polite company and all.

This blog is, in some ways, my virtual living room.

It’s no secret, at least to those who bother to really get to know me, that I am conservative in the bulk of my political views – but also have some liberal leanings in some areas, like the rights of women.

A fair number of the folks I follow in blogs and in Twitter are very liberal and very vocal in their support of Obama. I understand the passion, I do. As someone that has worked much of the last three years in Washington DC…the last year basically living here….I have seen the daily workings of politics and how they play out on a daily basis.

What I am hoping to see, however, is that after tomorrow, once the next President is announced, is that all of these incredibly vocal folks continue to stay involved in politics.