I’m headed there today, and back tomorrow night. I understand it will be snowy weather all the way, so I hope those freeways are clear.
I won’t be taking my laptop this time, so y’all can have a break. I’ll check back in on Wednesday. Have a great week, everyone!
The idea is that they had a closely contested race, with results too close to certify without a recount. So, they need to be ultra careful in their final decision. They need to make sure, when all is said and done, that the final certification is easily supported in a court appeal.
The rumor is that they’re about to certify Franken, but with irregularities in the recount. That does NO ONE any favors, least of all the people of Minnesota. And Franken deserves a clean win, or no win at all.
I want Franken to win, but with honor. Do it right, Minnesota!
Pop’s truck is nearing the end of its running life. So, we’re gonna have to buy a new vehicle for him to drive. In addition, the 2 teenage drivers will need a vehicle (one for now should do it).
So, we’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that rather than buy someone else’s problems by going used car, we’ll have to go new (Pop usually wants new, anyway). 2 new cars all at once, I guess we’ll be some dealer’s wet dream!
Any recommendations? Any definite no-nos? We’ll go from SLC to Montana at the farthest. If you don’t want to say things in public, contact me by email.
Thanks!
It’s a fact of life that the Coen Brothers are quirky and offbeat. Burn After Reading was The Big Lebowski set in Washington, DC.
And I’m not always a fan of their endings, No Country for Old Men had an unsatisfying ending, as does Burn After Reading.
But, I’m a fan for life.
Trust your instincts. This seems reasonable, so why, at my age, do I not yet get it?
I recently grew tired of the sandbox I was playing in. So, I figured, hey, I’ll just build me a new sandbox.
But I didn’t have the tools to build the sandbox, and needed help. I got the help, but at a price…the contractor I found turned out to be mentally unstable. When I figured that out, pretty early on, my first instinct was to back away slowly. Ha! Listen to my gut, which said, “bad idea”? Listen to all the others who knew this contractor and said, “Don’t do it! Beware! You don’t understand what you’re getting into!” Nah, not me! I figured they were just jealous that I was getting a new sandbox.
What a dummy I was! My new sandbox has taken months and months of hard work, and it’s still not finished. In addition, the troubles along the way dealing with the contractor have made it not worth the effort, and it’s no fun to play in anymore. In fact, it’s an emotional quagmire. I didn’t trust my better instincts, and I’m slowly sinking. Well, I’m tired of this sinking feeling.
So, I’ve decided, I’ll just quit playing in sandboxes. There’s a New Year’s resolution I can work on! Besides, all that sand was wreaking havoc with my housekeeping, anyway.
OMG. I was enthralled by Heath Ledger. I have no idea, was my judgment clouded by the sympathy for the devilceased? The character was played as a looneytunes psychopath with 110% precision.
Posthumous awards had better be made. I haven’t seen anything else that utterly floored me this year, as much as that portrayal.
If not him, who?
Was quite the discussion. Several regulars (females) brought along male dates/partners/friends and those males were very conservative, very knowledgeable, and very articulate. In addition, they were very willing to dialogue and debate, and were not unwilling to bend a little here and there.
They were challenging. They were at times a little dominant in the conversation. They were polite, but they also stood firm on their principles even if they bent a little once in awhile. Those of us liberals had to dig pretty deep for some great arguments to counter some of the things being said. It was exhilaratingly intellectual.
It was a very small group (11 of us, holiday lite) and it was one of the better meetings we’ve had. At the end, the concensus was that this was a pretty interesting opportunity, and I was glad those men showed up. And, it showed that we’ve become too large to manage a great discussion (and allow everyone time to speak) with our 25-30 regulars.
So what next? Will we continue with our 25-30+ and not be as interesting, or will we choose to break up into several groups (maybe several times per month) then meet all together at least once per month, for unity? We have several types of individuals who might want to take on service projects, and this would be an opportunity to focus on these kinds of things.
A new year, a new prospect. Never a dull moment.
Their plane is taking off as I write. I am so very sad. I would like to be close to both my children but that isn’t physically possible (hey, Richard, it’s easier to do Treasury/IRS work in Denver than it is for Dan to do Rocket Science work in Phoenix, right? Hint, Hint).
Sigh. Not enough time, too many demands on everyone’s time, and high stress season…this is not the best time of the year. Plus, we never did get Dan a Christmas present, because every time we asked, no one knew what he might like.
I think next year we’ll just get them a joint present, maybe something for the house or car, etc.
But it’s sad to see them go.
Ah, Shanahan. I agree with Don Banks that you were the Teflon coach. I also agree with Pat Bowlen, it was time for you to move on. In the last few years, you were becoming less effective, and getting testy out on the field, yelling at the players or the referees, etc.
The reason I liked the Broncos through all these years (besides proximity, of course) was the cool hand of the coach. I enjoyed the big eyes, but not the fiery expressions and the uncool temper tantrums that came later. If I wanted those, I would have liked Parcells or Cowher or Rhodes or Billick or Crennel or…CHUCKY…well, you get the picture.
Instead, you and Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith and Jack Del Rio and Herm Edwards and Mike Tomlin were, in my opinion, gentlemen coaches. That made the game fun for me.
So, find one of the teams out there that will enjoy your talents, one that can use the West Coast Offense, and one that isn’t in the AFC West, please. Good luck to you!
I don’t know how some families make ends meet when they have pets (unless they don’t bother with the shots and visits to the vets, etc). Ours are quite expensive.
Day to day expenses for toys and litter and food, etc are budgeted and we expect them. Unexpected vet visits are not budgeted (but we probably should) and are worrisome.
Yesterday we took Karma in for vomiting so severely that she gave out strangled howls from the pain. She got a shot for infection (fever of 103) and a shot for the vomiting. Plus we have meds to give her for the next few days. She was puny last night but she was better this morning, although she was hungry and stared at the food, she didn’t eat much.
Only $67.50 yesterday, so I guess the better thing was that the vet was willing to work us in at 4:30, a last minute call after I finished work. We enjoy their service, so I’m glad to pay for it.
Heather and Téa swear by it. We’ve always just bought the DVD movies we wanted to see, reasoning that it was cheaper than all of us going to the show. However, this practice has required us to periodically purge our movie shelves, which have taken over our living room as it is (we live in a tiny tiny house).
However, if we NetFlix, for the same amount of money as one new DVD movie once per month, we can rent almost unlimited titles and download unlimited movies (well, within their current download list of 12,000 titles).
So, does anyone out there NetFlix, too? What has been your experience? I have heard that those who constantly line up only the brand new releases are less likely to get their chosen movies, or get them less quickly. Does that happen with the downloads, too?
Anything we should watch out for? And we were thinking of getting their download box that puts the picture on our 52″ plasma. Any experience with that, is the picture quality as good as from the DVD?
I’ve never been to one of the monthly Bonneville Co. Democratic Party breakfasts (dunno, maybe it’s all counties that do this?) but I’m planning to go today. It’s been at several different places just in the last six months, currently at Dixie’s Diner (formerly 5 and Diner). It’s at 9:30.
They usually have speakers on various subjects. Today it’s some local Democratic candidates from this area (who all lost the election, of course, this being the reddest part of the red state). One of the candidates, John McGimpsey, I really liked for his gentle and thoughtful views on subjects, and willingness to listen. Of course, the (D) by his name killed his chances, as this area votes lockstep (R) and not for the best person.
I’m guessing it can’t be too big a meeting (the back room there at Dixie’s is fairly small) so it must not be the most popular activity the Democrats have. I’ll let you know what I think.
Well, we live pretty far north so we’ll get them more often than not. We need to shovel/blow snow again, and it’s not letting up. Pop had to work today and by the time he gets home at 4:30 it will be a huge mess, I’m guessing, that he’ll have to blow through.
We didn’t do any presents for us or the kids this year because we decided we’d use the money instead to buy Pop’s mom and dad a cell phone (never had one, but they travel a lot) and we’ll pay their monthly bill throughout 2009. And, we’re going to join in with the Drinking Liberally crew to take a Sunday every month or so to work at the local soup kitchen. These kids have always had almost everything they wanted (as long as we could afford it, and sometimes when we couldn’t) so they aren’t in need of anything right now, except a lesson in helping those less fortunate.
We’ll probably try to play cards today, maybe Heather will cook either beef curry or pork loin, or we’ll dine on all the goodies (nuts, cheeses and crackers, chips and fruit) we got in our two baskets yesterday (one from some treasured friends and one from Jane).
I hope you are having a nice peaceful day. I wish there really was a Santa, because I think the world could use a lot more peace of mind right now.
Yesterday I called for delivery, the phone was busy for about 15 minutes solid, (never happens) but it finally rang through. However, they put me on hold. Then, I waited another few minutes (don’t remember how long), but I got tired of that so I was just signing in to order online when a person came on the line. She asked for my area code and phone number…which said to me, she wasn’t local.
I remarked upon that, and she said she was part of the group that picked up when the local office got too backed up. She took my order, the pizzas came out within about a half hour as usual, and we didn’t think anything more of it.
Today, at work, I was talking to a supervisor in Boise who needed my help (I’m their resource, sometimes). He said that in addition to his day job, he has been a delivery driver for Pizza Hut for 14 years. And, he said he anticipated having to spend the whole night on the go, go, go. Everyone would be tuckered out from last minute shopping or from wrapping presents and no one would cook.
He said he hadn’t remembered to ask for the day off so he was expecting to be a hellacious night, one he would have to end at midnight by jumping into the hottub with a beer. He said that when the lines got too busy the call center in Portland pick up the phone.
So, enjoy your Christmas Eve, and if you don’t have to work tomorrow (Pop does, but I’m off, then we trade with him off but me working on Friday) you can sleep in as I plan to do. It’s easy to sleep in when you’re full of pizza from Papa Murphy’s (which I picked up on the way home from work, to avoid contributing to the logjam at the local Pizza Hut).
;-)
I decided to take today off, to enjoy Heather for a little while (before she goes shopping with Dan’s mom).
I finally get to concentrate on some cookies. I thought I was doing that on Sunday, but that was a blend of pro football and unbaked cookies (well, unbaked treats…rum balls, fudge, heath & almond joy cookie bars, etc.)
Today, I’m ambitious enough to do the thumbprint cookies, and some peanut butter buttons (with a truffle-variety Hershey kiss pressed into them). If I can find the packaged dough, I might make some elephant ears, too (they take a package of frozen puff pastry).
Then, I’ll place a sampler of the various goodies on these dorky plastic holiday-shaped plates (snowmen, trees, etc) and wrap with festive holiday Saran, and have the kids deliver to the neighbors.
Makes me sound domestic, don’t it? HA! I can’t remember when I was domestic. But this is something I’ve been considering for several years, so now that I’ll have gotten it out of the way, I’ll have to dream up a new task for next year. Thought…I’ll take a picture of the neighbors’ homes on the first day of the month every month (maybe differently angled to different features)…then turn that into a calendar for each of them. Hmmm…well, maybe something more exciting than that. Stay tuned.
Enjoy your day! If I can get Heather, the uber-webmaster, to fix my picture upload function, I may post pictures. The thumbprints should be especially nice looking, I got mint jelly, raspberry jam, and peach preserves to make them colorful.
Wow, straight here, not to Salt Lake. The fare was very reasonable, $500 total round trip for two from Denver. In today, out New Year’s Day. That’s a nice treat, no 10 hr drives for them to come in by car, no driving to SLC for us to pick them up.
Of course, that’s presuming their plane doesn’t skid off the runway in Denver…
He did it. He got his first job, and because he doesn’t drive (and Idaho Falls has a terribly non-existent public transportation system) the weather is getting too cold to walk so far, he gave his two week notice last week, and his last day is today because the employer wanted to make a clean break at the end of the payroll for this year (last pay is the 26th).
I didn’t expect him to work during the school year, but he liked having money to spend on whatever (and that was almost always candy and soda pop, every time) so he continued. He didn’t do such a good job for them (he’s pretty lazy), and also not intuitive enough to know what needs to be done, so he had to be directed to move on to each new task, rather than just knowing the routine and moving on without being told. Due to this, they gave him less and less hours to work (it’s the employer’s standard way of trying to get the employee to quit, so they aren’t ‘firing’ someone, especially a nice person…)
He never called in sick, never missed a shift, and willingly worked holidays (no one wanted to work Hallowe’en or Thanksgiving, but Kurt volunteered). He came in immediately (given time to suit up and get there) if called for backup. He even helped people out who asked him to take their shifts because they had something else they wanted to do. (At first he didn’t but we explained to him that it was a nice thing to do to help someone out by covering their shift, if he didn’t have something else to do, himself).
SO I’m very proud of him. I am also very content with Jack in the Box management, who could have taken a pass on someone who wasn’t very with-it, and they didn’t have to keep him after they realized he was really slow, had to be constantly directed, and then still didn’t do such a good job, either. But they let him stay, and I think he learned some really good lessons that may help him do better in his next job.
And hopefully by then he’s learned how to drive and has a car to get him around.
But in a low key way. We didn’t get the PS3, we only got a Sony BDP S350 (instead of the 550 which has 7.1 audio, and extra memory apparently).
We paid $179 for it and got a free blu ray movie- Hancock (which I probably wouldn’t have gotten on my own even though I like Will Smith).
So, I don’t know if this was the way to go but we’re on our way. I figure, we’ll use it for awhile then buy the good stuff later (we need to go to 1080p anyway, we only have 1080i right now) and farm this one down the line as we normally do with things.
Here’s a nice non partisan post for those of my readers who prefer neutral subjects.
I Love Maps. Seriously. A good map is an endless source of learning for me. I like maps in books (like LOTR, those maps were so cool!) and when my son in law asked for suggestions for this book he’s writing, one of my first was to have him draw the maps, which help me to make the story more real (it’s a Dungeons and Dragons kind of things, so the maps would help people like me who like a good visual).
Maps of the world, maps of the universe, maps of the human body (remember those overlays in the encyclopedias? wow.) I love plain old roadmaps, all the details just there for the knowing.
WORLD GLOBES!! Now THERE was a damn cool gift, imo. Although lots of the countries keep changing names and borders, I don’t care, I just see them as history in the making.
I have a world map and a US map on my walls. I covet a really good Idaho map (had one at work once, but it went away…someone else coveted it, too.)
Easily amused, am I.
We’ve pretty much settled on the Puerto Vallarta restaurant for our meetings, on Thursdays at 7pm. (The old Remo’s castle on Anderson, or the old Louie’s if you remember back that far, which was there in between different incarnations of Remo’s). It has food, it’s nice and quiet, it has a nice fireplace (we meet on the right side of the building-how’s that for irony? It’s as close to being on the right wing as we’ll get).
I really adored MarCellar’s but it was too small and too noisy for the growing group. There’s been some significant growth just since I started going this summer, which is very nice, imo.
Do you have a hankering for some good talk and some grass roots activism? Plus good food (and spirits if you’ve a mind to). Please join us at our weekly meetings. There’s no time requirement, the idea is that you show up somewhere between 7-9pm. (We show up just a wee bit early to eat, too).
And check out Dan Henry’s website for this group. He sends out a weekly email with fabulous information, quotes, interesting stories and statistics. His writing is incredible, I just adore his weekly output.
Welcome, friends, neighbors, and strangers! Attend one of our meetings, tell me you read this and I’ll buy you a drink! The more, the merrier. See you there!
