Archive for December, 2010

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Women In Red


31 Dec

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Posted in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Finances | Comments Off

On Dec 30, 2009, I decided I needed extra motivation and accountability when it came to paying down our debt. We didn’t know how long unemployment would last, and debts that had seemed like no big deal when we were both working loomed menacingly overhead.

I started with the Women In Red message boards whose purpose was to help women get out of debt (men are welcome). I became a Racer, someone with specific debt payoff goals.

Today, I’m linking to the new home of the WIR. It’s a nice place to visit, and a great place to stick around.

Goodbye, MSN Money Boards


30 Dec

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Posted in Finances | Comments Off

MSN is closing its Money Message Boards. As of January, they will be gone, and years of advice, hundreds of ideas, will be memories.

Who knows why MSN is doing this. They’re a huge company, and I’m certain it makes business sense for them, but its leaving a community of people stranded. Luckily, one enterprising soul set up a new board for the MSN Money Board Refugees, and it appears the community will remain strong.

Now the challenge is to keep bringing in new blood. From now on, my Friday post will link to an interesting conversation happening over there.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (FINAL)


29 Dec

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Posted in Discrimination | 1 Comment »

Separate is never equal. 51% of the people will vote to enslave 49% of the people 99% of the time. That’s why we have courts; that’s why letting the voters decide isn’t always the answer.

The repeal of DADT is a major step forward. And I appreciate that Congress actually voted for the repeal. But they didn’t have much choice. The courts had already invalidated the law.

This isn’t new; this isn’t liberal judges legislating from the bench. This is the courts performing an important part of their function. Sometimes society needs to be forced to do the right thing.

Braces (2)


28 Dec

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Posted in Dental Care, Healthcare | Comments Off

Right before Christmas, I got braces. My two front teeth were slowly tilting their way inside my mouth, and my smile, something I used to get complimented on, had become something I did not even want to see.

Because I have a major overbite, I also got a bite plate, to keep me from biting off the brackets on my lower teeth. The bite plate works incredibly well, so well that I actually can’t bite anything. At no point to my top teeth touch my bottom teeth at the moment, essentially putting me on a liquid diet for 6 weeks.

I’m Late


27 Dec

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For the first time in a long time, I’m late with a daily update. I apologize. I blame the post holiday hangover. I’m back at work, back on a regular schedule, so, obviously, falling off the schedule for something else.

It was hard to get up this morning. My dogs had gotten so used to sleeping in, that neither of them got up with me this morning. The little one did not even wake up. The big one looked at me like I was crazy, thumped his tail when I gave him a pat, and went right back to sleep.

Giving Gifts


26 Dec

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Posted in Relationships | Comments Off

You know the old saying, its better to give than to receive? As a kid, I didn’t buy it. I loved getting presents. There was nothing better. As an adult, though, I love to give much more than I like to receive. In fact, I have a really hard time waiting to give people gifts. If I’ve found the perfect item, I want them to have it, now. Seeing the look of surprise and joy on the other person’s face is the best gift.

Of course, there is also anxiety. What if they don’t like it? But its mild anxiety.

Christmas Morning


25 Dec

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Posted in Relationships | 4 Comments »

On Christmas morning, my brother and I weren’t allowed out of our rooms until 7am. For years, my brother would come down the hall and get me. Together we would go into the living room to see what goodies Santa had brought. It was always a cornucopia of wonderful items, which we would then, one by one, rush back to our parents to show them- hence the 7am rule.

When we were older, I would wake my brother, but we still always went out together. It was what I missed the most the first year we didn’t spend Christmas together.

Christmas Traditions


24 Dec

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My favorite tradition from when I was a child, was that on Christmas Eve, my brother and I each got to pick one present to open. We waited until after dinner, and weren’t allowed to pick “the big” present, but we always had (more than) enough to choose from.

I do remember one year when we opened our presents in the afternoon, and my brother didn’t get a choice. He opened a rifle from our grandparents, and then we went out and shot it. He wasn’t allowed to shoot it again until the barrel no longer came past his waist.

MythBusters (ep 159)


23 Dec

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Posted in Mythbusters, Television | Comments Off

Thank you, MythBusters Build Team. You have now given me the excuse I need to slap idiots when they are behaving idiotically. I love that the slap some sense into someone myth was confirmed. Though we did wonder during the first half what poor Grant had done to deserve being the guinea pig.

I know this myth was supposedly about Hitler, but for me, it was really about surviving bombs. Apparently, what type of building you’re in doesn’t matter as much as your position relative to the bomb. So my advice, run away from bombs if you have the chance.

 

Flooding


22 Dec

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Posted in Home Ownership, House work, Yard Work | Comments Off

Hydrostatic water pressure is one of my least favorite phrases because if I’m using it, it means my basement has flooded, again. One of the first times it flooded, we thought a pipe had burst because water was geysering up around a pipe. No, just that much water pressure in the ground.

Two years ago the city made improvements to our neighborhood to help with flooding. It appears to have made it worse in our house. Now, we have water coming in from two places, the new one in the finished portion of the basement. Time for a professional opinion.

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