Fiscal Cliff Notes

I love doing Sudoku puzzles. When my son recently brought one home for extra credit, I was all too happy to help. A logic puzzle came home the next day, and I was in heaven once again. I spent a little too much time helping on that one. If you love them like I do, but feel a little guilty spending time on such frivolous things when world peace is so elusive, I have a solution. Here are a couple puzzles that not only tease your brain but will enlighten your mind on political knowledge and government spending.

 Political Puzzler

Nancy, whose last name is not Rockefeller but Pelosi, beams brightly at just the prospect of spending more tax payer money for bailouts, stimulus, and entitlements.

Candidate B, who won’t release his birth certificate, college transcripts, or his love letters to Bill Ayers, makes an issue out of Candidate M’s refusal to release all of his tax returns, Swiss bank accounts, binders of woman, and bubble gum money.

Romney, whose first name is Willard and not Mitt, is positively a Mormon. Obama, whose middle name is not Washington, Adams, or Jefferson but Hussein, is definitely not a Muslim. 

Reid, whose first name is not Mitt but Harry, is also a Mormon, but seems @%#* mad at the other Mormon for giving Mormon’s a bad name, paying absolutely no taxes, and I believe owning a dog. 

Bill, whose last name is Clinton not O’Reilly, is giddy about the possibility of a President Clinton living at the White House again in four more years. Young female White House interns, who are not elated but scared at the idea, are considering other career options.

Clinton, Hillary and Bill, are both looking for the “binders of women” – each, of course, for entirely different purposes.  

Axelrod, whose first name is David and not Sleazy, favorite word is “he is a liar.” Wait! That is four words. Shoot, now I guess I will be counted among those whose math just doesn’t add up. 

Elementary math, not calculus, states if you spend $4 but only earn $2, you will need to borrow $2 from China. Big Bird, not Wealthy Willard, thinks that’s a good idea. 

1% is the amount of bad guys in the US.

51, not just dollars but $51,883.23, is the amount each person in the U.S. would need to contribute today in order to pay off the 16 TRILLION dollar national debt. 

Wife A, who wears designer clothes, should be ashamed for never having worked a day in her life. Wife M, who spends $500 on altering a $50 Target dress, understands the plight of the common woman. 

Ryan is an elephant. Biden is a jackass. Oh, I mean donkey.

Tax payer A, who owns a little pizza store, might fall off the fiscal cliff when taxes and government mandates and regulations increase. I guess even without voting for the guy with the 99 weeks of unemployment benefit plan, I just might be able to collect. Unfortunately, I am not sure of all the consequences I might "enjoy" from this election.

Sudoku Washington Style

Romney					Trump		Mormon
	Target		Wealthy
		Projections				Liar		Ryan’s budget
Obama Care			$16 Trillion		Binders of Women		Economy
	Michelle’s arms			Ohio				Stimulus
			Entitle- ments		Sandy		Biden’s Last Election?
Bailouts				Pelosi		Axelrod’s mustache
		Obama			Hussein		Muslim
Big Bird				Ann's horse				Reid

Can’t figure out the Sudoku puzzle? It’s like politics and elections – very bewildering indeed. Despite David Axelrod threatening to shave his mustache, Donald Trump’s big October surprise that wasn’t, the question of whether it is time for Big Bird to grow up and be self-sufficient, and what was the impact of hurricane Sandy, all I know is that every presidential election they claim it could possibly come down to a handful of votes in Ohio. And a whole lot of money is sure spent for those few votes.  After a year of divisiveness, let’s hope our coming together isn't a unified fall off the fiscal cliff. I am sure Nancy Pelosi is currently dreaming of how she can save the day. Oh, heaven help us!

No Regrets!

"For all sad words of tongue and pen, 

The saddest are these, 'It might have been'."
John Greenleaf Whittier

 I think we all end up having regrets. My sweet mother-in-law wishes that she would have had more children now that her house is empty. My mother – the most charitable person you would ever meet – will talk about how she wishes she would have been a better mom, and yet the love and admiration of all her children and grandchildren are a testament to her greatness not only as a mother but as a grandmother as well. I have many regrets but none of them about being a mom. I love that part of my life. However, I do wish I would have postponed having children and graduated college first. For many years, I told myself when they were all in school that I would go back and get a degree. And year after year, as I enrolled my children in school, I made excuses as to why I was not in class – not enough time, too old, and where would I even begin. This summer I decided that if I did not start now, I would be 72 and living with the regret that I allowed fear and uncertainty to keep me from a much desired goal. So, after a 29 year absence, this girl finds herself carrying a back pack, writing papers, and taking tests – and I don’t regret it!

Well, I probably will regret the score on my last math test. After receiving a 100% mark on my second test, I became a little overconfident and did not study like I should have done for test three. I forget that I am old, and my memory is not as keen as it used to be. So, during the test, my mind went completely blank. I guess even when we are living the dream, we will experience a few regrets and set-backs. The key is always to be learning. 

So, what are your regrets? Until you are counted among the dearly departed, it is never too late. So, even if it takes 8 hours, do a marathon, or write a book, forgive an old friend, learn to swim, hug your difficult child, take piano lessons, eat better, dance in the rain, or go to school. It may seem incredibly overwhelming, but being one who has been there, it is far better than the alternative of wondering, "what might have been."

Bipartisan cookies

In case you hadn’t noticed I am a whole wheat kind of girl. I use whole wheat in almost all of my baking. White flour is the enemy; however, I must admit it is in my pantry but is usually reserved for pie crusts, German pancakes, and the occasional dessert that would be totally ruined by whole wheat – think éclairs! So, when a neighbor dropped off these heavenly snickerdoodle cookies last Christmas, and my son kept begging me to get the recipe and make them, I knew I was going to need to bend my rules. There was not one drop of whole wheat in the cookies, and I was sure I couldn’t duplicate the recipe with 100% whole grains.  Fortunately, most cookies can be made with half hard white wheat flour and half all-purpose flour, and no one is the wiser. In fact, that is how I made the recipe, and no one even noticed. “Did you do them with white flour?” was the question in my sons pleading eyes as I pulled them out of the oven. “You tell me?” was my response. “Yes! Thanks Mom! They are so much better with white flour.”  And, a compromise was made.

In honor of our Presidential Debate this evening, I suggest some concessions for all respective parties and their spin machines. Would it really kill them to admit that the other guy and his party isn’t all bad? I would love to hear David Axelrod – the epitome of a sleazy used car salesman – or Sean Hannity – the biggest homer for the Republicans – say just one kind word about their respective opponent’s performance, political party , and their ideas. And, just so you know if 95% of the country admits – including the President himself – that his performance was subpar, you look like a homer when you emphatically declare him the winner – just saying, uh, Donna Brazile. 

   

This might seem like a novel idea but what if we put aside our selfish desires and political agendas and thought about what is actually best for the country and the next generation. Do you think we might vote and legislate differently? I say, “Yes!” Might a Republican be seen recycling a box? Oh my, could they admit that might be good for the environment and the planet we are leaving to our children?  And, for all democrats who advocate more government programs, I ask that they take my son to get his driver’s license when needed. Might a day spent waiting in line to get a number, in a line to pay the fee, and another  line to get his picture taken offer the necessary time to have the much needed epiphany that government does not run things better than the private sector. How many long lines do our children need to inherit? 

So, in thinking about the next generation, I can show that I can compromise. Let's hope the grown-ups who want to run this country can do the same.

Snickerdoodles

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

2 2/3 cups sugar

5 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/4 cups white wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Beat butter. Add sugar and cream well.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla
3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix thoroughly. Dough will be soft.
5. In a small bowl, combine 6 tablespoons sugar and 4 teaspoons cinnamon.
6. Using a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, scoop out the dough.
7. Roll into a ball and roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.
8. You will only be able to fit 6 cookies on baking sheet.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

I didn’t do that?

My life has been a little on the hectic side, and so my news watching has been at a minimum. I missed the initial flap over President Obama’s remarks regarding who really made it possible for a small business to succeed.  As much as I can appreciate his desire to give credit to government and the public in general for their help, I take exception to his proposal. My husband and I have owned a pizza store for the past 8 years, and not once have we had a government employee step in to cover a shift when an employee didn’t show up. For many years, I have been the official fill-in and cancelled many personal plans in order to go to work and provide sufficient staffing at our store. If an employee doesn’t show, as an owner, your shift doesn’t end just because the schedule might indicate that it does. We are NEVER off the clock. If we can squeeze in a vacation, we don’t have the luxury of being compensated with vacation pay while we are gone, and quite frankly, in our absence, no one cares for our business in the same way that we do.  I also don’t believe any government official has lost even one night’s sleep over how all my financial obligations will be met each month. In fact, the government gets paid even before I take home a paycheck. We take all the risk, and we are the very last to get compensated.  We fulfill our loan obligations, compensate our employees as generously as possible, cover our food, utility, and maintenance costs, send our rent check, pay our mandated insurance premiums, and cover our property, payroll, quarterly income, state, and sales taxes, and then we might be able to cash our payroll checks. Not only is the government paid in a timely and fair way, but they have the right to audit my bookkeeping practices. For example, last year, we were scrutinized during a sales and use tax audit. Because I had been honest in my obligations, we did not owe any additional funds to the government, but the additional fees incurred from my accountant for the audit cost me over $1,200. Sometimes it seems that the government's interference of licensing and regulations could be the difference between my success and failure as a small business owner. Now granted I totally understand that the government has been the driving force behind the building of the roads that allow customers to access my store; however, their constant construction over the past 3 years in front of my business has almost been its demise. If it wasn’t for our saving money in times of plenty, we would have gone under during the last few lean years. We didn’t require, expect, or even assume that the government should bail us out. We simply just went without a few extras and worked a little harder. And yes, when possible, we even made donations to support our local school and youth groups. I always understood that if I worked hard to make a business successful, then I would be compensated for my efforts. And, I invite all to do the same. So, in all due respect Mr. President, I did do that!

Not so surprising . . .

The Scientology Gods are crying today. TomKat is coming to an end. Although, the divorcing doesn’t really surprise me, I was a little stunned that Katie actually beat Tom to the filing.

Jerry Sandusky – guilty as charged! Now he is on suicide watch. I am surprised that the coward didn’t take care of that before the trial. I am not quite sure why anyone wants to preserve that man's life.

One of the headlines recently on ABC news was Pregnant Snooki – 8 surprising things you didn’t know.  I didn’t click, but now I am wondering if some of that information might have been vital in helping me understand people’s need to know anything about her. 

I was surprised recently to hear that the award money of Nobel Prize winners will just be 1.12 million dollars next year. In my naivety, I assumed it was just a prestigious award without funds attached to it. I guess the prize money is one of the reasons Al Gore could fund his private jet.

I was surprised during a recent Nightline report to hear that a female going topless in New York City is not against the law. After further thought, I shouldn’t have been too flabbergasted considering it was probably a predominate male legislature who thought that allowing female nudity on their city streets was a good idea.  

It’s not surprising that the two colors that entice people to eat are red and yellow. Anyone could have looked at one of the 33,000 McDonald’s worldwide to figure that out. After hearing that, I was surprised that my new favorite restaurant is called The Blue Lemon. They offer great food without the need of color enticements. 

Not surprised that Kimye was upset that they were not featured on the Kisskam during the NBA Finals. I am just happy that Kim Kardashian has finally found someone who truly deserves her!

My friend recently told me about her super spinach breakfast shake.  I was a little skeptical, but thought I would give it a try. I was surprised that it was really, really good.

 In a blender combine the following:

4-5 cups loosely packed spinach

1 apple, chopped

5-7 strawberries

1/4 cup blackberries or blueberries

handful of almonds

1 - 1 1/2 cups water

Prepare to be amazed!

The greatest love of all . . .

Being a mom wasn’t high on my priority list when I was a growing up but all that changed instantly on March 29, 1986 at 4:24 am. Before my precious little baby girl was laid in my arms, I could not imagine loving anything so fiercely. At that moment, I knew that I would willingly give my life for this little girl. And in so many ways I have. I haven’t climbed tall buildings, dodged speeding cars, or taken a stray bullet but have simply chosen to put my life and wants on hold. I am much like many of the other moms in the world. We eagerly put our children first. We run lunch money to the school despite not having had time to shower. We change sheets in the middle of the night although we have the flu too. We don’t believe the dreaded “I hate you” and love our children even and especially when they are being unlovable. We quickly run to the library before closing for a much needed book in order to finish a procrastinated project. We wait all day in the rain and cold to cheer our child as she runs a 12 second sprint on the track. We eat at McDonald’s more times than we would like on vacation. We watch The Little Mermaid until we have it memorized. We spend our birthday money on groceries. We trade a string of pearls for a precious fruit loop necklace. We weary the Lord with prayers in behalf of our children. We even choose to eat the burnt piece of toast and give up the last slice of cake. And if asked, we would gladly do it all again for just the chance of being able to see our child make the game winning shot, walk in their cap and gown on graduation day, proudly stand in their tuxedo as they whisper the words “I do”, share in the joy and heartache of elections won and lost, and watch with awe as she becomes a loving mother to your sweet little grandchild. I never imagined absolutely loving being the mother of five precious souls, but I am grateful for Him whose plan for my life is always better than my own.