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Men's Meme...Money Matters


Men's meme

The men's meme last week was a hit and I received many emails about the subject. This week you will see that Tom feels the questions are simply cut and dry. He likes to philosophize and he can't do a whole lot of that with these questions. Since he didn't want to miss the music awards show, he was out here telling me to hurry up and get the post open so he could go back to the Man Cave. His comments will be in BLUE:
1. Who makes the financial decisions around your home?
2. Do you share in making them?
3. Are there ever any disagreements?
"Those questions are just cut and dry," he said.

1. My wife is primarily the decision-maker because she is thrifty and more budget minded.
That has a lot to do with the fact that I was a single mother for a long time and had to plan very frugally in order to afford the things we needed. Also, I hate shopping and have very few "wants" which means I never "want" to go "shopping."

2. Sometimes we share in making the decisions. Most of the time we shop together. She doesn't like to shop and I do. I purchase things like cell phones, computers, monitors, and I keep our computers up to date and repaired. Whereas she keeps our home well supplied and nice. I go to Sam's Club and buy our household products once a month. That only leaves milk, bread, fresh fruit and veggies to buy weekly which is quick and easy shopping.

milkshakeElectronics are another story. Tom and Alyssa always want the latest and greatest in electronic gadgets. I get attached to my electronic equipment. I kept my old cell phone so long that when I took it into the store, the young kids who work there passed it around because they had never seen that style before and thought it was hilarious. The phone wasn't broken. It just didn't have the technology to communicate to the newer cell towers. That should tell you how old it was, but I loved it! I was really sad to see it go. Now I have a Blackberry. I am lost. It does too much stuff. I think it can even make milk shakes and wash the car. I can't ever find anything. **Sigh**

3. There are occasional tensions on this matter with the wife unit. She is the voice of reason. When Tom said this, I was like "The wife unit?" Sometimes he is weird.

Tom playing guitarThe tensions happen when Tom wants to buy a billion dollar guitar or amplifier. First of all, we don't have a billion dollars and I don't want to charge anything. If we do not have the cash, we are not going to buy it. I always taught Alyssa that we would go to the store without money first and then come home and think about the things she wanted to buy. If she still wanted them the next day, then it was a wise purchase. Most of the time, she didn't want the item that much and it was just the feeling of happiness at being in a store surrounded by new things which created the desire to impulse buy. This is a big issue for many women who try to mask unhappiness with themselves or situations by buying new things or they just get caught up in the thrill of shopping. I posted a discussion at BLOGNTWEET on Impulse Buying. Feel free to join in on the topic.

So the "husband unit" is still learning the ropes of frugal living.

He thinks it might kill him.




The Redhead Riter





Crackles, Scrunches and Squeaks


To say, "I love snow" is an understatement. I know that it is cold, gets dirty, yadda, yadda, yadda. I still love it!

I awoke to a landscape blanketed a beautiful, sparkling white like fluffy cake icing with sugar crystals. It is supposed to snow throughout the evening and all day on Sunday. I have no idea how deep it will get, but the snow already comes up to my knees. So I took a few pictures with my cell phone when I ran to the store first thing this morning.

Everywhere you look, there is snow.
bird's nest
Doesn't look much like a bush any more.
I love snow.

I like to walk on fresh fallen snow
The kind that whispers and speaks.
It sings a song as I walk along
With crackles and scrunches and squeaks.





The Redhead Riter



Favorite Things



Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad


Just in case you don't know by now, my most "favorite thing" in the world is...

Alyssa
Alyssa







The Redhead Riter




BLOGNTWEET update



BLOGNTWEET

Slowly, but surely we increase in numbers! BLOGNTWEET is my savvy community for women and men like you. Don't you think the colors look savvy?

If you haven't joined yet, come on over! Even if you don't blog or tweet, feel free to join because there is fun for all.

Click here and join BLOGNTWEET!











The Redhead Riter






BLOGNTWEET...The forum for savvy women and men! Join here.

Advice


whitetail in snow

Advice is like snow -
the softer it falls,
the longer it dwells upon,
and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge~



The Redhead Riter




I Forgot


Maxine

Today is not Thursday.

As you know, I had a birthday this month and although some days I may feel or act it, I did not turn one hundred. I was, however, sick for four days this week and that messes up my automatic calendar plus the recoup has been slow.

I came home tonight, quickly ate dinner and then thought, "I will lay down on the couch for just a second."

I still had my glasses on.

I fell asleep.

I have NEVER fallen asleep with my glasses on.

I just woke up and discovered that I have been asleep for five hours and everyone had gone to bed. It is 11:00 p.m.

So I did the natural thing...

I went to my bedroom, woke up my snoring husband and ask him why no one woke me up. His response was that "You looked like you needed to keep sleeping."

Oh boy. Ask a dumb question and get a dumb answer.

Anyway, upon awaking I also realized that I forgot to do my own meme yesterday!

It does not feel like Friday already! So blame it on my earlier sickness, old age, or excitement at my own forum called BLOGNTWEET, but I missed my meme and will have to move everything forward one week.

I have to laugh at my forgetfulness.

However, the positive in all of this is that...

It is FRIDAY!!!!

Woohoo!






The Redhead Riter



BLOGNTWEET...The forum for savvy women and men! Join here.



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It Only Takes One


candle flame




"Thousands of candles can be
lit from a single candle,
and the life of the candle
will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases
by being shared."






The Redhead Riter

Sweet To See


If you keep your white sugar in the original bag, I'm sure you have to fight with loose granules every time you open it. I don't have that problem because I keep the sugar in a very large plastic container. I buy the big ten pound bag from Sam's and the whole thing fits in my container.

When I need sugar for a recipe, I do not have a problem with measuring with a spoon or a measuring cup. It also is easy to get a large quantity to pour into the sugar shaker. I don't use the measuring cups or a new clean cup every time I need to fill the sugar shaker or to grab a bunch for a recipe that I don't have to measure. I have something special that I keep in the sugar container to use for just those purposes.

When Alyssa was a very, very young child, I purchased a Winnie the Pooh dinner plate, fork, spoon, bowl and cup for her. It was always my favorite. Eventually Alyssa got too old for the cup and after hundreds of uses by her tiny, sweet hands holding it up to her lips for a "dwink," it was retired. For years the Winnie the Pooh cup was in the cup cabinet...unused. I kept it towards the front so that every time I opened the cabinet, I could see the cup and enjoy the wonderful feeling it brought with the sweet memories.

A few years ago, with the Winnie the Pooh cup still in the front of the kitchen glass cabinet, I finally thought of a way that it could be used again...

sweet Pooh

Sweet memories, held in a sweet cup, that was used by my sweet daughter, now being used in the sweet sugar container.



The Redhead Riter



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BLOGNTWEET update


BLOGNTWEET

This is exciting! We are on a roll at BLOGNTWEET and it is exciting to have you join while I am still adding fun things to the community.

If you haven't joined yet, come on over! Even if you don't blog or tweet, feel free to join because there is fun for all.



The Redhead Riter

The Millau Viaduct


The Millau Viaduct runs between Paris and Barcelona.

Millau Viaduct

Millau Viaduct

The Millau Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is part of the A75 to link Paris with Barcelona.

Millau Viaduct

This suspension bridge has a total length of 2.5 km and crosses the Tarn River. It is 343 meters high, a world record. The road, with two lanes on each side, will cross the river at 270 meters above ground. At its highest point, the viaduct is even higher than the Eiffel Tower. Conceived by Norman Foster, this suspension bridge is supported by seven pylons, instead of the two that are common for this kind of construction.

The total cost of the project was around 310 million euros (AUD $525 million). It opened to traffic in December 2004, just 39 months after work began.

Have you been on this bridge?

Millau Viaduct

Millau Viaduct

Two words can describe it...

AWESOME!

Millau Viaduct

and TERRIFYING!






The Redhead Riter





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Public or Private?


social networking

CNN's Manav Tanneeru reported that "In 2006, Stacy Snyder was a 25-year-old single mother hoping to begin a career as an educator. She had finished her coursework and was a student teacher. Yet Millersville University, located in Pennsylvania, wouldn't give her a degree. Snyder filed a lawsuit alleging the school denied her a degree because administrators discovered a photo on her MySpace page that showed her wearing a pirate's hat and drinking from a plastic cup, with the caption 'drunken pirate.' She lost her case. According to the decision by the court, the school provided alternative reasons for denying Snyder a degree."

This definitely poses the question as to where the line should be drawn between our public and private lives. With websites such as Flickr, YouTube and Twitter, it is easy to share photographs, videos and our personal feelings with the entire world. Because personal communications and revelations are all over the internet, the public and private portions of our lives are being mixed together in the fog. When the "inappropriate" private portion of our lives becomes public to our employers, for instance, should we be denied career opportunities and advancement?

The law has not caught up with current technology. With the rate at which technology is progressing, I wonder if the law will ever catch up and separate our public and private information. Until it does, all aspects of our lives will continue to be under scrutiny and possible condemnation if we we put the information out there for others to observe.

What are your thoughts on the public vs private vs law and accountability issue?




The Redhead Riter








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BLOGNTWEET - Come Join The Fun!


New is fun and exciting.


Old is comfortable, but new information is intellectually stimulating.

We blog.

We tweet.

I know somewhere that we can find fun, excitement, comfortable, intellectual stimulation, blogging and tweeting....

A place that will allow you to network in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy new friendships.

I'm able to do some of that on my blogs, but I will be able to do a lot more of it in my new club called BLOGNTWEET...the community for savvy women and men. I have my own Club and I would love for you to join!

BLOGNTWEET

It is free and easy to join. A place to network and share your expertise, sell your crafts, announce and enter giveaways, learn what you've been pulling your hair out trying to learn, attend online chat parties (please pass the chocolate cake!), upload your photos, brag about your children, and there is a featured website and blog on the home page, and so much more.

I have been working on my first monthly newsletter, so I'm really excited to launch this new venture with you tonight.




The Redhead Riter

Slug Bug


Slug Bug


Growing up, whether we saw a Volkswagen Beetle coming, going or parked, we would "slug" the arm of the person driving in the car with us and yell "SLUG BUG!"

Since I was brainwashed that this was a fun game (don't get me wrong because it is fun), I taught it to my daughter too except that I never "slugged" her in the arm. Instead we did more of a "Princess tap" on the arm. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you a bit. Anyway, she loved it and I would often ignore "bugs" so that she would win.

Now she is older and driving, so in a way I have an advantage because I can really look around.

Wrong.

My child has the eyes of an eagle. I think she can see a Volkswagen Beetle fifty miles down the road! I never win!

The car will be silent and then I hear her say softly, "slug bug." She doesn't even punch me in the arm.

It is more like...you lost.

Again.

I taught her too well!

Where are my bifocals?



The Redhead Riter



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Men's Meme...Submit to Husband?


Men's meme

The men's meme is going pretty good and I like the addition of a man's point of view on a couple posts a week. There are so many women in my family that testosterone is a pleasant change. So I just asked Tom to leave the Man Cave and he should be here shortly to answer the following question and his comments will be in BLUE:
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Colossians 3:18 New International Bible

What do you think that the above Bible verse means, and how do you apply it (if you do) in your household?
"Aren't you excited for the new question tonight Tom?

"Oh yeah."

"So, I know what my take is and I'm ready to hear your take on this very controversial Bible scripture."

"Surely this is a tough law for a woman to have dictated to her by a man. If it is taken out of its scriptural context, it is little more than unrighteous dominion, a longstanding, chauvinist dynamic in many marriages naturally resulting in resentment and an absence of love."

I can't imagine any woman being comfortable with just that statement. A better arrangement of the concept is found in Corinthians 11:3 and it reads:
...The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Taken altogether, this would suggest that a wife is commanded to sustain and support her husband in so far as he is obedient to Christ and treats the woman with His attributes. This is rare.

A better approach for both marriage partners is to find happiness and satisfaction in progress towards these commandments in lieu of perfection.

Or more simply, I Corinthians 11:11:
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
Hmmm...chicken or the egg comes to mind. Yet another of God's many mysteries.

Christians are taught John 15:13:
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
"Thanks Tom."

"You're welcome honey."

I guess he won't be sleeping on the couch after all.


The Redhead Riter



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I Don't Want Advice


wrong road
Image: 2Desktop.com


If someone is going down the wrong road,
he doesn't need motivation to speed him up.
He needs education to turn him around.
~Jim Rohn~


Listen to the people who love you when they give unwanted advice because they can often see things outside of the muddled mess and have a clearer perspective.



The Redhead Riter


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Happy Birthday Mom!


Happy Birthday cake

My mother is beautiful.

She is quite simply a beautiful person.

Today is her birthday and I am very thankful that she is having another one!

I am also grateful to her for:
  • showing me through her example that she loves God
  • being a fantastic mother
  • taking the time to teach me
  • all the fun times we have laughed until my stomach hurt
  • letting me love her back
  • the millions of meals you have cooked for me
  • giving me great memories and a good life
  • loving my child
  • being fun
  • loving me so much
I want to publicly tell you that I love you with every cell of my body and to the depth of my soul.

I wish you the Happiest of Birthdays!




The Redhead Riter

Giddy Up!


Black Stetson hat

I don't have the greatest body in the world, however, I am happy to have it. There are features I really like and those that don't thrill me. With that said...

I am soooo excited that it is Friday!

I was listening to the radio on my way home and enjoying the music a little loud. Well, actually it was blasting when the DJ started plugging an activity for tonight downtown in the city.

He said..."Tonight at the Hat Factory there is going to be all kinds of fun! So grab your bikini and ride the mechanical bull for the THE BIKINI BULL RIDING CONTEST! The lucky winning cowgirl gets a two-night Virginia Beach vacation for four at the Gold Key Resort!"

A bikini.

On my body.

Riding a mechanical bull.

Not a whole lot of brain power is needed to make that decision.

Ummmm...

No thank you.

I am doing something much more exciting.

I'm sitting in my blue snowflake pajamas typing my blog posting...

wearing my black Stetson.

Giddy up!


The Redhead Riter



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