Queen of the Girl Geeks

Shut down the dang boarders!

OK, this is a bit of a rant...BUT I am a little perturbed by the government officials who are supposedly trying to protect us. Now they are saying that we are moving towards a Level 6 Pandemic with the Swine Flu (oops, I mean "H1N1 influenza A", don't want to offend those swine), that could destroy the economy and kill millions yet we leave open the boarders and possibly let 1,000's of infected people into the country everyday! This just does not seem smart. Ha! Even Joe Biden is running for cover!

We'll spend billions of dollars to secure Iraq and protect them from insurgents but heck if we protect our own citizens. If someone comes to my house with the flu I'd say, "Nice to see you, come back in a few days when you're better". Not brain surgery, just common sense. Of course now it's probably too late...the barn door has been open now for a week now thanks to government red tape and bureaucracy. Hey that's a good joke! How many politicians does it take to shut a barn door? Answer: Not available at this time because it would take a committee 6 years to research how it should be done.

The bottom line is that we've grown so politically correct we can't even do what's right anymore for fear of offending someone. Geesh! Then again this all might just be media hype...what's next? "Brittany Spears pregnant with the Octo-moms 15th baby", it never ends.

And don't even let me get started on Chrysler...

RMLB

Read my lips baby...I now know how to text message. I may be 39 years old but I am finally keeping up times and learning a new valuable skill. So now I can message my husband inane details of my day, see what's happening on Facebook and upload photos of myself driving to my friends. I rock. So CUA!

A nation turns its lonely eyes to you...

After watching hours and hours of Inauguration coverage today I'm trying to be optimistic. I like Barack Obama. I think he's a good man, a good father and a good person. He and Michelle would be great neighbors. I'd love to play Trivial Pursuit with them, although I am sure I'd lose. He's a charismatic speaker with a passionate voice and he moves people which is good.

But what about running the country? Can he find sense in the mess that we've created for ourselves. The poor economy, the war in Iraq, the environment, health care, the list goes on. Although I was never a big fan of George dubya, I'm smart enough to realize that the President is not responsible for all our failures. The President's job is to lead and inspire and to keep the country in one piece. But we also play a big role. We can't just allow our leaders decide our fate. We need to stand up for what we believe in and change the world for the better instead of burying our heads in the sand and hoping for the best.

So I end today with cautious optimism and the hope that President Obama can lead us toward a better world. But I also have that little nagging in the back of my head...that small bit of negativity, that not even a good man can bring us back from the mess that we're in...that ultimately it's up to us to change the world. Then again...maybe that's exactly what Barack Obama wants us to do.

And I can't get this song out of my head...

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robinsons' affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids

Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Simon And Garfunkel Mrs Robinson Lyrics

10 Things I Want To Accomplish In 2009

1. Lose the baby weight - OK, my baby is now 2 but I really want to lose those 15 extra pounds that seemed to have creeped up on me since I got pregnant. I also need to get into better shape. So I am doing 2 things. I joined the "Y" and am going to swim and I also have a Wii Fit which I need to actually use. I bought it for myself last April with the intention of using it every day. Now my husband uses it everyday! Well he'll just have to share now!
2. Make more money working at home - I am really dedicated to being a stay-at-home-mom. I just need to get more focused. I already have a great gigs with both Squidoo and Zazzle, I just need to ramp it up a bit. I'm actually really impressed that you can make a living working at home. My goal is at least $30,000/yr by the end of 2010.
3. Give back - I already donate a portion of my Squidoo royalties to charity and I just recently started with KIVA and I love it! It's a great concept. You loan people $25 at a time so that they can start and improve their businesses. Then when they pay it back you can loan it to someone else. There is a slight risk of default but it's worth it!
4. Andrews Alum work- Continue to work on and improve the Andrews Alumnae Association website. So if you're an Andrews Alum spread the word about the website!
5. Home Improvement - I really need/want a new kitchen. It's just a matter of getting the work done which is a big pain in the butt. Our house was built in 1928 so it's hard to get things to work right. Nothing is standard in this house. We had new windows and a front door put in this year and the guy couldn't believe how "weird" our house was. HELLO! It was built in 1928!
6. Lose the technology once in a while - I have a love/hate relationship with technology. I accidentally got on board back in 1993 and it's been ruling my life ever since. I am way "over-connected". It doesn't help that my husband is also a computer geek. I really would love to have a "no computer" day once a week but that is not going to happen so my goal is to at least walk away for a 4-6 hour block of time on the weekend. The funny thing is that I feel my most productive while online. I am either working, connecting with people or having fun so maybe it's not so bad to check my e-mail every half hour! Keep in mind that I have not gone iPhone yet although I want one. While I am out of the house I don't check my e-mail at all so I know once I go down that path it's all over!
7. Potty Training - I want to try and get my daughter potty trained by summer!
8. Disney - We'd really like to take a family vacation to Disney next Christmas but seeing as how I hate to fly it might be a long week. I would much rather drive though. I really want to go to the Animal Kingdom and swim with the dolphins...but I'm not going unless I get that iPhone!
9. Go Vegan - Here's another love/hate relationship. I like the idea of going vegan but I'm not sure I give up hamburgers, tacos, chicken sandwiches...On the one had it would help me with goal #1 because I am sure I would eat less. Also the idea of processed meat kinds makes me sick so we'll have to see how this one plays out.
10. Organize my photos - I would love to get all my old photos scanned and burned to DVD.

That's it...10 reasonable things I'd like to accmplish this year. We'll see how it goes! Happy New Year!

VOTE!

Did you vote today?

It took my nearly an hour to vote and we live in a very tiny commmunity of under 10,000 people. We need better organization at the polls.

How did it go in your town? Take my voting poll: 2008 Presidential Voting Poll

You can't get good customer service from a monoply

I am so frustrated today!

Last August the city had to shut off our water for a day to do street repairs. When they turned the water back on it blow out our water meter. So our local water company came out and fixed. YEAH! The guy was very nice, quick, life was good.

Next came the strange billing. My water bill has always been between $22 & $30 per month. Starting in Oct. I started getting weird bills. $56, $13, $5 and then a credit. So I called the 1-800 on my bill. Apparently they were switching their billing to a new system but I should be good next month. Fine. Next month...still weird bills. Then more credits in April, May and June. I called again...now a tech is coming out.

Nice Mr. Tech guy says that they are reading my meter in Sq. Ft. but billing me in gallons and that I need to go to the local office TODAY and tell them. So I do...Here's where my story gets ugly.

The local office hates the 1-800 people because they took their jobs and are moving all the billing out of state. Why this is my problem is beyond me. So bitter local people tell me that Mr. Tech was wrong for telling me to come in and that they can't do anything until he does a report. HELLO! All I had to do was tell them that they were billing me in gallons and that the meter was in Sq. Ft. Nobody cares. They tell me to leave, they'll call on Thursday.

Thursday...no call.

Friday...I go in again. Bitter lady says that she is on the phone with corporate and that she'll send me a new bill next week. Fine.

I get home and find a message on my machine that I now owe the water company $164.78. So I call and ask why the bill is so high. I thought I had a credit. Even if they billed me $30 for the 3 months that they gave me a credit that's only $90.

Answer...Bitter lady says I should be grateful that that even fixed my account so fast and that they gave me a $110 credit as I really owed $270. At this point I asked her for a itemized bill. I want to see exactly how much water I used each month and the charge. Nope...can't do that. So I get a little irate at bitter lady and explain that I am the customer. Nope again. She tells me to be quite and let her talk. I then get a lecture about how I should be grateful that she even looked at my account and that she will send out something that says they overcharged me, gave me a $110 credit and that I owe $164.78. WHAT! Turns out my credit was really an over-charge.

I ask bitter lady if I can talk to her supervisor. On hold...bad music...Nope...She's busy but I can leave a message. So I tell bitter lady that I am going to report her to every agency I can think of...hey I'm mad. She apparently could care less.

The good news is that I did file a complaint with the utilities commission.

The bad news is that when you are dealing with a monopoly they can be as rude and nasty as they want and that just stinks. It's not my fault that they screwed up the meter and the bill, it's not my fault that they are phasing out her job, it's not my fault Mr. Tech guy told me to visit her. However bitter lady made it very clear to me that I had no right to question her and that I was the one being rude to her for demanding to see an itemized bill.

This is wrong on so many levels.

Fixed Up My Flower Beds!

I just thought that I would share my before and after pics of my newly fixed up flowers beds. Every year I try and tame this jungle in the Spring but this year turned out really well.

I added some Marigolds, Petunia's, a Poppy, some Black Eyed Susan's and a few more Perennials this year. My Peonies that I planted two years ago are doing really good this year too.

As an added touch I bought these Cedar barriers to make it look really pretty. The rocks are from our beach. My husband and lugged about 10 buckets of them up 3 years ago. I love how they give it a rustic look.

So despite the fact that I kneeled on a rock and screwed up my knee I am extremely happy with the results!

Yardwork Is For The Birds & Other Small Animals...

Literally! I just cleaned up 10 bags of leaves and nuts left by the birds and squirrels over the winter. We have some sort of nut tree in our yard that small animals like to destroy and consume. We had piles and piles and piles of mutilated nuts that needed cleaned up. Whoo! Hoo! What a way to spend a Sunday!

We used to live in the city and had a cute little English garden that just needed weeded once in a while. Now we live near a nature preserve and I feel like I live in Jurassic Park! We have large cranes, owls, deer, snakes and other small critters. Granted I love animals and nature but I would prefer that they left my yard alone! I think that we are going to have to spend the rest of May trying to get caught up! Ahhh...my life is so exciting!

I Got A Nephrolepis exaltata!

Otherwise know as a Boston Fern! Actually I got 2 of them from the Evil Sam's Club yesterday. Yes I am now regularly shopping at Sam's Club again. They beat me down but as a plus the Fern's only cost $9.99 each so I think I'm on the winning end this time!

My Fern's are residing my the computer room this week because the evening temperatures here in Cleveland are below 50 degrees and the little tag says that I'm "NEVER supposed to let them get exposed to temps under 50"!

Now I just have to learn a little bit more about their care so I don't have 2 dead Nephrolepis exaltata!

History Is Cool

This is the corner stone of the Margaret St. John Building of The Andrews Osborne Academy. The building was dedicated in 1922.

I'm a 1988 graduate of the school and on the Alumnae Board and I just complied an Online History of Andrews Osborne and a family tree of the founder Margaret St. John Andrews with Squidoo.

It's kind of neat to see all this history. The school was founded in 1910 after Margaret St. John and her husband Wallace C. Andrews, a Standard Oil businessman, were killed in a NYC fire. Mrs. Andrews grew up here in Willoughby, OH and wanted to form a  school to educate young women.

Squidoo is an awesome place to preserve history. Why not create an online history of your high school or college?