Your Brilliant Mom and the Signs in the Store

Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 7:37 AM
I bought some Diet Pepsi that was on sale 10 for $10.00. That in itself annoys me that they don't just say $1.00 each. In another place it said 4 for $5.00, and in small print, buy 10 it's $.79 each. I checked a couple of times as there were three different prices on Diet Pepsi.

I get to cashier at the Kroger and my Diet Pepsi is $1.25. I say that the sign read 10 for $10.00. He sends the grocery bag girl to check price, I say that's okay but he says shell be back soon and needs to check. She comes back with 4 for $5.00. I say, that's fine, but he says he'll go check. He comes back with a sign that says 10 for $10.00 and in tiny print "for potato chips." I don't even remember seeing the potato chips in the display of about fifty 2 liter bottles of Diet Pepsi. I thank him for his trouble and pay for the groceries.

I get home, unload the groceries, all is well. I really didn't want ten 2 liter bottles in the pantry just to get them for $.79. There's a slight difference in wording if you have to buy ten to get the sales price or if you buy one you still pay the sales price.

So next morning at breakfast I decide to fix scrambled eggs and see the ones I bought aren't in the refrigerator. I go check the car to see if I left them. Sure enough in the trunk is one of my canvas bags with the eggs in it. I bring the bag inside, put the eggs in refrigerator wondering if they will still be good. To my surprise there in the bag with my eggs is the pound of ground beef I had also bought. No doubt here, the meat goes in the trash ($3,00 or thereabouts in the garbage). I'm not sure of the egg rule. My grandmother didn't always refrigerate them right away, but then they were straight from the hen house. My eggs were relatively still cool in the trunk of the car in the garage when I brought them inside.

I don't know what the lesson is here, if any. I can't imagine putting eggs in the bag with ground beef and nothing else. But then why didn't I get all the groceries? Why didn't I read the sign correctly? Oh well, my dog Hoover and I had a great breakfast, scrambled eggs from the older eggs that had been in the refrigerator, just in case I decide to trash the fresh eggs.

In the meantime, isn't there a law about this kind of advertising. It is disgusting they can't say pears are $1.00 lb. instead of 10 lbs.for $10.00. Some people don't know that if you buy 1 lb. it's still $1.00/lb. If you aren't totally fluent in English, you wouldn't get the subtle difference of when you have to buy ten to get the sale price for one ot when you can buy one and get the sale price.

No this is not a riddle, just another day of grocery shopping at Kroger. I think I'll just shop at another store where they don't spend so much money on misleading advertising and huge displays. But those stores are very few. Even Staples had a sale sign, one cent each for notebook folders. In tiny print it said "limit 10," and in even smaller print that you had to buy $5.00 on other things. Teachers could get 25 for a penny each. It was a great deal except I went back four times, and spent about $50,00 on other stuff.

Is this brilliance or the onset of Alzheimer's Disease?

Mom

RESPONSES

THOMAS:
Yeah, I understand. A lot of misleading language out there. It's best to double check things. I called before going to a job this morning, It's not until next week. So, these things happen. I'm keeping a planner now. Imagine that. So, it helps to write down what you are doing and look at it so you know you are on track.


DAVID:
1. Put this on White Buffalo Bonanza.

2. I think you've discovered the origin of the kosher practice of separating meat and dairy!

3. Pick up The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen (same author as Botany of Desire). He touches on some of these topics (the signs in the store).

• 
  

Some Days Are like This . . . especially at Camp

Monday, June 14, 2010 at 6:39pm 

I left keys in trunk of car today at camp where anyone could have stolen my car. I noticed keys when I put things in trunk at end of day. A stolen car would have put me over the edge.

1:00--Power went out so no crepes for 4th period in Fun Foods. We eat the fruit for the crepes, make smoothies from the one carton of yogurt and gallon of milk. We drink plain milk as well. We eat leftover pretzels and cream cheese from Monday, leftover nacho chips from Thursday when we had Mexican food, and more milk, more fruit-- mango, strawberries, and peach. We added a bit of cool whip. I was trying to use perishable food before it ruined. Even though they'd just eaten lunch, they had a party and ate everything.

2:00--Accidental fire drill so we all evacuated into the heat for 5th period acting. We return to class. One actor is absent so one child is both Wilbur and Fern.

3:00--6th period acting two actors are out and another one leaves after ten minutes for gymnastics. Juliet's brother is also Romeo because Romeo is absent. Three girls want to be Juliet even though two of them have been absent, and one is leaving for gymnastics.at 3:10. They want to end play with Romeo and Juliet going to heaven and the girl who is Romeo's mother and the medic also wants to be Pegasus and ride my white horse that looks like Pegasus to see them in heaven. Fortunately it us time to go, and I told her she could work on a final scene tonight.

4:00--Kids go home, not a minute too soon. After carpool I pack up to go home, and I notice I don't hear the hum of the fridge in the kitchen/chemistry lab. That's right, When the power came on at 2:00, the sockets for refrigerator didn't come on; and the electricians had now gone for the day. So I load up everything in fridge that we didn't eat (cheese, tortillas, extra fruit) to bring back home till we need it next week if it stays cold in my portable coolers long enough to get home.

So like I said after a chaotic rehearsal of "Romeo and Juliet" and plan changes in other classes of the afternoon, I must say I felt totally blessed and protected from all evil and confusion everywhere when I saw those keys hanging out of the trunk of my Acura today. No one had stolen my car from the parking lot of the junior high, and my car was in perfect order with nothing missing.

I guess if my car wasn't stolen today, I really have no worries about camp, power, or the children's plays. So what if "Charlotte's Web" takes place in a condo. Who knows, maybe somewhere people do die if they break a fingernail as Romeo and Juliet do in their play. Children's imaginations are simply unbelievable. I sit there in amazement. I could not have written a better line myself--"please don't make Wilbur move from the condo. He ls just living his life as a pig and pigs squeal."

Parking More than Copay

Monday, April 26, 2010 at 2:06pm ·

Parking is $5.00. Copayment for doctor is zero. Copayment for prescriptions is $4.00 for 90 days with mail-order AARP Rx supplement. Parking is $5.00. I wonder when parking will be covered as a medical expense by insurance and Medicare.

Publix has some antibiotics free. Kroger, Sams, and many other pharmacies have generic prescriptions for $4.00 for 30 days. There was a time when doctors validated parking, and many doctor's offices had free parking.

As the guy in the elevator said to his friend as he tried to remember where they'd parked, "I'm not used to the big city." Neither am I. Does anyone have a "park free" card I can use?

Kids in Film

Thursday, March 11, 2010

It always amazes me that some of the largest films will try to cut costs when it comes to kids' education when out of school to work on a film. They can afford the stars but not the teacher. The animals always have a welfare worker on the set, whether it's a dog, a horse, chickens, birds or pigs. But there will be no one there for the welfare of kids.

Glad to have all the films in Georgia but when do kids--babies, teenagers, 5th graders, extras, principals get the same care as the dog. One lawsuit or accident would more than pay for the child's teacher on a set.

I have seen with my own eyes children working 14 hours a day. I have seen children get minimal schooling if any. Kudos to the producers who care about the kids. To the child labor department who has not set foot on a set on behalf of children in 25 years, I ask are horses worth more than kids? To Sag, why isn't there anyone required to be there any time any child (extra, principal, baby, teenager) sets foot on a set. There are kids working as extras who go from film to film and often working long hours with less than basic education. Even principals have lagged behind in their education and are often on a film set much longer than 9 1/2 hours.

Surely our kids are worth the salary of one teacher. I personally drive a 1991 Acura, and I have yet to meet a teacher who is living in Hollywood style mansions. Writer friends and you know who you are, teacher friends, film friends, parents of kids, students I have loved and taught, Mothers of these students who know I speak the truth, please put a stop to animal rights except for kids. Kids are not props or set decoration, and some of you know that; and I thank you for helping to provide a safe and healthy educational environment for the kids in film.

The Women of Keysville--Part 1

Fortunately for the women of Keysville, the new mayor of the city was single. There had never been anyone in the city government who was such a charming handsome man without a wife. Rumor was around town he was considering marriage if he could find the right woman to become his wife.

Less this become another Cinderella story of make believe and fairy tales, I guess I should begin at the beginning of the story that became news across the country. TV news, newspapers, pop magazines, and the web talked of what was happening in Keysville. It did not begin as newsworthy, of course not. It was a very simple story of a man who was the mayor of Keysville and wanted to find a wife.

His neighbor Mabel Moore, that is Mrs. Roy Moore, not Lola Moore who was married to Joseph Moore, wanted to introduce him to her daughter. Mabel mentioned the idea at supper over homemade chicken and dumplings, “Anna Lee, I’ve been hearing rumors.”

“About me, Mother”?

“No, of course not, dear. I heard that Jack Brook is single.”

“Mom, that isn’t exactly a rumor. Everyone’s known that since he ran for mayor over a year ago.”

“But, Anna Lee, what they haven’t known until now is he’s looking for a wife.” Mother and daughter bantered back and forth about Jack Brook until dessert, peach cobbler, (Mabel’s 2 cup recipe—2 cups self rising flour, two cups sugar and two cups of canned peaches, baked for about an hour). “He needs a wife to be a respectable mayor,” and to that even Aunt Lola agreed though both sisters were now giggling.

Lola had been a quiet presence until now, a little tired from her volunteer work with the Keysville Garden Club and just enjoying her meal. “Too many things can happen with a single man in that position. I’ve seen it before; rumors get started about him seeing some divorcee or him taking out of town trips with his secretary or some woman on the city council.”

Anna Lee was not amused at his comment. "Aunt Lola and Mother, can we just talk about something else while I enjoy my cobbler? I don’t care if the man is single or married as long as he puts the street lights back on the square. That is no way to save money, if you ask me.”

With that Anna Lee’s mother and aunt explained their plan they'd talked about earlier at the garden club meeting to have a raffle to buy plants for the neighborhood circle at the corner of their street. The raffle would include a dinner with the mayor.

“Lola, I know the mayor would love this idea. He is green you know, very green from what I hear. He recycles everything. Any way, as I was saying earlier today, these single men never get a homecooked meal these days. I hear he eats every meal at the diner. Can you imagine eating out every meal”? Mabel had a good listener in her sister, and this was one of their latest plans.

“Fifty dollars, Mabel, at least! Why I’ll pay at least $200 to have a chance for him to come to my house for supper. What do you think, Anna Lee?”

“Don’t you think someone should ask the mayor,” She at last had had enough and stormed out of the room with near expletives, but not without fully expressing herself. Oh yes, Mo—ther, and by all means, have him come to our house for peach cobbler. I can’t wait to meet him!”

This outburst did not discourage the two sisters but gave them an even better idea. Maybe they should open this up to the entire garden club, and women who have eligible daughters. It wouldn’t be fair for just one young woman to meet the mayor they concluded. Instead of a raffle, they could have a progressive dinner so the mayor could go to every family’s home for one course. This could go on for months until he's been to everyone’s house for supper. They were, after all, the co-chairmen of the fundraising committee.

The two women cleared the table, loading the dishwasher, wiping the table, putting leftovers in the refrigerator. For a few moments all was quiet as they mulled over the idea of the mayor coming for dinner and meeting their daughters. Both women didn’t say a word until finally Mabel said, “You know, Lola, Anna Lee would be a good wife for the mayor.”

“She or Cindy! I think Cindy would probably fit in better in politics in that her dad is always in the public eye,” added Lola. Cindy was her only daughter, a twenty year old working at the Keysville Daycare Center next to the First Baptist Church of Keysville.

“Cindy, your daughter Cindy? My word, Lola, she didn’t even go to college and the only public life she’s known is when she helps her dad collect money for the policeman’s ball.”

With this comment, the sisters were back in their pattern of competitiveness. Mabel realized she’d crossed the line again and that her sister was quite sensitive about the differences in their socioeconomic standing in the community. The men were brothers. Joe had always been an outdoorsman, an athlete; he wanted an action job. When he got out of the army, it was only natural he migrated toward police work.

It was too late for apologies as Lola was already walking towards the door in that sort of stiff gate she has when she’s annoyed with someone. “Good supper, but I need to get home. Joe will be off at 11:00 and ready for supper. Thanks for the leftovers for him. He will love your chicken and dumplings and peach cobbler." Lola was unusually tactful to her sister-in-law, but Mabel knew she had really crossed the line one too many times. Trying to clear the air, she added, “You had a great idea tonight about the progressive dinner. I’ll call all our members tonight and mention your idea.”

What's for Supper--Variation on a Green Bean Casserole

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 6:19pm ·

What's for supper? Rozanne's variation on a green bean casserole--cooked French style frozen green beans, sliced piece of red pepper & diced fresh Roma tomato if you have any. Add one diced small-medium red potato or whatever potato you have. Stir in can of mushroom soup with about 1/3 cup leftover cooked diced ham if you have any. Put in prepared dish (butter spray like Pam) and bake an hour or until potato is done. Oh yes. I sprinkled fresh cut onion rings on top, and when it was nearly done I put a small handful of prepared bread crumbs on top spraying with the Pam. Fantastic meal. Actually you can substitute whatever you have on hand, and it will be good just be careful on adding butter, cheese, cream and other things to raise calorie count. Oh and you want to be sure and have green beans or you can't call it green bean casserole!!

Makeover

Good Start to a Sunday

I've revised "Turning Points," the poem I wrote yesterday for my blog, WBB. This will be your only notice due to a change in procedures with the buffalo.

I fixed Hoover and me scrambled eggs for breakfast. He is now hooked on having scrambled eggs and chicken broth mixed in his dogfood. He's a happy contented dog.

I'm wearing pearl earrings and a seed pearl necklace with my nightgown, and it's 1:38 pm.

I've had two cups of coffee with half and half and a cup of tea as well as my vitamins.

Nothing like clipping out on Sunday a page of exercises from Family Circle magazine and recipes for lowfat doughnuts and cherry tomato & prosciutto focaccia ( otherwise known as pizza) to jumpstart your weight loss program.

Makeup artist did a complete makeover on my face, a look created especially for seniors who are really rebel teenagers at heart, no Botox or plastic surgery involved. Cost effective in these hard economic times, in that I was the makeup artist.

Big decision--do I want to spend most of the afternoon in a union meeting on the other side of Turner field or do I want to take a walk? The women are outnumbered by the men ten to one. In my book Sunday afternoons are made for naps.

The dishes are done, the clothes are washed, but the taxes and the IATSE reimbursement form for my medical expense is yet to be started.

If you've read this far, you will know the check is in the mail for my amends I have at this time turned down interviews on 60 Minutes, with Barbara Walters for 20/20, and the Oprah Show to make public amends for my untold number of mistakes as a mother. At a later date I will make a public apology to the entire world not only for my mistakes as a mother but my contributions to global warming as well as to the decline of western civilization in the 20th and 21st century.

For now this is all. The big decision awaits my answer immediately: union meeting, walks or nap for Sunday afternoon. I only have 50 minutes left to dress and drive across town. Looks like the nap is 3 laps ahead of the meeting!

Turning Point

You come to a corner
and go straight
or turn left or right
but unless there's a barricade,
man-made or natural,
you rarely turn back.
But in a life turning points
may be a zigzag or a curve,
even a dead end with no choice
but to backup and start over.

A book The Stranger by Camus
a philosophy course, a friend or
a trip to Spain, a broken marriage,
a loss of trust in those you love.
A life or death decision,
the death of a friend--
for you it was not one thing.

(2nd draft)

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

Turning Point
We all know the meaning
you come to a corner
and you go straight
or you turn left or right
but rarely, unless there is
a barricade man-made or natural
would you ever turn back.
But in a life these turning points
are sometimes a zigzag or a curve
and even a dead end with no choice
but to backup and start over.



It may be a book you read,
Camus' The Stranger,
a philosophy course, a friend or
a trip to Spain, a broken marriage,
a loss of trust in those you love.
A life or death decision,
the death of a friend,
for me it was not one thing.


(first draft) still in progress

Random Thoughts

Feb 19, 2010 at 7:40 AM, Rozanne
A Zebra was running on the expressway yesterday. He escaped from the circus at Phoenix Arena.

(First grade class yesterday waiting for counselor to come speak to class)
Me: What does the counselor do?
Student: She does what she does?

Atlanta has Las Vegas weather for a while. We will have a high of 60• tomorrow, and 55• today.

Teacher who doesn't want to teach today--I take the phone off the hook and don't return messages.

It's good everyone who's frustrated with the IRS doesn't fly a plane into one of its buildings. I'm also glad every professor who doesn't get tenure doesn't shoot and kill her coworkers.

I can't wait to see Ralph, the world's largest bunny, on The Early Show. That's right up there with more about Tiger Woods' apology for adultery. Who needs God, a 12 step program, therapy, priests and confession when you can call a press conference? Guess it's a slow news day.

I wonder if I should call a press conference and publicly apologize on TV to my children for all my shortcomings as a mom and promise to be a better mom for the rest of my life.

Maybe today I'll start the Southbeach Diet and resume the battle of the bulge.

Thrill of the day--I take off the CPAP mask and get a cup of coffee in my new favorite cup. I am not giving up coffee on the Southbeach Diet.

Question: What should I give up for Lent?
Answer: Skydiving; hiking in the dessert; trying out for American Idol, Biggest Loser, and Survivor; watching The Bachelor, Jerry Springer, and The 700 Club. I hope that will be enough of a sacrifice.

It is time to meditate and clear my mind of any other random thoughts left after sharing my random thoughts on cyber paper with my two sons. Have a great day. I love you much.
Mom

Feb 19, 2010, at 10:39 AM, David
So within 6 months zebras *and* fish have been on the Atlanta expressways.

You don't need to hold a press conference. Checks will do just fine. ;-)

I wonder if the professor's emotional volatility had anything to do with his not getting tenure?

Is the CPAP working?

Love you,
David


Feb 19, 2010, at 11:32 AM, Thomas
I don’t watch TV anymore. For months really. I think it’s uncreative. I do however have dreams similar to zebras walking down the street. Nice visual of the fish and zebras. Mom, I cancelled my Bank of America account. They screwed me for the last time. Now I’m going to devote a lot of photography to smear them. I’m joining teams with a lawyer in town to combat them. They will eat themselves alive before it’s all over. As one of my friends says, it’s really Bank of India. She sends payments to them, Bank of America/India. Nothing has been returned yet. They are all crooked liars. They basically kept me on that day you and I went to the bank so they could raise the percent interest up a little more.
Thomas

Feb 19, 2010, at 12:45 PM, David
Okay, I'll bite: what happened with Bank of America? All the credit card companies went nuts last year because of new regulations that kicked in this month. They had to get all their cheating in at the last minute.

I had an automatic transfer set up between my Chase bank account and my Chase credit card. They raised the minimum to $10 over the autopay so I got charged a late fee and they raised my APR to almost 30%. Yes, 29%. That's the kind of thing the new regulations prevent.

Send a thank you note to Senators Dodd and Gillenbrand of CT and NY for sponsoring the legislation.
David


Feb 19, 2010, at 11:57 AM, Rozanne
Good for you. Did you get back with girl at the bank here in town you talked to so she can follow up and see what happened? She'll get something done; she did for me but it took persistence.

Get pictures of the foreclosures in Las Vegas, interview the family, and find out which bank foreclosed on them. Document, document, document. This is as important to history as the dust bowl, the depression, etc. Maybe you can get an artists' grant to do your project. I'm sure Las Vegas has some kind of arts council. There may be grants from national arts foundations. Google them and apply for a grant with all of them. I had a grant from a local civic association to fund my poetry projects for kids in inner city schools. I even got the utility company to publish about 1000 copies of my book of poetry of the elderly though I did the layout and design as well as typed it all in the precomputer days.

The grants are out there, and so is money from corporations. I bet all the small businesses near you would support you at least $500 or maybe even $5000 as a tax write off. Talk to Chamber of Commerce, civic organizations like the Kiwanis, and realtors.

Understate by a photo and an interview of what's really happening to ordinary people like you. Be sure and get a signed release for photo and interview. I think the economy is the biggest issue-- people going under by losing jobs, escalating health bills because of lack of health insurance, and high credit card fees/credit card debt. Start locally and move out. In fact start where you live with your own circumstance.
Mom


Feb 19, 2010, at 12:45 PM, David
Yeah, I agree Thomas. NV is at the epicenter of a historical period. You're lucky to be there with talent to document.
Check out Walker Evans.
David

Feb 19, 2010 1:52 PM Rozanne
Yes, definitely Walker Evans. I think that's who I meant when I said Edward Weston. Check out both of them. You are definitely as good a photographer plus you have more technical equipment than they did

I only had small grants, but it was enough to give me legitimacy so I could do my poetry projects. ($700 or $1000). I also got a grant from a civic organization. This was all about the time of the custody junk-- I was the unstable artist. David was in middle school and you were in first grade when I did the poetry in six or seven intown schools on my little bitty grants. It got me in the door as I was sponsored by city and county grants, etc.

You can do it, Thomas. At least you don't have two young children and a custody suit accusing you of being an unfit father. I was about your age when I did all that. David probably remembers more than you do. I still have all the 100s of children's poems from that era during the child murders. Also I have multiple photos and poems of the elderly in that period. I was quite prolific at the time, but soon I was in so much grief I only wrote about custody for years and abandoned my work with children and the elderly. I bet David would help you write your first grant. Besides I bet he could write some grand haiku to go with your photos and interviews.

I think I told you for years I wanted to travel across country, live in shelters, interview folks, take photos and write poems of folks who end up in such dire circumstances. Instead, I've gone the incognito route, mainstream route, substituting in schools. Now I've lost the desire to go on the road. Do it now because this creative energy will not be there for long if you don't act on it.
Mom

Emory Sleep Center

What a coincidence that I had some testing done for sleep apnea in the Emory Sleep Center, an outpatient center on the campus of Wesley Woods Hospital in Atlanta, the same month that a 25 year old man died during the testing. I was there January 2, and he was there January 23rd. He died of cardiorespiratory arrest (or his heart stopped suddenly and without warning). He had other predisposing conditions--overweight, diabetic, and high blood pressure. His family questioned whether he died of neglect from the Emory Sleep Center staff.

I read the news article with interest and anxiety, wondering if they were, indeed, talking about the same sleep center I visited on two occasions for the testing and treatment of sleep apnea. I was very impressed with the staff of technicians both times. I thought at the time I'd never seen such professionalism and kindness. I had a very cozy and clean room to myself, not unlike a very nice hotel room with a most comfortable bed, bathroom, shower, desk and chair. The technician went to great lengths to make certain I was comfortable, plenty of bottled water at bedtime and orange juice and coffee for breakfast. Each time the technician was very gentle as she prepared me for the testing with all the various wires on my head and body. The second time I was there to sleep with the CPAP machine and mask. The technician was quite patient with me as I took such a long time to decide which mask was more comfortable.

The next morning they brought in paper work for me to fill out while I finished my juice and coffee and to reflect on the night's sleep. I know each different time I was there the technicians were on call for any time I needed them. The first evening a technician came in to adjust my various wires as I had pulled one of them out. Each of them came in at least once to help me get to the bathroom. I had trouble deciding which one I liked best. When I had a different technician the second trip, I was disappointed as I had been so pleased with the first technician. It didn't take long till I adored the second technician. I'd tell her how I didn't know how they could test me as last time I didn't sleep at all. She laughed and told me that's what everybody says, but you did sleep. It's all on record and that I just think I'm not sleeping because I only remember the times I was awake.

We all left together that next morning early January 3. It was an empty parking lot as the other patient had already left. So the three of us said goodbye like we were old friends in a freezing parking lot at 7:00 in the morning of the new year, 2010. Fortunately, as I read the news article about the young man dying, I realized his other conditions must have had more to do with his death than the quality of his care at the Emory Sleep Center. I'm sure more will be revealed if the family proceeds with a lawsuit. I would have the test all over again if it meant finding out that I have serious sleep apnea and what to do about it. With comments from the Mother such as "You don't go to a sleep study to die" may discourage people like me from seeking treatment for sleep apnea; and then they may die anyway from complications of sleep apnea such as a stroke and heart failure.

For further reference, the latest update I found was a post by WSBTV on February 15, 2010. The link: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/22568551/detail.html?taf=atl.

Internet Addiction

Today is like most days except it's Monday, and it's Presidents' Day. It also marks the melting of our weekend snowfall. I notice all the snow is gone in the yard but a few tiny spots here and there, sort of like a pimple on the face of the earth.

My day begins with removing my mask and CPAP paraphernalia for the sleep apnea. I'm still not sure about this new bed partner that is supposed to help me sleep better. Much as I hate to admit it after starting the coffee in the kitchen, I return to bed to check my E-mail, Facebook and Twitter as well as the weather. The coffee's ready so I pour myself a cup of coffee in my new pink cup I got on sale at San Francisco Coffee Shop. I get attached to cups, and this one has been the cup of the month for several weeks.

So now we're ready for serious reading as my morning moves along. I begin with a few pieces in the New York Times, as well as more local news on Yahoo. If it weren't a holiday and I were teaching, this step would be omitted for getting dressed and out the door. In between news items I feed the dog and water the plants. These are my housemates--thirty plants and one wheaten terrier.

With every intention of reading only a few more minutes, I instead check my E-mail again as I get a beep on my iPhone. So far today I've had emails from Macy's, Overstock, Staples, Cook.com, and several other pieces of junk mail. It wasn't really worth the interruption except for my sister's short E-mail to let me know she got my E-mail telling her the article she sent me yesterday about cellphones blowing up if you talk to someone while the phone is recharging was listed as an urban legend on Snopes.com. I guess I really should change my iPhone settings it won't beep when I get Facebook updates or E-mails.

However, this interruption reminds me I'm hungry; thus I eat a banana while I make myself a bowl of oatmeal and pour another cup of coffee. I heard the other day on Dr. Oz that if you take your multivitamin after a meal, it is more effective in making you alert. I don't know that I saw any difference taking the multivitamin, calcium and Vitamin C after eating the oatmeal and berries. I returned to my iPhone to read some more; after all, it is a holiday, and who cares if I'm still in my nightgown. By now I've been up a couple of hours with an early start on a holiday at about 7:00 am.
*********************
I'm continuing this post after a long break looking for an essay I read this morning about how such things as getting E-mails are such a distraction from concentration and trying not to check E-mails are also a distraction. It was an excellent article, but I didn't bookmark it because I felt I'd have no problem finding it again in my history on the iPhone. After checking the New York Times and other news groups I'd read this morning, I never found it. I did find another very good article, however, on the same subject which is the reason I started writing this post today. The latest article, in case you'd rather read it than what I'm writing is: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/easily-distracted-why-its-hard-focus-and-what-do-about-it.

Actually I suggest you definitely read it also, but do not read it until after you read my post today. I wouldn't want you to lose your focus. The first article I read got me to thinking about the interruption in focus when you stop to check your E-mail, Facebook, or Twitter. (I do all three, by the way.) It was more a first person piece the woman had written talking about how much time she loses by stopping to answer her E-mail or phone, and how much time she loses by trying not to stop and answer anything.

By the time I read the article this morning, I had settled into an Internet splurge so to speak or in terms of food I guess you would call it a binge. Now I did not consider it thus as I have no demands on my time today, and I like to read. But with the Internet, sometimes it's hard to remember where I read what, and I'm always shifting from one thing to another. For example, did you stop in the middle of this post to read the Psychology Today article. That's the kind of thing I often do. I'm reading along, and there's a link to something else so I'll read it too. I know one site I read the entire article, liked it; then I read multiple posts on the same site only to find out the person's only experience at "mind over matter" in reference to pain was her own experience and a few websites she quoted. Then I noticed she had a consulting fee for so much a minute if you wanted help with controlling your pain threshold.

So before I go any further, there are no fees, and I'm giving no advice on Internet addiction or lack of focus created by interruptions from E-mail, etc. I'm just telling a story of my morning. Then if you can relate to this, you can discuss it with your shrink, your spouse, or whomever it is you talk to about personal things. Unfortunately, or fortunately I might say, the history of my morning is on my iPhone (with exception of the one article I'm trying to find).

In order to be more concise I'm not going to list everything in my history for today, but suffice it to say there must be over 100 entries. I started with a Google search for Bing as I thought I'd rather try a different search engine than Google. That took several tries as for some reason Google didn't want me to find Bing. After a few tries of looking for a friend online, about ten searches, I read an article on CNN about "Happy (former) Presidents Day" that posted 2/14. I read a few things on Fox, the New York Times, local news on Channel 11 (my converter box for my TV is broken), such as which Atlanta stores have sales. Gee whiz, is there a store in Atlanta that doesn't have a sale on President's Day? However, I definitely need to get to Filene's Basement with up to 90% off of their winter inventory

Somewhere in here this morning I have fed the dog and eaten breakfast, but I have not dressed. I decide to check out eDiets Glycemic Index online and find out which diets are legitimate as I am debating on trying the Southbeach Diet again as I sit here and drink another cup of coffee and surf the Internet. Finally, I'm back to searching for the friend another ten or twenty places. I am quite a researcher you know, even in the day before the Internet and Google. This goes on a while, and I check Facebook and Twitter again. I've had some E-mails, all junk except a note from my sister and the senior exemption for my car tag. I did stop long enough from my surfing spree to print the exemption, sign it, and put it in the envelope to mail when it's no longer a holiday. I also read my sister's E-mail. She wrote of three major car pileups on the Interstate today in Kansas City. One was a 50 car pile up, another 30 car pile up, and another 15 car pile up. She said that earlier today there was such a blizzard she couldn't see the houses behind her house. I then went back to googling this friend. I could just ask the friend, but it's so much more intellectually stimulating to search for the person like he were a fugitive.

I must stop this I tell myself. So I get dressed and eat lunch, do one or two chores such as put the recycling in the bin, heat up my leftover homemade spinach soup to which I now add leftover broccoli and cabbage. What a great soup! I must write down what I did; it's so delicious. I'm all dressed, and I could go to the gym to exercise, but instead I check my E-mail, and next thing you know, I have a message on my screen from Facebook, "So and so commented on your picture." Why any rational person would want to see what they said, besides it's President's Day, and I don't have to be anywhere I again remind myself.

I finish this checking Facebook and decide while I'm looking for people maybe I should see if my ex-husband has any remarkable new things in a Google search. That's good for about fifteen more searches including reading his updated vitae. I do ask myself why I'm doing this? I realize it is time to stop when I start thinking how many things on the vitae happened before we divorced. So I do the next logical thing, I decide to Google my own self. That took about twenty-five more searches as some of these things I decided I better read and see what they're saying. Just why for example am I listed in The Hollywood Reporter , and why is there a link in Chinese to my name. "Wait a minute," I say to myself. "I need to have my name removed from Google. It looks like I'm famous; but for goodness sake, I'm just a teacher My blog is almost anonymous as it doesn't even have my last name.

You can see why I'm beginning to question some of the stuff I read about in the first article about E-mail and Internet interruptions. I tell myself I have no interruptions except to stop surfing the net and eat or feed the dog or water the plants. So it's no problem for me or else I'm in denial. Finally after all this swimming in the cyberocean without a life raft, I decide maybe I should do what I had planned to do in the first place today and write. So I go to my blog, The White Buffalo Bonanza, and I begin writing about Internet addiction. It has crossed my mind this morning that maybe I might have this disease. However, before I can continue writing, I need to go back to the Internet and look again for the first article to reread it. In the meantime I read the Psychology Today article and that brings us to the present where I started writing about my day.

I still don't know what to think about Internet addiction, but I have had an enlightened moment about teaching. There are too many interruptions in the school for kids to focus. The last thing they need is the Internet in the classroom. For them it's like having their iPhone in hand, and it's constantly calling them. Elementary kids always want to finish something quickly so they can go play games online. I then recalled a high school student I tutored who insisted on listening to music on his Ipod while he did his assignments. His mother agreed that he definitely focused better when he was listening to music. At the time I wondered if this was a new learning strategy that I had missed. I think I may print out the article and keep in my notebook for the next time a student wants to tell me how good he is at multitasking or listening to music while working algebra problems.

In closing I must say I have not looked at my E-mail, Facebook or Twitter since I resumed writing after I typed the Psychology Today link and began the fifth paragraph. Well, that's almost true, I did look back at today's history on my iPhone to refresh my memory. I'm feeling a little guilty because I think the history was much longer in reality than what I've written about, but the iPhone kept cutting off while I was counting to see the number of searches.

Hopefully, while the encyclopedia of mental disorders is being revised that as they drop Asberger's Syndrome and the diagnosis of bi-polar disorder for children, they will include "Internet Addiction" and a section on Facebook, Twitter, and E-mail. I think one time when they brought it up-to-date, they changed "Retarded" to "Mentally Challenged." The classification I learned in college psychology no longer applied, such as idiots, imbeciles, and morons. I suggest they simplify addiction to everything. I can get addicted to a pencil or my cup as noted in the beginning of my post about my pink cup. Besides another twenty years, Multitasking may be classified as genius and addiction as commitment.

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P.S. Maybe I will post this as is, after spellcheck, and then come back for serious editing later, or maybe not. It's a journal, after all!!!! Just for the record, I checked my E-mail for the first time since I resumed writing on my blog today. I have another E-mail from my sister about the weather that says there is now snow in all fifty states including Hawaii. I'm still opening two more E-mails on my other account. One is from my university, "Baylor Proud Newsflash: Starr named Baylor's 14th President (Feb. 15, 2010)." Oh my gosh I am going to be very sick right now. I almost deleted it without opening it, and I would have missed learning that Ken Starr, the Ken Starr, is the new President of Baylor University. I may have to stop right now and read this. The other Email from my cousin about a senior eye exam with print too small for me to read will have to wait till after I finish reading Baylor's E-mail. So much for writing today. Now you know if I had checked my last batch of E-mails earlier, this post might never been written. I am in a totally different place learning that my Alma mater has a new president on Presidents' Day, of all things. That will be my next post. Stay tuned.

Sleep Apnea

I cannot go to sleep tonight. It is 2:00 in the night, and I'm not working the graveyard shift. No, I haven't worked at all this week so my only reasons for being awake are too much coffee and tea, sleeping late, worried about seeing the doctor tomorrow.

I see the pulmonary doctor who specializes in sleep disorders. I already know from the sleep lab that I have serious sleep apnea, but I don't know what serious means. Then on Thursday I will be fitted for the CPAP, a device used to help you get more air at night so you breathe better. It's not so much seeing the doctor that is keeping me awake, but why it took the doctors so long to find out why I'm so tired all the time. I don't suppose that's a good attitude as no one really knows how long I've had sleep apnea. Besides I should just be grateful that now I may get some help.

I will write more about this tomorrow after I've seen the doctor. There's no point in me thinking some imaginary story that I stop breathing 30 times an hour during the night. I don't need to be thinking maybe there's nothing wrong, and they just want to sell me equipment. The sleep lab was $2600, and Medicare paid for it so the doctors had to come up with some sort of diagnosis. I'm not at all unique. I'm sure most people experience random thoughts like this before seeing the doctor about treatment for a health condition. For now I'm going to put those thoughts to rest so I can get some rest before my 10:00 appointment tomorrow.

Snickerdoodles

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 6:40am ·

(These are our most favorite camp cookies!)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 cup shortening
Mixture for later
(2T. sugar & 2 tsp. cinnamon)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.
Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs.
Sift flour with other dry ingredientsand add to mixture.
You may need to stir by hand as dough gets stiffer.
With your hands roll into balls smaller than a walnut.
Then gently roll each ball into
mixture of 2 T. sugar and 2 t. cinnamon.
Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.
They spread out a lot on cookie sheet.
Bake until lightly browned, but still soft.
You can't tell they're done with a toothpick.
Cookies puff up at first, then flatten out.
Bake in 400° oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove quickly from cookie sheet
to cookie rack or they will stick to pan.

Makes about 5 dozen 2 inch cookies.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

 Monday, February 16, 2009 at 5:52pm ·

Favorite and easiest camp recipe

Ingredients:
Chocolate cake mix
Can of pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350◦.
Spray cookie sheet with Pam or other butter spray.
Pour cakemix into large mixing bowl.
Open can of pumpkin and blend slowly with cakemix.
Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet.
Bake about 10 minutes at 350◦
Remove after about 30 seconds to cookie rack to cool.
Cookies will be soft and delicious.

I also tried making them, adding one egg, 1 T. brown sugar,
and about 1 tsp. cinnamon & 1/4 tsp. ginger to pumpkin
before mixing in cakemix. I ate two dozen trying to decide
if I could tell the difference.

A Night of Insomnia

Actually it's preinsomnia because I haven't even been able to make an effort. I have this awful headache and I rarely ever have a headache. After doing so well eating proper foods and a little exercise out of frustration that I couldn't go to sleep I ate a couple of Popsicles. No doubt the aspartame stimulate the desire for my real favorites chocolate and/or peanuts. I justified some m&m's because I thought chocolate might alleviate this awful headache. By this point I was so off the diet that I also ate peanuts, justifying this because they have no cholesterol or salt and have lots of protein. I thought maybe I have a headache because I'm hungry.

The only thing that helped is I read Liz's blog so for about 30 minutes I was so engrossed in reading that I was distracted from the throbbing headache. As soon as I quit reading it was just ad bad as ever do off to the kitchen again, my own personal alchemy lab.

Bt this point I'm sure I must have a caffeine headache so I drink a little diet coke and come back and watch a bit of tv. The late rerun of the newshour on PBS is on. Again I'm distracted from myself as they talk about the news of the first day of the year. But then it occurs to me tv and especially news of terrorist attacks will not be a remedy for insomnia ory headache.

So I'm back toore research iny alchemy lab. How about Tylenol. I take two Tylenol then notice it's two years out-of-date. I give this very little thought because somewhere at some point iny life I read from a legitimate authority that the medicine may not be as strong but it doesn't go bad. Of course, I've heard all kinds of things to the contrary and that you should even throw out spices and fertilizer after the date on the package. At 4:00 in the morning I don't care. I take the only Tylenol in the house. (One should know better than to buy 2 bottles of 500 capsules from Sam' Club unless you are an emergency room.).

I return to bed knowing I'm not going to sleep so I turn tv back on, avoiding more news. I watch Martha Stewart. It's a rerun of her guest who started Twitter so he explains Twitter to her and the audience. For once I feel smarter than Martha Stewart; however, neither the Tylenol (which by the way is Sam's Club generic) nor Martha Stewart have helped my headache.

Finally I surrender to the inevitable. In that I have insomnia and a headache I make s pot of coffee and let the dog out. He'd been patient all night probably thinkin each time I got up it was to let him outside. So while the coffee brews he takes an outside break.

The sleep lab recommends no caffeine after about noon so I'll sleep well. I did that and now I am in the throws of a caffeine headache or a brain tumor.

The dog comes back in from the freezing cold after I bribe him with a cookie, and I take my coffee with me to bed. So I take a moment to write my research results on insomnia and headaches while I drink my coffee. As for outcome of caffeine on headache and insomnia, the headache is better but maybe that's because I'm distracted by writing instead of drinking the coffee.