I can remember when I was in college, one of my favorite courses was sociology. I found that topic very fascinating, so I learned a lot. One of the things that the professor taught the class, was the “official” definition of what “upper,” “middle” and “lower” classes were. According to the definition we were taught in class, the “upper class” were people who had really “old” money – many generations of wealth, going back as far as the Mayflower or longer. The “middle” class were the “new” money people like the Kennedys and the Bushes and most of our political leaders. These people have had tons of money for several generations.
Those of us who are “self made” wealthy, well, we’re just “upper-lower class” according to that principle. And, to be politically correct, we no longer call the “lower” class by the term “lower.” To be politically correct, we call the “lower” class the “working class.”
So it was with much surprise that I read an article on the Internet today at Investopedia that suggests that what I was taught as “working class” is in fact, in many cases, considered to be “middle class.” Are you as confused as I am?
This ad got my attention. Not because I am interested in mineral makeup. It got my attention because the model has a piece of burlap tied around her neck.
Why does the model need any kind of fabric tied around her neck at all? She is not a dog or toddler entering a pageant with bows and ribbons a required part of the costume.
But even more importantly, who decided that a piece of burlap was an appropriate fabric for tying around your neck? Have you ever handled burlap? It is rough and scratchy and not something that you want next to your skin – certainly not on the sensitive skin of your neck or face.
I hope no one sees this stupid ad and decided to mimic the photo. Please don’t out and buy burlap to use as a fashion accessory. It’s just not a good idea.
The Comedy Channel is usually good for a laugh or two when I find myself clicking through the cable channels looking for a quick show to watch. Laughter is after all the best medicine!
Tosh.O is one of my favorites shows that I watch on The Comedy Channel. I try to catch it at least once a week. Tosh.O is funny and nice on the eyes! Check him out, if you get the chance.
I’m hoping that my next year’s tax refund check will be a decent one. Decent enough for me to put a large down payment on a new car. My first car was an old VW Beetle and I’ve always had a spot in my heart for the VW Beetle. The New VW Beetle is mighty fine looking and I’m really tempted to go down to the local VW lot and test drive one to see how they feel and ride. A nice rich blue color would be sweet to be driving down the road.
I do like the volkswagen jetta as well, but it just doesn’t compare with my beloved Beetle or “Bug” as we used to call them back in the day. I still see a nice “Bug” going down the road once in a while and I find myself staring them down and almost drooling at the sight of it.
My mother would like to see me in a dodge challenger, I would like to buy American but I have to check an assortment out and see what best fits me and my needs. My Dad has been pushing for a new volvo c30. They are such opposites it cracks me up. Anyway I have almost a year to sort them all out and make a decision so there is no rush, but it is exciting and gives me something to look forward to. The Internet certainly will be helpful in researching this project!
Hey check out this wild looking tiny little thing, the smart fortwo, what a trip!
Since the I saw on the news last week that we were all out of Iraq I haven’t heard or seen much online or on the TV about the “war being over”. In fact the few people that I’ve talked to about this didn’t even know about the convoy that was videoed leaving Iraq.
Last night while doing a bit of channel surfing I did see a news headline that stated that there is actually still 50 thousand of our military troops still in Iraq. What’s going on?
When the crowd rises en masse to work itself into a lethargic frenzy, that is the signal the Jerry Springer is about to slide down the fireman’s pole and unleash another hour of mayhem. The public living room is about to host people of all walks of life that have secrets that need to be aired to cleanse the spirit of the confessor, even if the audience consists of millions of viewers. Jerry Springer is a master at getting people to bare their innermost secrets in a usually vain attempt at redemption.
The host will begin with some questions to get to the root of the issue and then match the antagonist and protagonist onstage with the peripheral players in these dramas that almost always involve residents from the lower social strata. Sex is the driving issue that fuels these fires and the wronged party will resort to controlled violence in an effort to get some sort of aggrieved payback. The best part is the number of people that have nothing better to do than mess around with the neighbors or old flames and then admit the indiscretions on national television. When surfing the guide on my Cannon Satellite tv, I always look for episodes of “The Jerry Springer Show” to keep me entertained.
I have never been a big fan of the Pringles that have become so popular lately. The texture of their chips just don’t float my boat. I like the traditional chips to go alongside a sandwich at lunch. If I have some dip on hand, I like the Ruffles with the ridges.
I do have to say that they other day I had the pleasure of tasting their sour cream and onion chip and was surprised that I actually liked the darn thing. Life is full of surprises!
My father has always been interested in conservation – even before it became “cool” to be “green.” Part of his attempts at conservation have always included rain harvesting. Ever since I can recall we have had rain water barrels at the corners of our house and our garage. We would use the water collected from the rain barrels to water our gardens and wash the cars.
The only thing that worries me about doing this is the reports that I hear about acid rain. That’s the biggest reason we don’t use it for potable water. I don’t know if there even exists a filter system that could be purchased by a homeowner that would make it safe to drink. That is one of the things that makes me very angry about the slowing down of environmental protection acts – the air that is being polluted hundreds of miles away from us is ruining our air and water. I know that there are technologies available to scrub the pollutants from the factories at the source, but they aren’t being installed and maintained as fast or as well as they need to be done.
Well…. I’ll get off my soapbox now! Conserving water is still a good thing.
Since the weather wasn’t all that great over the weekend I took a drive around in my old neighborhood and strolled down memory lane for a few hours. The house that I grew up in is totally different on the outside these days. I’d love to be able to go inside and see how it looks in there, but I’d never get the nerve up to knock on the door and ask. But once in a great while I’ll drive by and check the place out.
The front porch is now enclosed and another house has been built where we used to play in the side yard. It was the perfect house and yard to grow up in. My mother and father took a lot of pride in keeping the place looking nice even with 5 kids running around creating havoc. My mother had the most wonderful window flower boxes in stalled in the windows on the front of the house. She was very proud of how her window boxes looked all year round. And plenty of neighbors were envious of her taste and talents and went out and purchased their own garden window boxes to experiment with, but hers always looked the best.
I’ve just discovered Robert Earl Keene. This man is a great songwriter! I had no idea his work has been covered by so many big name artists as well as his own very successful performing career. I hope to hear him in a live show if he comes to this area.
I can remember seeing the movie Deliverance and the only scene I enjoyed was the dueling banjos scene. The rest of the movie was just too creepy for me.
I found this video of the dueling banjos just now and thought I’d share it with you. Hope you enjoy it.
I can remember in 5th grade math I had a really inspiring math teacher. She went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that everyone understood the reasoning behind the method. At the time I can remember thinking that there was never going to be a real life need as an adult for knowing about adding fractions or about converting decimals to fractions. And I think that many girls felt that same way at the time.
In my Algebra 2 class, I can remember that I was the only girl in the class. I really felt that the school system was letting the girls down and not living up to their responsibility to make sure that the girls got just as good an education as the boys did. It seemed to me that girls were expected to do poorly in math, and therefore very little effort was being made to help them do better. I think that if more of an effort had been made to show girls “real life” scenarios that they could relate to, for example relating the math to cooking, sewing, shopping for bargains, managing finances, then the girls would have been a little bit more interested in learning.
I’m sure that sounds sexist, but for the era that I was in school, it really would have helped the girls a lot.
I found this beautiful magnetic therapy ring on the Internet for a fantastic price – only $9.99. I had heard that magnetic therapy rings can help with arthritis pain in the hands, and I was starting to feel some pain in my hands, so I thought I’d give it a try.
I’m not sure if it is working or not, as far as pain relief is concerned. It might be, but it could also be the placebo effect. I really like the ring, but the gold wore off in only about two weeks, leaving a silver colored ring. I still like it, but I was disappointed that the gold wore off that fast. I have the matching necklace and bracelet, and the gold has not worn off of those yet. I’m guessing that it’s a result of frequent hand washing and application of hand creams. Oh well, it was only $9.99…..
I often notice that when I’m driving somewhere new, and am not sure where I am going, that my GPS does not always get me to where I need to go. I’m not sure if it is out-dated maps, or sun spots, or some crazy hacker messing with the satellite, but I frequently find that the GPS tells me that I’ve arrived at my destination, but the address plaque does not correspond with the address that I have input into my GPS.
I also have noticed that many times the homeowners have simply put new address plaques and numbers from the E-911 conversion process right beside the old address plaques. This gets me even more confused because I don’t know which one is correct unless one is obviously really old and beat up! I am reluctant to buy the new download for my GPS so soon after I bought it (I only bought it four years ago) because I really don’t think that the maps are updated that often to make it worth the investment.
I think that when someone buys a GPS unit, they should be provided with free maps for life. What do you think?
I hear that it is a big issue with our emergency personnel trying to locate the address for many locations that they are called to for assistance that can be a matter of life or death. Our mailboxes need to have our street number printed large enough for them to get to where they need to be. There is now a huge variety of mail boxes to choose from. I’ve gone online to look at a new mailbox for me to put out on the street at my place. Not only do the police and ambulances need to find us, but the pizza and chinese delivery people need to find me in a timely fashion as well. I do like my food nice and hot upon delivery!
So, a word to the wise, you might want to make sure that your house number easily on your house or mail box visible for these variety of reasons. Like I said it could be a matter of life or death and we don’t even want to go there!
The Animal Planed Channel has some really good shows that I try and watch when I can. Today they were showing The Ugliest Dog contest. Man you should have seen all the varieties of ugly dogs that they had competing. The bad thing is that I had to leave before the judging was completed, so I don’t know who won.
I have noticed that there seems to be a greater amount of commercials on the TV advertising Mesothelioma Attorney services for people suffering from this Mesothelioma Disease that is receiving so much attention. Ten years ago I’ll bet no one would have a clue as to what a Mesothelioma Lawyer would be used for. I know that I wouldn’t have.
I know most families have to deal with at least one family member that is suffering from some type of serious illness or disability. Our family is dealing with my uncle suffering and recently diagnosed with Mesothelioma. It seems that when he was serving our country in the US Navy he spent time in a submarine and was exposed to this disease at that point. How disturbing to know that he put his life on the line for all of those years for his country and now he is dealing with this horrible disease.
A good website to check out is survivingmesothelioma.com if you know someone who may make good use of it.
Last night’s TV was full of special coverages of the last convoy carrying the last of our American Troops out of Iraq. The word is that the war is over. I’m not sure how I feel about that and I think that that statement remains to be seen.
I love eating at Maria’s Mexican Restaurant. It is located in Platte City, MO and is an authentic Mexican restaurant. It is much better in atmosphere, service, and taste than any Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been to. They have a wide variety of foods to choose from. My favorite is the enchiladas, or the fried ice cream.
On my birthday I went to Maria’s to eat. It was about 6 o’clock in the evening. I made sure to set my adt Security alarm before I left the house to go out to dinner, because you can’t be too careful these days. Once we sat down, the employees sang Happy Birthday to me and had me wear a special birthday sombrero hat, which is extremely large and colorful. Then they took my picture with a polaroid camera and put it on their famous Sombrero Wall. The entire wall is covered with people in photos wearing the special sombrero.
Maria’s is very quick to serve you and they are always accurate and friendly. You couldn’t ask for a better Mexican restaurant. I absolutely adore the place.
If you live in a community that is family friendly and full of young and vibrant children you may be among a community of individuals that is committed to not only seeking justice for those that are victims of crime but that are incredibly dedicated to the prevention of crime. I myself being a parent of three young and lively children have made it a personal goal of mine to make sure that my home and my neighborhood is safe for my children to run around in and play in without being threatened by those predators that can make a neighborhood or home seem unsafe. My children have the right to be out and about and play with their peers in the place where they were born and I will make it so that they can have a safe place to play. Of course it is of utmost importance for us adults in the neighborhood to make this possible because an environment like this will not just materialize by itself. One of the most important ways to protect the home is with a ADT home alarm system that can be set when we are away from the home and while we are sleeping. I myself and every one of my neighbors has installed a home security alarm system as a first step it combating neighborhood crime.
