Filed under: *whinge*
What would you do if you were a single mother with a couple of school aged kids, and one of them got sick, or had something contagious like head lice or impetigo? Why, you’d stay home from work to take care of them, of course! Right? Right! What if your job paid hourly, let’s say your supported your family waiting tables, and used your tips to pay the bills. What then? What if a week home from work meant losing $300 that you needed to pay your bills? How about at $300 a week, you simply didn’t have enough to build up a bit of a money buffer to cover things like that? What if you had that buffer but you spent a week in the hospital and your medical insurance (if you had any) sucked? Howabout if you found out your boss found someone else to work your job because you were “unreliable”?
I recently a blog where the individual writing was complaining because someone sent their kid to school with impetigo and her kid caught it. She was fortunate enough to have medical care for her child and could get him treated before it got nasty. She was also able to stay home and take care of him until it cleared up.
The commenters there broke my heart. It was all about how the mother was horrible and why chouldn’t she stay home blah blah. Maybe she just didn’t have the option. I’m not saying “Ok everyone send your kids to school whether they’re sick or not!” I’m just saying try to get all the story before you go smacking down someone who’s circumstances may not be as fortunate as yours, ok?
Sure, there are people who are irresponsible with their kids, who send them to school because they just don’t want to deal with them. But that’s not everyone. There are people who the decision to keep their child home simply isn’t an option. Stay home with the kid today, don’t eat tomorrow. Call in to work with a sick kid, lose your job. It happens.
Well ok not sauce, but awesome goodness…but not the food kind.
I spent time on the phone with the financial office at NADC (Nashville Automotive-Diesel College, where CJ plans to go after high school). Her statement was “we don’t really care how you pay for it as long as it’s paid for before he graduates.” It’s like this. We don’t do loans. We aren’t cosigning a federal student loan for him. Period. He has money in the bank, that will pay for the whole thing, if he is very, very careful and works to supplement his living expenses.
This, we can do. “Do you need tools?” she asked. “I think he has tools.” I said. “Call his advisor and see about that.” she said.
So I did. “He has tools.” I said. “Great, here’s a list of what he needs. If he has them awesome, you won’t need to buy any.” he told me. So I looked at the list. As long as he hasn’t done anything stupid (there’s a stretch, right….)and lost them, he has the tools save for a couple of ball-peen hammers. I think we can manage a hammer or two. He even has a tool box.
They’ll take the cost of the schooling, divide it however I want, by week, month, quarter, or by unit/school, (some units cost more than others). They’ll see about getting him a Stafford loan if he needs it (that’s a loan we don’t have to cosign, max of $3500 a year that would help very much with living expenses if he has trouble finding work.no interest for 6 months after he graduates..plus they’ll help him find a job).
So, given the parameters of paying the tuition, he’s covered completely. I knew he had the bulk of it, but the way they set it up pretty much guarentees it. He’ll have *some* to help with living expenses but not all of it. So work is a given.
Bless his heart, now if he’ll just graduate from high school.
So I talked to his advisor about that. He said they’ll just keep pushing his start date back until he gets his diploma or GED.
“Wait” sayeth Rootie…”I thought you didn’t accept GED”
“Why yes, we do!” he replied.
Well that takes another load of worry offa my shoulders…it means it’s NOT the end of the world as we know it if CJ manages to screw up and not graduate. It just means he won’t start in June. Which is not the end of the world. And I can live with that.
Saturday Terry cooked marvelous ribeye steaks, which we had the leftovers of on Sunday. Monday he had a business dinner and ate another ribeye. I had dinner with a friend and had a filet. Today he’s having a steak the friend got him last night and I’m having the remainder of my ribeye for lunch. Tonight we’re all eating a leafy green salad and getting a colonic.
No, not really, but the leafy greens are definitely in order. We are all pretty much beefed out. I’m fixing chicken the rest of the week, except for fish tacos on Thursday. And leafy, gut cleaning greens. Cabbage and spinach and arugula from the garden. and psyllium husks and whole grains.
I never thought we’d come to the point we’d reached Beef Overload, but we’re there. Probably ought to drink a bit of cholesterol-dissolving red wine too, only neither one of us particularly cares for red wine. And red wine gravy is not good on chicken or fish.
ugh. I refuse to check my blood pressure. You can’t make me.
I’m sure there’s some dietary guru out there who’s reading this and wincing. Well, you know…they say “all things in moderation” and moderation is a very vague concept, subject to wild interpretation. I can hear El now, “That kind of beef would feed an Ethiopean orphanage for a month!” Probably so.
I like the commercials.
I caught the Tim Tebow deeply controversial certain to piss off entire demographics how dare Focus on the Family spend money to offend the feminists ad. And laughed, and rewound it so Terry could see it, and he laughed…not one single word about abortion, or right-to-life or choices…I hope the people who got in such a lather about it before they ever saw it are feeling silly because they kinda look it.
Terry noticed that the ads lean toward telling men to grow a pair…and doing it very well, too.
I’m rooting for Indianapolis. I’ve never cared for New Orleans, not the city, not the teams. I can’t really say why, just don’t. Plus I think the whole Manning legacy is kinda cool even if Archie Manning spent his career in N’Awlins. He admitted on TV that he’s rooting for Indianapolis because of his son. I’d do the same.
I also like making it a Testosterone Infused Food fest. Not the fattening stuff this time, that’s reserved for the first race of the year. Tonight it’s my own special actually good for you low fat spinach artichoke dip with baked tortilla chips. The guys like it and don’t even know it’s low fat!
Spinach Artichoke Dip
1-8oz block fat free cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat free sour cream
1-10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1 cup skim milk mozzerella
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Mix all this together, either in a food processor or with a hand mixer. Then stir in
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
Dump all this into a casserole dish that has been liberally sprayed with Pam type stuff.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until bubbly and starting to brown a bit.
Serve with tortilla chips:
1 package burrito size flour tortillas cut into, y’know…chip sized pieces.
spread in a single layer on several cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or so until golden brown.
The biggest issues I have boil down to food. My weight, blood pressure, even psychological stuff like how I soothe a wounded ego or fight boredom or celebrate, all tied to food. Food doesn’t argue with you. It’s easy to manipulate. Treat it right and it’s the best thing in the world. Don’t pay attention to it and it will let you know. Cheap food can be just as tasty as expensive stuff. Seriously, give me a pot of homemade, creamy macaroni and cheese, at about $5 for a potfull, over the $800/oz Beluga caviar. I mean, seriously, greasy fish eggs? Puhleeze.
The nasty diet I have been on since November has worked. My methods of dieting have managed to keep me from despair or insanity. That is, I follow it kinda strictly (pretty much really) 6 days a week then one day a week I eat exactly what I want, how much I want, all day long. I can behave for 6 days if I know that 7th day I can go hog wild. Also, 6 days of behaving make it impossible to behave TOO badly that 7th. One’s stomach and tastebuds won’t allow one to eat half a salty fried chicken, no matter how badly one might want to.
So anyway I got all this fantastic news via bloodwork kidney function’s improving, all that good stuff like blood pressure, triglycerides and cholesterol are improving…all because I’m walking a mile 3-4 times a week and watching what I eat.
The hardest part has been accepting that I can’t eat whatever, whenever, like I could 20 years ago. I guess that’s what happens with age. Except that, I’m still 23, right? I mean, when I got my hip replaced (the old hip made me feel like I was 70), it was like time turned back, only, the metabolism didn’t.
However, seeing is believing.
And, to celebrate? All the women’s magazines say to celebrate something like this with a manicure, or a new haircut, or maybe take yourself to a movie or something. Don’t Use Food.
Well, I’m using food. So sue me. Saturday is My Day To Eat. It’s when I eat what I want. A plate full of tacos. A couple of pieces of fried chicken and some creamed potatoes. Butter peas with hot sauce. Bacon.
Terry has offered to cook and I said I wanted a steak. Not a super lean sirloin or a teeny recommended bit the size of a deck of cards. I want a ribeye, nicely marbled with that little tail of fat at the end, the one that gets crusty and brown on the grill and I can save as the last, disgustingly luscious bite. I want to be able to dip bites of it in salty steak sauce, and to pour the juices from the platter onto a fluffy baked potato. And people, screw the salad. I get salad the other 6 days of the week. I don’t want dessert. My taste for sweets has diminished to a degree that I’m content with a spoonful of sugar in my Irish coffee. Give me a nice, medium rare ribeye.
mmmmmm bliss
Tomorrow, I’ll eat a salad, a bowl of salt free (homemade) soup, perhaps a sandwich with no fat, salt free meat of some-sort. And I’ll be fine with that.
Food, it are my friend. It doesn’t backstab me unless I abuse it. It’s always there. I intend to take good care of it so it will take care of me. Fair enough?
Filed under: Uncategorized
Hmmm, Snopes.com says this is plausible!
Please be alert to the fraud tactic described below.
VISA/MasterCard FRAUD
Just a heads up for everyone regarding the latest in Visa fraud. Royal Bank received this communication about the newest scam. This is happening in southern Alberta right now and moving.
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want..
Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.
This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself. One of our employees was called on Wednesday from ‘VISA’, and I was called on Thursday from ‘MasterCard’ .
The scam works like this:
Person calling says – ‘This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460, Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona ?’ When you say ‘No’, the caller continues with, ‘Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?’ You say ‘yes’.
The caller continues – ‘I will be starting a Fraud Investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. ‘Do you need me to read it again?’
Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works – The caller then says, ‘I need to verify you are in possession of your card’. He’ll ask you to ‘turn your card over and look for some numbers’. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the last 3 are the Security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the last 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, ‘That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?’
After you say no, the caller then thanks you and states, ‘Don’t hesitate to call back if you do’, and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back. Within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we were glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card. We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation. .
The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit; however, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.
What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a ‘Jason Richardson of MasterCard’ with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA Scam. This time I didn’t let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA.. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. I dealt with a similar situation this morning, with the caller telling me that $3,097 had been charged to my account for plane tickets to Spain , and so on through the above routine.
It appears that this Is a very active scam, and evidently quite successful.
Pass this on to all your family and friends
CJ called last night, we discussed allowances, and Prom, and grades. *sigh* He’s passing all but one class. He doesn’t have leeway to fail a class. None. He fails 1 class, no matter the averages in the other classes, and he doesn’t graduate. No graduate, no NADC. He has no truck, and will not have a place to live after May 28, unless he goes to NADC, in which case he can stay with us the 2 weeks between graduation and starting there. No NADC, no staying with us, but he has no truck to get himself to and from wherever he’s living and wherever he can find a job.
Sucks to be him. All his shortsighted reckless behavior of the last 4 years is threatening to seriously catch up with him, and I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep the hard line about it.
I looked at his grades online. He’s making decent test scores etc in the class he’s failing, but he’s got a whole slew of missing homework. Dumbass isn’t turning stuff in.
So today I wrote him a short note. Dear CJ…blah blah pass or don’t go to NADC. You aren’t moving back in here, consider your very limited options. Don’t be an idiot.
Ok I play the hardnosed and unconcerned mother well in words, but the truth is my stomach is in knots over it. I worry about the boy.
I am in a fantastic mood and I flamin’ DARE YOU to screw with it.
I saw the nephrologist today, Dr. Courage. And
My blood pressure is DOWN from 160/110 to 114/68 W00T!
The kidney function is UP!
The weight is DOWN by 6 pounds (ok not alot but enough to celebrate)
And he’s given me the go ahead to stop the med and see what happens. If the symptoms return after stopping the med, start back on it, if they don’t (a simple test I can do at home will determine that), get back on it, have a nice day see me in 4 months.
This, people, is worthy of CELEBRATION!
I hear it’s a common affliction. Can you call it an affliction if it’s a normal state? I guess that would be like calling having to shave, or that …erm…Morning Thing men have an affliction.
I’m talking about this:
“Where’s the milk?”
“I can’t find (insert common item here)”
One can either get frustrated by this. I mean a jug of milk isn’t exactly a AAA battery hiding under a couch cushion.
Or one can be amused by it. This is my reaction of choice. I get (hard to believe, I know!) sarcastic. Just this morning, I’d fixed Terry’s breakfast and lunch and left them on the kitchen table like I always do. It’s not a huge table, about 2-1/2 by 4 feet. However, typically I leave everything (lunch box, travel mug of coffee, bowl with breakfast sandwich wrapped in a paper towel) on the west end of the table. For some reason, today I put it all on the east end. I don’t know why. Laziness I suppose, as that was the end of the table I was standing. Now, the lunch box is big and green and easy to see. The travel mug is tall and stainless and also easy to see. However the bowl, I admit, is comparitively small, and when there’s other items on the table (say, a jar of mustard, a small plate) I suppose one could say that it gets lost in the crowd. Anyway, I was sitting at the dining table with #4 as he was eating, and Terry was gathering up his stuff to go and I heard “Oh no, where’s my biscuits?” and I’m thinking…did I move them? No, I remember now, I put them in an unorthodox location. They’re 2 feet from their standard location. My bad.
Where manblindness is concerned, I used to be annoyed and frustrated by it. Now I see it as an opportunity to flaunt my inherent female superiority. When one of the household males stands at the refrigerator and says “I can’t find the mayonnaise! (or hot sauce or whatever)” I can assume a smug smile (most of the time) and go straight to said item that’s sitting right there in the front, or perhaps only 1 tier back. Of course, I let them recover their self esteem by asking them to change a lightbulb. Because it’s what a good wife/mother would do.
And that nasty accusation that I actually rearrange the refrigerator/pantry to increase male dependency? Well! Why on Earth would you say such a thing? How could you even think that I’d do such?
