The more things change...

School really has changed. The students were in suits and the first professor was in jeans and a T-shirt. Very few people got out paper for notes, it was all laptops. The professor was introduced to the fanfare of the windows login sound. Notebook doesn’t mean paper and pencil anymore. It’s fascinating watching people take the screens off and make notes on them. I’m just wondering if I need to find something like that for my daughter when she goes to school.

Back to School...

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my EMBA. I will be leaving home at 5:30 in the morning and driving to Provo. I’m looking forward to class but I’ll admit that I’m nervous. I’ve been out of school for 20 years and even then I was a Humanities major. Just in the pre-class work, I’ve done more math than I ever did in school (but less than I do at work every day). I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Have I said thank you lately...

Have I said Thank you to the women who support me? Have I told you how much you mean to me and how you keep me sane? If not, consider yourselves told. I really appreciate you coming here and listening to me ramble.

Another thank you to people who actually work when they are at work, and don't sit around saying catty things and making co-workers feel like they are in a hostile environment.

Wednesday, must be time for bellydancing!!!

Today in bellydance, we did a fusion step. It’s a cha-cha step but done with bellydance moves. We did it with a shoulder shimmy, a hip drop, a hip raise and another fusion, a touch of flamenco. There are only 3 more classes until my teacher goes on vacation. She’s taking a wish list to Egypt and Turkey. I figure I’m still new enough that I have no clue what I would even put on the list. She says she tries to go at least once a year. Maybe in a year or two, I’ll have an appreciation of what to get. So if you had a friend going to a foreign country, what would you have them put on their shopping/shipping list for you?

On another note, after class, I helped my aunt sorted out the medical bills and EOB's from my deceased uncle's cancer treatment. I can't believe how messed up doctor's billing offices are. They either have no clue how to read an insurance EOB or they just don't want to take their contractual write offs.

Thoughts from studying Economics

Ideas are a more specific type of information that also have public-good attributes. That is, the use of an economically valuable idea by one person does not necessarily lessen the value when the idea is used by another person. As a consequence, ideas, like other types of information, will tend to be under produced.
Economics and Public Policy: An Analytical Approach James R. Kearl pg 301
I can’t begin to explain hilarious I find this quote and how true it is. Not only are ideas under produced, the good ones are under utilized and the bad ones propagate exponentially.

Well I had always meant to do freezer meals...

I’ve been meaning to try the once a month freezer meal cooking. I just didn’t plan to start doing it at midnight on a Sunday but that’s when I discovered that the freezer door had been left open and in the 105 degree heat, almost everything was thawed.
The oldest two kids and I threw the entire supply of hamburger into cake pans and put it in the oven. Same with the leg of lamb and a pot roast. Chicken went out on the grill along with all the pork chops. I continued defrosting while the kids fried and microwaved bacon. By 3:30 am we had ziplock bags of spaghetti and meat sauce, teriyaki chicken, hamburger cooked and ready for hamburger helper, chicken ready to be added to anything, a mason jar of bacon bits (and a freezer bag too). I plan on having lamb for dinner tonight and picking up fresh veggies to go with it. Now’s the time of year that I really wish I had a garden and I let my neighbors know that I’m more than willing to take their extra zucchini. When I left for work this morning, I was running a bit late but I did get my average 4 hours of sleep. The kids were still asleep but the kitchen was almost clean.

Things that make you go hmmmm..

It just hit my husband while watching “Miri” tonight, which is one of my favorite Star Trek episodes. In the old Star Trek shows, Capt. Kirk is usually lit in Rembrandt lighting during his dramatic moments. We’ve been getting the original series of Star Trek on DVD from Netflix. The boys really love the series. We’ve explained the difference between a Trekker and a Trekkie. My kids have decided they like the old versions better than Voyager. Next Generation is still up for debate and I don’t think they’ve seen Deep Space Nine yet.

Saturday with S.M.O.G.

I love waking to the sound of the kids mowing the lawn. Too bad it wasn’t today. But they did mow it while I did homework. We celebrated an early finish to the yard work by going to a movie. I have to admit that Ice Age 2 was not on my list of films to see this year but it was cute and worth the $1 ticket price. X3 is at the dollar theaters. I may get some SMOG this week. All three boys may go camping with the boy scouts next weekend so a girls night out with X3 followed by a morning together at the spa. After the movie, I took more homework and went out photographing with the husband. He brought my new hip scarves and a top that he thought went well so as soon as he scans the negatives, I’ll have pictures of me in bellydance attire out by the Great Salt Lake. The heat was incredible but it felt so good to bake my skin. I finished the evening working on Gandalf and watching SMOG. The SMOG acronym has two meanings – Silly Movies of Girls or Sexy Men Ogled Gladly. I watched Walking Tall with “The Rock.” Hard to believe he’s the same age as my youngest little brother. Now I’m heading back to Gandalf and the 1999 Thomas Crown Affair. I came to the computer to see if the 1968 version with Steve McQueen was available and ended up over here blogging while waiting for the dial up to finish loading the appropriate webpages.

More Paint...

This afternoon demonstrated an additional difference between oil and acrylic. The canvas is sitting in front of the basement window. With the sun coming through, I can see light through the acrylic side of the canvas. The oil is opaque.
The brush strokes have dried and it’s easy to see the frantic, frenetic pace I was using with the acrylic. It looks hectic, slapped together. The oil is smooth, flowing, calming. I realize this is just a practice canvas, something to experiment with but I love what is coming out of the brush. When it’s dry enough to add more, I may actually put other colors on it.

My tuition for this semester is paid. Now all that’s left is to figure out how to pay the added monthly gas for the commute. It will work out, it all does. It comes back to small economies paying for the larger ones.

Now back to homework...

Connecting with a medium...

I was playing with paint tonight. Acrylic vs. Oils. Both tubes were Cobalt blue and I had a large white canvas to play with. The acrylic was brighter with a plastic smell and I ended up with frenetic brush strokes. I was energized, I felt bouncy, and it reminded me of high school. Then I tried the oils. They were smoother, heavier, calming. I’m left handed but I kept finding the brush in my right hand and all I could figure was that something in my head was trying to slow me down. The color was deep and rich and dark. Not the bright monitor blue from the computer like the acrylic, it was blue but it was wind and waves and long smooth strokes from a rhythm guitar with a low bass in the background. Acrylic is a piccolo like in Peter and the Wolf. Oil is relaxing and rejuvenating and peaceful. But, I know it’s going to take expensive brushes since this one kept dropping bristles in my strokes. Oil is forgiving; Acrylic is dry before you change your mind. Oil is still there ready to be moved to where you want it; ready for you to manipulate it, even a few hours later, it can still be moved to where I want it. And the smell of oil? Something earthy and natural and familiar. I wonder if I can lighten the cobalt with some Titanium White? It’s not just the right color, but it’s closer than the acrylic.

2nd night of belly dancing...

Second night of bellydance class and I am still a Goddess. Tonight I broke down and bought a hip scarf so I could make jingling noises when I practice at home. We did a few stomach exercises but its still legs and thighs that hurt most at the end of class. But it’s a good hurt.

Econ midterm....

I took my first Econ midterm and turned in another assignment. I also called the school to see if I could get an additional extension since I haven’t been getting feedback in a timely manner from my professor (turns out that he’s in Israel which is why I haven’t been receiving things back.) I feel pretty good about the exam but I’m still not sure I understand the math. I understand the Econ theory just not the numbers or how to get them.

Back to work...(and more savings at the mall).

I’m glad the office gave me at least two days notice before letting me know that I would be running the accounting office temporarily. I’m glad they hired a temp. I’m really glad the two people still there know what they’re doing, although I’m sorry to be losing one later this month. My boss called to say that my tuition check for the EMBA is in the mail. I have one more Econ assignment ready to email in but the midterm still isn't at the testing center. I’m enjoying the book Naked Economics and it’s helping me understand the text. I had forgotten how much I love school.
On the shopping side, I had to get a present for a wedding shower, I got the teddy at Victoria’s Secret (clerk gave me a 10% markdown when I flinched at the price and offered to take it back to the rack), in addition, I got two pairs of stretch pants for Bellydancing class ($5 each) and a really nice sheer robe that will knock the hubby’s socks off. The book I got to go with the teddy was free since I had accumulated enough points to pay for it. I tell you bookstores pay me to have their membership cards…

Peaceful Sunday

Today, I’m glad that my parents have a cabin in the mountains where I can run away and read my Economics homework out of the heat in the city. I’m glad my professor chooses entertaining books (even the one that he wrote himself). I’m starting to enjoy economics even if I’m not math and graph inclined. I have one assignment finished, and I’m ready for my first midterm. I finished cataloging the videos in the church library. Husband made a great impression with his knowledge of emergency preparedness (he’s been called as a CERT block leader). The kids made chocolate chip cookies and I got Chinese food and ate it without any major stomach pain. I’m going to practice bellydancing, go for a walk with my husband, and maybe stitch while watching a NCIS DVD.

You mean it isn't common sense?

So I’m in the grocery store today, and at the end of ringing up my items, I hand the cashier my preferred customer card (which is tied to an old address and has a phony phone number, enough people data mine my life without my helping them!). The guy behind me lets out an explicative as he watches my total go from $90 to $41.50. I ask him what the problem is. He asks me how I did that. I mentioned that the store is running multiple 2 for 1 sales. I told him that I learned long ago that I could make my budget stretch a lot further using in store sales. I pointed out that I needed eggs and would normally buy the 18 count large for $1.28 but today, I was getting 2 dozen medium for .99 and I needed bread anyway so why not get the 2 for 1.98? Since I was getting more bread than usual, it paid to pick up the 2 pounds of sliced turkey for $4.99 since I already had cheese which I bought last week at 2 pounds for 6.99. When I picked out the chicken breasts, I found the packages at the butcher block which were still frozen so I knew they were safe to put straight in the freezer (you have to watch that, re-freezing poultry is not a good idea). So yes, I had just picked up a week’s worth of staples for $41.50. No, there weren’t any veggies. I get those from the farmers market after I’ve compared the grocery store price so I don’t pay more for the fresh than I would for the pretty. He jokingly said that he should have me do his shopping for him. I think he was surprised when the cashier who is a friend of my daughter replied, “She will but she charges a 10% surcharge on the total of the groceries.” The cashier then asked me which rain checks I needed and I had her fill three out. He asked if I really would use the rain checks and I said, “Yes in two weeks when they’re back to regular price. In the mean time, they will have been restocked on Sunday and the sale doesn’t end until Tuesday so I can pick the items up Monday evening and then again in 2 weeks. Is this really such an odd way of shopping? I have to admit that it was an ego boost to have him admire how much money I saved, especially when I was feeling horrid about how much I was spending since I had only gone in for eggs, bread, and milk.

Falling asleep in the tub

Tonight, I got home from work at 8:30 after starting at 7:30 this morning. I know that isn’t a really long shift and it’s not been the longest I’ve done (although I’ve decided that I will never do another 48 hour shift for an employer again in my life). When I got home my husband asked me if I wanted pizza for dinner, I took one look at the pepperoni and hot sausage and my budding ulcer told me I was full. I figured I would sit down and stitch before doing homework (units 6, 7, and 8 by Monday Econ fans!!). Instead I ended up cuddling with the hubby for a minute and then he said he had to go do something upstairs. I was deciding whether to work on Gandalf or the TWRR and watching the end of Vegas when I was called upstairs. I headed up thinking that I was going to be using the “Thumper” on the hubby’s back since it’s been hurting him with all the drywall he’s been doing. Instead, he hands me a book out of my bath basket, opens the bathroom door and the tub is full of bubbles and surrounded by candles with soft music playing. I started reading but then I put the book down to relax and I fell asleep in the tub. I love my husband; he always knows just what I need.

I AM A GODDESS!!!!! (And so are all women).

Find a spot in the mirror where you can look yourself in the eye, put your hand up so that you’re accenting the apple of your cheek, don’t look away, look at yourself and shout, “I am a Goddess!” and that is how class at Bellydancing by Thia ends.
It’s sad that I needed to be reminded. After all for years, starting in college and continuing on, I’ve been Shondratasha, the Goddess of Chaos. Somewhere I forgot the power in being woman. Not the blatant power, (as Thia said in class, “It’s just plain rude to shake your breasts in someone’s face, a shoulder shimmy is different.”) but the power that comes from walking into a room and knowing that you can make someone in the area feel better than they did when they arrived. The power in seeing a child read when they’ve been struggling for so long because they finally found an interesting book on their reading level. Seeing another budding goddess discover that she doesn’t have to go along with the crowd and can create her own “in-crowd” from people just like her on the fringes of the ballroom. Needless to say, compared to how I was feeling, I left feeling empowered.
Beginning Bellydancing was not what I expected it to be. There was lots of stretching, an introduction to the syncopation of Egyptian music, and a real workout. Now if I can just remember how I was supposed to do the Doom – Tekka – doom – doom exercise that we learned. I had a great time! I was not the heaviest person in the room, nor the thinnest. I wasn’t the oldest or the youngest. I may have been the least coordinated but I wasn’t the shortest in the room (which is a miracle in most cases). I haven’t felt so good about getting sore in ages. I felt at home when the warm-up started with head rolls followed by rib cage isolations. That’s the starting warm-up I used to have in jazz class as a teenager. I was expecting to leave with sore abdominal muscles; instead it’s my glutes and upper thighs that are sore.
I loved all the hip scarves people were wearing and the jingling that they made when they moved. Thia has some lovely hip scarves for sale, I’m thinking that I can give up going out for lunch at work in order to get a purple one with either gold or silver coins on it, or the peacock blue with silver. I can’t wait to go to class next week! If I get enough Econ homework done maybe I’ll go in for the Saturday class. If not, I should be recovered enough by next Wednesday for class. This could keep me sane during the upcoming school year.
By the way, for a shoulder shimmy - - gently rock your shoulders back and forth, just enough that “the girls” come along for the ride. AND remember to start every morning by looking at yourself in the mirror and shouting loud enough to believe it - - I AM A GODDESS!!!

Wouldn't it be easier to be complacent?

It’s hot outside, it would be so easy to just go home and sit in front of the TV and watch movies and stitch tonight. That’s what I’ve done so many nights for so many years. I’ve been a bump on a couch and I’m tired of being a bump. I want to go out a do things, I want to be someone more than just a knothole in the log of existence. The whole purpose of this experiment was to see if I could go out and have fun for a year. A year of putting aside the “should do’s” of life and enjoying myself. I wanted to spend some time rediscovering who I was and what I liked doing. It’s so easy to get into a rut of go to work, come home, fix dinner, sit in front of the TV, go to bed, do it again. I didn’t feel happy in that rut but, I’m not really feeling excited and happy now.
The number one thing that I really wanted to do this year was go to the Carousel. I’ve had to cancel the trip because my sister is getting married. I was on track for a Porsche autocross trophy and that’s been derailed by extended family obligations too.
It’s beginning to look like going back to school is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. It could end up sucking up all of my time so that if I want any time with my kids, I won’t be able to do things for just me without them along. I guess today, I’m just feeling overwhelmed and in need of some time alone.
Maybe after my first bellydance class tonight...

Brass Kisses get attention

So at work today the “brass kisses” on my neck and collarbone are causing some comment. I’ve let several people believe that they’re hickeys from a great weekend away with my husband. To anyone who asked, I’ve explained about what happens when a hot .45 casing hits you in the dark.

Frontsight Fourth of July

I love the Fourth of July party that Frontsight puts on for the first family members every year. We haven’t been down for a couple years but I knew I wanted to come down in this my year of doing what I want. Today was great and I got to do some things I enjoy like shooting full automatic weapons, long distance sniper rifle, and I won a nice Emerson blade (Funny, the very first time I went down there I won a knife in a skills contest involving throwing rocks at a target.)
They had a fantastic giveaway where the wives who weren’t first family members got to come up and answer questions about their husband’s shooting habits. Some great questions were asked and answered, “Who is your husband’s favorite Frontsight instructor?” (My husband’s answer is Brad Ackman) What is your husband’s favorite gun? (His PSS that I bought him) and my answer brings up the one question I would have love to have heard – “What was the last firearm you bought your husband?” (My answer; the left handed shotgun that I got at the end of a really fun bargaining session with Leo from Gallenson’s.) That would have been just as fun to hear as “When was the last time you cleaned your husband’s gun?” (The winning answer was NEVER). I was glad to see some of the women that I met (like Katherine and Kathy) win custom Frontsight memberships.

I did something else for the first time ever; I rode on a zip line. I have to admit that if I hadn’t spoken to Jim before I went, I possibly would have chickened out. But before I ever put on the climbing gear, Jim told me that I would love it. He said that when I first got on the tower I would look over the edge and say, “Oh, #$(%& what have I gotten myself into.” Then when I was about 1/3 of the way down I would tell myself, “This isn’t so bad.” He added that about ½ way I would be saying, “This is kind of fun.” and at the end I would be asking how soon until I could go again. Jim was right on the money.
After putting on gear and climbing up the 4 interior ladders to the ledge of the tower overlooking the arroyo, I was ready to turn around and climb back down except I wasn’t sure I could navigate the ladders with all the climbing gear on. Thank goodness for the instructor who hooked my safety line to the tower, helped me up onto the ledge and suggested that I look up and to my left at the beautiful moon in the sky surrounded by lovely clouds. Eventually I was ready to face west and look at the horizon but still not ready to look into the arroyo. Soon, I was sitting on the edge of the tower’s ledge with the cable above me, instructions to let go of the rope as soon as I was off the tower and just pretend I was flying. Jim was dead on – I sat on that platform thinking “OH #$(%&!!!!!! What have I gotten myself into?” The final instruction was to either scoot forward or if I wanted, the instructor would push me. I did manage to scoot forward off the platform on my own. I will admit that I skipped the “This isn’t so bad” step and went straight to “This is fun!” Although by the time I hit the bottom, I was so ready for that cherry picker to come up to the wire and get me (rather than hitting the ground, the line ended with the rider hanging in the air and a platform on a cherry picker coming up and getting them). I should clarify that my anxiety didn’t come from the ride but I must not have had my “seat” tightened down right because one of the straps slipped and I was hanging in an uncomfortable position. It was so worth the ride. Jim was right about another thing - - I wanted to do it again but didn’t have another time slot close to the time that I was there. The other reason that I wanted to do it again was that my husband was trying to use my digital camera instead of his analog camera and thus, we have no pictures. Next year, we’ll take the kids and the video.

YES!!! STATS IS DONE

I just took my final exam for Statistics... 90% YES!!!

Nighttime Handgun Training

I came down to Frontsight, NV early so that I could take a 2 day night defensive handgun class. Now before you go haring off about how horrible guns are let me explain something. I just moved to a new office building. In the four weeks we’ve been there, we’ve been at lockdown three times. They say the key to great real estate is location and this building was not that expensive. It seems few other people want to work in between the Social Security Building, the Worker’s Compensation Fund, and the state department of corrections parole board. Needless to say, the last day of the month when I’m here until 10 pm by myself, I like to have “a friend” along. It’s only appropriate if I’m going to be carrying my .9mm friend that I have some decent training. The best place for a woman to train is Frontsight. The instructors are wonderful. There is military precision but not a boot camp feeling and no one talks down to even the least familiar person. I’ll admit that I was not in top form this trip. I’ve been complacent and haven’t even handled my firearm in over 3 years. Needless to say, I was having trouble with lots of things. Ed Winchester (great name for a firearms instructor, isn’t it?) took me off to a separate range and worked with me individually. He noticed one problem I had which was causing the three different problems I had noticed and was trying to work on.
Needless to say, I was having trouble with just handling my Glock let alone adding the flashlight so that I could shoot in the dark. I was also terrified of the going back into the “house” which is a situational simulator shoot. The first time I went to “the house” I forgot all the training and froze. This time was a lot better, although I was so nervous that I didn’t hit the guy with the Uzi. I did nail the guy with the hostage situation though which was my big problem the last time I did the simulation.
Again, the offer is still open for anyone who wants to learn handgun training at the best facility in the world, I’ll pay for your class, and you just sign up and tell me when to be there.

Teaching our kids about money...

Most of us have really screwed up attitudes toward money. Money is not good or evil, it’s a neutral tool (so is a gun, a screwdriver, and the spikes environmentalists put into trees). There is no shortage of money, no matter what a Keynesian economist tells you. Just because Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have billions does not mean that poor people are without billions because of them (in fact, poverty stricken people will have tons because of them). The economy is not a pie, with limited supply, new inventions do not take money from existing ones, if you insist on believing in the pie; new things to spend money on make the pie bigger. So much for the economy part of the lesson…
The worst thing we can do to a child is to tell them that “we can’t afford that…” First off it is a lie. You can always afford something, it all comes down to the sacrifice you’re willing to put up with. I used to get really irritated by the welfare mother who rented from us. She never had rent money but she could afford cable TV, Dominos or Pizza Hut for dinner every night, and laser tag equipment. Not to mention, I didn’t have to heat my apartment all winter, the amount of heat she had going in her place, kept mine warm although the floor was almost too hot to walk on barefoot. Needless to say, her choice of purchases was poor. She always complained about how she didn’t have any money for clothes for the kids or for the rent. She and many women who came to Mary Kay parties I held. I learned that women whose kids had no clothes would still buy makeup for themselves and my stuff cost less than the department store stuff, so actually, I was saving her money. People will always find a way to afford the things they really want.
True, there are some thing’s that are currently out of my price range (Shelby’s new Cobra anyone?) But, it’s possible that if I was to sacrifice silk, fabric and canvas, eating out and Netflix plus found a better paying job, I could get it. I can afford it; I just don’t have the money right now.
In order to create a healthy attitude toward money in children instead of creating an image of scarcity, give them a goal or a reason. “I’m sorry, buying bubble gum instead of fresh veggies is just a poor choice right now.” “Yes, it would be great to get that right now, but you need to earn the money for it first, let’s think of ways for you to earn money.”
I have to admit that I fell down in teaching my kids the truth about money. I realized this when my youngest told me that we could buy the toys that he wanted because, I had a credit card. I was able to answer that request with, “Honey, credit cards are not free money. Let’s go home and I’ll explain it to you.” See, I still didn’t say, we can’t afford it.