My aviation-obsessed son David and his younger siblings recently went on a paper-airplane-making binge. So now there are approximately 67 paper airplanes in my living room. This afternoon I caught Brian about to filch some of my printer paper in order to make yet more flying machines, and I snapped, "Stop it! This paper doesn't grow on trees, you know!"
Yet another time when you've got to wonder why I'm allowed to homeschool my children...
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
In The News
You may think we Americans don't have problems, compared to the rest of the world, but I can prove you wrong. Just check out this article in the Washington Post. Look at how we are suffering.You didn't click, did you? Okay, I'll tell you - it's titled "Cheat Sheets?"
Fuzzy Industry Standards Leave Consumers Lost In the Thread Counts
"It's just gotten ridiculous," said one local shopper, Susan Van Hemel of Fairfax. "It's become so hard to figure out what to buy. And sheets now are so expensive, you can make a costly mistake."
Honey, I can help you. Go to Target. Pick up a queen-size set of sheets for 30 bucks. It's that easy. Really. If the extra money you would have spent is burning a hole in your pocket, send it to me. Or maybe send it to an organization that is helping cyclone victims in Myanmar, or earthquake victims in China.
And if your new sheets don't seem comfy enough, get more tired before you go to bed, okay?
Sheesh - talk about having too many choices and too much money to spend on them.
And, then, in the "how much can we show off that children haven't changed our lives?" category, we have this handy-dandy article on how to take your infant backpacking. Real backcountry backpacking. Because that's what I like to do: strap an infant on my chest, put a 30-pound pack on my back, and head for the woods.
You know, the only reason I would be heading for the woods would be to get away from the crying baby, not to take him with me.
Look at the picture that accompanies this article (I can't upload it - aaargh!) and tell me: just what is this woman trying to prove? Maybe it's a first-baby thing - you know, you're anxious to prove that babies haven't changed your life one bit; you're still a normal person even though you change poopy diapers and catch spit-up food in your hands.
Me, I've got nothing to prove. And my inordinate fondness for indoor plumbing would prevent my ever even entertaining the idea of doing this. What? Life isn't challenging enough with a baby at home, you need to take him on the trail? Good grief.
That's all tonight, folks. I'd like to get to bed before midnight for once. And we've got 9 tons of stone dust to move tomorrow. We try to save this sort of work for when the temperature is above 90 degrees - that way we can sweat out all our toxins while we shovel.
Multi-tasking is the way to go.
[I can't fix the orange mess up there. I tried.]
Monday, May 05, 2008
The Hills Are Alive...
...with the whines of entitlement....
According to this news article, Americans have hit hard times. While I have no doubt that there are many Americans truly suffering from the recent rise in gas and food prices, I think that journalists are going to have to come up with better examples than one suburbanite's having to (gasp!) cut coupons and (awww!) buy food that isn't organic. This reminds me of an NPR piece a number of months ago (when gas prices first started to rise again), where a person with a huge SUV was complaining about how much it cost him to drive his daughter to a special soccer league an hour away.
Sort of hard to work up a lot of pity, isn't it?
Last I checked, "poor" meant not having enough to eat, or nowhere to live, or no transportation with which to get to a paying job. Not being able to clothe your kids belongs on that list, too. But poor does not mean living the way many of us have been living (happily!) (thriftily!) for many years - buying the cereal that's on sale; knowing that used clothes are best for kids, because they'll wreck them up anyway; trying to live close to work; choosing schools and activities that do not require you to drive an hour each way.
It's called "living within your means," folks - and it looks as though it may just be the next big trend. Now, if all these trendmongers could just stop whining about it...
How To Live Within Your Means
According to this news article, Americans have hit hard times. While I have no doubt that there are many Americans truly suffering from the recent rise in gas and food prices, I think that journalists are going to have to come up with better examples than one suburbanite's having to (gasp!) cut coupons and (awww!) buy food that isn't organic. This reminds me of an NPR piece a number of months ago (when gas prices first started to rise again), where a person with a huge SUV was complaining about how much it cost him to drive his daughter to a special soccer league an hour away.
Sort of hard to work up a lot of pity, isn't it?
Last I checked, "poor" meant not having enough to eat, or nowhere to live, or no transportation with which to get to a paying job. Not being able to clothe your kids belongs on that list, too. But poor does not mean living the way many of us have been living (happily!) (thriftily!) for many years - buying the cereal that's on sale; knowing that used clothes are best for kids, because they'll wreck them up anyway; trying to live close to work; choosing schools and activities that do not require you to drive an hour each way.
It's called "living within your means," folks - and it looks as though it may just be the next big trend. Now, if all these trendmongers could just stop whining about it...
How To Live Within Your Means
1. Learn to cook. Any time you eat out, it costs way more than when you eat in.
2. Don't clip coupons. These coupons are for name-brand items that cost way more than the generics, which are what you should be buying. Except generic salsa. Trust me, don't go there.
3. Little kids don't need lessons in anything. If the money is really burning a hole in your pocket, put it in their college funds. Or send it to me. There are some knitting books I have my eye on.
4. Stop buying bottled water. It's stupid.
5. Don't go out and splurge on an expensive SUV for your 2 or 3 kids because you're concerned for their safety. Reasonably priced minivans are more maneuverable; therefore, they are less likely to get into an accident in the first place than is an Expedition. They get better gas mileage, too. (Guys, I know minivans are emasculating; but you can't argue with the numbers. I'm sorry.)
6. Expensive prepared food items are not essential to anyone's diet. No one has died yet of an Amy's organic frozen burrito deficiency. Amazing, but true.
7. Get some inspiration. This woman's advice and can-do attitude saw us through the lean years (well, the first set of lean years - now that the kids are heading for college, we're enjoying The Lean Years, Act II).
8. If you are really hard up for food money, don't waste it hoarding white rice. White rice has very little nutritional value. Buy beans instead. And oatmeal. You won't starve with beans and oatmeal in your pantry. You may contract scurvy, however. Eat an orange every once in a while, too.
9. Keep your head when shopping for little kid clothes. Yes, that 30-dollar Baby Gap dress is adorable; but it attracts ketchup and poop as well as the 10-dollar Target one. (Actually, the more expensive the piece of clothing, the faster it gets ruined. Extensive research has borne me out on this one.) Best yet, buy used and cheap (meaning, don't go to one of those cutesy consignment stores and pay 10 dollars for a used pair of shorts when you can get a new pair for 5 dollars at Target). (Lord, I hate overpriced consignment stores.)
10. And please stop complaining that you can't have everything you want. No one can. And you are probably better off than at least 90 percent of the world's population. Running water? Check. Something to eat? Check. Roof over your head? Check. Congratulations, you've got it made!
2. Don't clip coupons. These coupons are for name-brand items that cost way more than the generics, which are what you should be buying. Except generic salsa. Trust me, don't go there.
3. Little kids don't need lessons in anything. If the money is really burning a hole in your pocket, put it in their college funds. Or send it to me. There are some knitting books I have my eye on.
4. Stop buying bottled water. It's stupid.
5. Don't go out and splurge on an expensive SUV for your 2 or 3 kids because you're concerned for their safety. Reasonably priced minivans are more maneuverable; therefore, they are less likely to get into an accident in the first place than is an Expedition. They get better gas mileage, too. (Guys, I know minivans are emasculating; but you can't argue with the numbers. I'm sorry.)
6. Expensive prepared food items are not essential to anyone's diet. No one has died yet of an Amy's organic frozen burrito deficiency. Amazing, but true.
7. Get some inspiration. This woman's advice and can-do attitude saw us through the lean years (well, the first set of lean years - now that the kids are heading for college, we're enjoying The Lean Years, Act II).
8. If you are really hard up for food money, don't waste it hoarding white rice. White rice has very little nutritional value. Buy beans instead. And oatmeal. You won't starve with beans and oatmeal in your pantry. You may contract scurvy, however. Eat an orange every once in a while, too.
9. Keep your head when shopping for little kid clothes. Yes, that 30-dollar Baby Gap dress is adorable; but it attracts ketchup and poop as well as the 10-dollar Target one. (Actually, the more expensive the piece of clothing, the faster it gets ruined. Extensive research has borne me out on this one.) Best yet, buy used and cheap (meaning, don't go to one of those cutesy consignment stores and pay 10 dollars for a used pair of shorts when you can get a new pair for 5 dollars at Target). (Lord, I hate overpriced consignment stores.)
10. And please stop complaining that you can't have everything you want. No one can. And you are probably better off than at least 90 percent of the world's population. Running water? Check. Something to eat? Check. Roof over your head? Check. Congratulations, you've got it made!
Monday, February 04, 2008
I Heart NY
Woo-hoo! The Giants won! I'm excited, and I don't even like football. In fact, I didn't even watch the game really. Larry and I went out to dinner last night (when my best friend heard our plans, she said, "Well, at least it won't be crowded..."); but our table (and, yes, we were the only ones in the dining area, as a matter of fact) was near the bar with the big screen TV's, so we were sort of able to tell when someone made a touchdown (from the cheering). Does that count?
I fell asleep (no, not at the restaurant) before the game was even over; Larry told me the news this morning. The only reason I care is because he's from the Boston area, originally, and I'm from the New York area. So we frequently argue over who is better, those stuck-up Beantowners or the salt-of-the-earth New Yorkers...
I think I'll stop now, before I alienate anyone else. If you folks want to hear from a true Patriots' fan (as in, she actually follows the game), head on over to Amy's place.
Anyway, we went out to dinner to discuss how much of Larry's hard-earned money I plan to spend this year on those rugrats we call our children. Then we discussed just sending them all out to work, like in the good old days of Charles Dickens. Suffice it to say, I managed to polish off our sizeable tax refund in, oh, about 15 minutes (it would have been faster, but I ate some chips and guacamole while I was writing out the budget). Our waitress must have thought we were real romantics, sitting there with pad and pen and calculator, arguing over extracurricular activities. Ah, old married love....just makes your heart beat faster, doesn't it?
When we weren't discussing the budget, we were discussing politics (I told you we are a lot of fun, didn't I?). But it's just so exciting to think that Americans may just have a choice this November between 2 decent candidates, it's hard not to talk about it. I realized this morning that by the next Presidential election, 2 of my children will actually be voting. In fact, I think I realized that around the same time I realized that the gray hairs are multiplying at an exponential rate on my head....
Where was I? Oh, yes, voting...so now I actually have to sound intelligent when I discuss the candidates with Anna and Theo, rather than muttering something about "voting the bastards out." And I do like giving them a balanced view of why reasonable people would vote for either candidate, rather than demonizing half the voting population of the United States as many of our revered, um, statesmen are wont to do. I'm an unrepentant centrist, I am....
I also take great pains to explain to the teens that any candidate winning by a 3 or 4 percent margin, does not, by any stretch of the imagination, possess a mandate. 3 or 4 percent in a country the size of ours is barely statistically significant. Instead, the winner needs to reach out to the almost 50 percent (that's half, for you math-challenged) of the voters who did not elect him/her, so they do not feel alienated and unheard. The winner-take-all mentality exhibited by certain politicians on both sides of the red/blue divide is not a healthy one for any country.
Oh, gosh, it's gonna be a fun year, no?
I guess I'm feeling a little optimistic today. I mean, if New York can triumph over undefeated Boston in the Super Bowl, perhaps there is a teeny chance for Americans to agree on how to achieve health care for all, an unplundered environment, an end to the war in Iraq, and an economy that isn't going right down the toilet. One can always hope...
I fell asleep (no, not at the restaurant) before the game was even over; Larry told me the news this morning. The only reason I care is because he's from the Boston area, originally, and I'm from the New York area. So we frequently argue over who is better, those stuck-up Beantowners or the salt-of-the-earth New Yorkers...
I think I'll stop now, before I alienate anyone else. If you folks want to hear from a true Patriots' fan (as in, she actually follows the game), head on over to Amy's place.
Anyway, we went out to dinner to discuss how much of Larry's hard-earned money I plan to spend this year on those rugrats we call our children. Then we discussed just sending them all out to work, like in the good old days of Charles Dickens. Suffice it to say, I managed to polish off our sizeable tax refund in, oh, about 15 minutes (it would have been faster, but I ate some chips and guacamole while I was writing out the budget). Our waitress must have thought we were real romantics, sitting there with pad and pen and calculator, arguing over extracurricular activities. Ah, old married love....just makes your heart beat faster, doesn't it?
When we weren't discussing the budget, we were discussing politics (I told you we are a lot of fun, didn't I?). But it's just so exciting to think that Americans may just have a choice this November between 2 decent candidates, it's hard not to talk about it. I realized this morning that by the next Presidential election, 2 of my children will actually be voting. In fact, I think I realized that around the same time I realized that the gray hairs are multiplying at an exponential rate on my head....
Where was I? Oh, yes, voting...so now I actually have to sound intelligent when I discuss the candidates with Anna and Theo, rather than muttering something about "voting the bastards out." And I do like giving them a balanced view of why reasonable people would vote for either candidate, rather than demonizing half the voting population of the United States as many of our revered, um, statesmen are wont to do. I'm an unrepentant centrist, I am....
I also take great pains to explain to the teens that any candidate winning by a 3 or 4 percent margin, does not, by any stretch of the imagination, possess a mandate. 3 or 4 percent in a country the size of ours is barely statistically significant. Instead, the winner needs to reach out to the almost 50 percent (that's half, for you math-challenged) of the voters who did not elect him/her, so they do not feel alienated and unheard. The winner-take-all mentality exhibited by certain politicians on both sides of the red/blue divide is not a healthy one for any country.
Oh, gosh, it's gonna be a fun year, no?
I guess I'm feeling a little optimistic today. I mean, if New York can triumph over undefeated Boston in the Super Bowl, perhaps there is a teeny chance for Americans to agree on how to achieve health care for all, an unplundered environment, an end to the war in Iraq, and an economy that isn't going right down the toilet. One can always hope...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Happiness Is Not A Warm Teenager
I would like to draw everyone's attention to this article in the New York Times, which discusses happiness levels in the general US population. My favorite line therein is "People who live with teenagers are the unhappiest of all."
Thank you. I'd suspected as much, but it feels good to have some official statistics to back me up. Now excuse me while I go take another Valium.
I've sorted out all the Christmas presents I scooped up at Michael's, just to make sure I hadn't made a mistake; but, no, I had just the right number for each kid. I thought I was spending an average of 15 dollars on each kid, but it looks to be closer to 25 dollars a person when all is said and done. Which is way too high, but the hell with it. Call me a spendthrift.
Larry is offering to take me out tonight, which is nice considering I've been spending all his money. Meaning, I had to take Anna to Kohl's again today. She was fairly exuding tolerance, but you could tell she was thinking, "If only I could drive myself, I could dump this stupid old lady."
Of course, if I could manage to get a real job that pays real money, we could afford to hire someone else to do all the stuff I've been doing around here for free, like chauffering a teenage girl with a lousy attitude to the clothing stores. Then again, with a real job, I might have to deal with super-annoying people all day who aren't even related to me, and that might put me over the edge. So I'll stick with being a kept woman for now, thanks.
My boss wants the computer. And I need to go to bed in order to get up on time to go for the walk my fiendish neighbor insists on dragging me on. And I'm too tired to fix that last sentence. Good night!
Thank you. I'd suspected as much, but it feels good to have some official statistics to back me up. Now excuse me while I go take another Valium.
I've sorted out all the Christmas presents I scooped up at Michael's, just to make sure I hadn't made a mistake; but, no, I had just the right number for each kid. I thought I was spending an average of 15 dollars on each kid, but it looks to be closer to 25 dollars a person when all is said and done. Which is way too high, but the hell with it. Call me a spendthrift.
Larry is offering to take me out tonight, which is nice considering I've been spending all his money. Meaning, I had to take Anna to Kohl's again today. She was fairly exuding tolerance, but you could tell she was thinking, "If only I could drive myself, I could dump this stupid old lady."
Of course, if I could manage to get a real job that pays real money, we could afford to hire someone else to do all the stuff I've been doing around here for free, like chauffering a teenage girl with a lousy attitude to the clothing stores. Then again, with a real job, I might have to deal with super-annoying people all day who aren't even related to me, and that might put me over the edge. So I'll stick with being a kept woman for now, thanks.
My boss wants the computer. And I need to go to bed in order to get up on time to go for the walk my fiendish neighbor insists on dragging me on. And I'm too tired to fix that last sentence. Good night!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Chip Trip
What a great day - Larry and I took the youngest 4 to a potato chip factory (I'm sure the people there were glad when we left - my kids ate all their samples when I wasn't looking) and then a hike in the woods at a nearby national park. We saw 2 deer and scared the children by telling them to watch out for bears. For parents, we have a sick sense of humor. I was extra glad to get out of the house, because Anna had misplaced 50 dollars, which made her hate me. Because I wouldn't hand over more money. Hard to follow that logic there. All our attempts to make her more responsible with money backfire. If she doesn't have enough for something she wants, it's because we don't give her enough. If she spends all her money and has to wait for the next month's "pay," it's also because we don't give her enough. I shudder to think of this girl with a credit card.
We ate lots of potato chips today. I mean, ones we actually paid for. They were fresh, so I deemed them healthy. And non-caloric.
Oh, and I did get to stay in bed until 7:30 this morning. It felt fantastic. Maybe I'll get to do that again next month. Miracles happen, you know.
We don't think the mother bird found her nest. Or else it was too noisy and loud in our yard for her to want to return. Scrambled eggs, anyone?
We ate lots of potato chips today. I mean, ones we actually paid for. They were fresh, so I deemed them healthy. And non-caloric.
Oh, and I did get to stay in bed until 7:30 this morning. It felt fantastic. Maybe I'll get to do that again next month. Miracles happen, you know.
We don't think the mother bird found her nest. Or else it was too noisy and loud in our yard for her to want to return. Scrambled eggs, anyone?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
One of Those Days
One of those days, unfortunately. By 5 o'clock I was reduced to sending the younger ones to their rooms and telling them not to bother me. My Rachel's voice seems particularly high-pitched lately. She and Brian have spent the day bickering with each other in an attempt to drive me right over the edge.
I am bored out of my skull. All jobs have their boring moments, I know; but my particular job seems to have more than its fair share. I need to take up a physically demanding form of exercise - long-distance running, say, or bicycling - to distract my mind from the fact that most of my days are filled with pointless tedium. Eating chocolate does not do the trick anymore. I can't believe that most folks feel that solitary confinement is some sort of punishment. It would seem like heaven to me right now. A nice quiet room, with a pile of books and maybe an exercise bike - that's not asking much right now, is it?
It doesn't help that at Target today (yes, I was there again - what of it?), I noticed an elderly woman sweeping the floors and emptying the trash cans. That will be me, 25 years from now. That's what happens when you are stupid with your finances - we've taken money that should go towards our retirement and are sinking it all into this money pit of a house we bought last spring. It cost us 700 dollars yesterday just to have our new kitchen sink hooked up (yes, for a day or so there, we had everything but the kitchen sink). Seems that the handyman who installed the last sink here was pretty damn creative and glued all sorts of things together, so everything had to be ripped out and replaced. Which took a lot of time. 500 dollars worth of time, to be exact. The hell with college - I'm apprenticing all my kids to plumbers and electricians. Eighty dollars or more an hour doesn't look too bad to me. And then maybe they could support me in my old age so that I wouldn't have to sweep the floors at Target. That is, if they manage to forgive me for locking them in their rooms every afternoon at 5:00.
I am bored out of my skull. All jobs have their boring moments, I know; but my particular job seems to have more than its fair share. I need to take up a physically demanding form of exercise - long-distance running, say, or bicycling - to distract my mind from the fact that most of my days are filled with pointless tedium. Eating chocolate does not do the trick anymore. I can't believe that most folks feel that solitary confinement is some sort of punishment. It would seem like heaven to me right now. A nice quiet room, with a pile of books and maybe an exercise bike - that's not asking much right now, is it?
It doesn't help that at Target today (yes, I was there again - what of it?), I noticed an elderly woman sweeping the floors and emptying the trash cans. That will be me, 25 years from now. That's what happens when you are stupid with your finances - we've taken money that should go towards our retirement and are sinking it all into this money pit of a house we bought last spring. It cost us 700 dollars yesterday just to have our new kitchen sink hooked up (yes, for a day or so there, we had everything but the kitchen sink). Seems that the handyman who installed the last sink here was pretty damn creative and glued all sorts of things together, so everything had to be ripped out and replaced. Which took a lot of time. 500 dollars worth of time, to be exact. The hell with college - I'm apprenticing all my kids to plumbers and electricians. Eighty dollars or more an hour doesn't look too bad to me. And then maybe they could support me in my old age so that I wouldn't have to sweep the floors at Target. That is, if they manage to forgive me for locking them in their rooms every afternoon at 5:00.
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