Check Please! I Need Change Back.

Charge it!

"You Don't Want to Pay With a Credit Card?"

Yes... I was asked this over the weekend because I paid cash at a restaurant while I was out with the ladies.  Not by the girls mind you, but by the waiter!  I kid you not!  

He brought the credit receipts back before he brought my change. As a matter of fact, when he came to drop the others' receipts, he let me know that he wasn't sure if the restaurant had change!

Really?!  This was a chain restaurant!  You can't tell me that on a Friday night this business didn't know how to keep change on hand! If so, they need new management. It's Retail Finance 101.  Without the appropriate cash on hand and in reserve, you cannot operate your business to its potential.

So to make the situation even stranger, when he did come back he gave me a rounded dollar amount back. My bill was $21.79. I gave him $40. I got $19 back. Most people would say "shut the hell up, you got extra money back!"  While I completely understand this way of thinking, I was a little put off that A) he didn't count my change, B) everyone using that register was going to be in trouble for the short, especially if it had been done over and over again in the same night, and C) I was the problem child for paying cash!!

I began pondering whether or not we as a society were going in this direction.  Are we really using the plastic to pay for everything?

So, guess what I did.  I ran my own little test.

Objective: Discover whether others take issue with me for paying cash and see how the cash payment is handled.

Cash: The evil paper!

Action: Go out and pay cash at a minimum of two other establishments.
Results: Three tries, same results. They fumbled.

1.) They each had to recount the cash I had handed them--twice! 

2.) None of them knew how to count back change. (Start with the amount of the bill, loose coin to round up, then bills until you get to the amount originally given for payment.)

3.) Instead of service with a smile, which is how each had started, I got a look of disdain. I was yet again--times three--the problem child for paying cash.

Wow!  

That's all I can figure to say.  Wow!

What were to happen if the digital age got iced? Would anyone know what to do?

WAY back, we had to get driver's license as well.

I remember having to carbon credit cards to take payment (yes, I'm that old, so shush). 

One of the first things I was taught in retail, was how to count change back.  You don't count a person's change that you are giving them, you count from the purchase price to the amount paid.  Is it really that difficult?  

Am I the only odd one? 

Adventures in Babysitting

I LOVE my sister's daughters--my nieces! If I go without seeing them for too long, I get a little depressed.  She has four girls and a stepson. Two teenagers, a tween, and two toddlers. I know what you're thinking..."Holy crap!" It's a crazy life, and I help when and where I can.

{{quick note: Also have a brother-in-law with six kids--five boys and one preteen girl. I know...CRAZY}}

We don't have kids of our own, but thank the Heavens above, I have a husband that joins me in my Disneyphile freakness!  One of our guest rooms is a Disney room. Disney collectibles, Disney toys in the toybox, Disney books and magazines, Disney games, Disney bedding...You get the picture.  The kids love visiting all of our Mickeys and all of his friends. There's the Seven Dwarfs, various Stitches, Dumbo, NUMEROUS Mickeys, Mr Potato Head...again, you get the picture.

Sometimes we'll have the laptop in the room, playing a Disney movie, but the two of them get so engrossed in playing that it's more for the background noise.  It's also in case either of them get a little tired, then they can lay down and watch a movie and drift off into nappy time!

SIDE NOTE: I like nappy time. I can clean up and grab another cup of coffee to re-energize, because by then, I am exhausted! My energy boost will have only been in my system for two MAYBE three hours by this time.  "Five-Hour Energy" never met a toddler it could take, let alone two at once.

"Princess" as she likes to be referred to now--thanks to her Daddy and me--(I don't give names, for anonymity's sake) almost always wants to come to my house.  She actually asks to, which pleases me to no end.

I am the dreaded one that got her hooked on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  She didn't even know who Mickey Mouse was before I introduced her. LOL Mind you, she is only three.

We don't usually watch much television when I have her and her little sister, whom we shall refer to as Little Missy Thang. We play A LOT!  Dress up, toss the ball, build a castle, bean bag toss, etc., etc...

Today was a different animal. I had some things left undone from yesterday and if I didn't get them done, trouble would ensue. I digress.

I put on Lady and the Tramp in the Disney room, set them down with their morning fruit, and went about doing things. Not twenty minutes later, Princess comes running in holding Little Missy Thang's sippy-cup of water by the handle with the tips of two fingers. Apparently Little Missy Thang decided her cup needed a bath...in the toilet...while her sister was readying to use it. **facepalm**  It's a good thing I had cleaned it, but still... insert heeby-jeebies here with body convulsions.

As it turned out, getting things done was not an option. Little Missy Thang was very needy today. She asked to be picked up and then clung to my neck so that I had to sit with her. It's a rare thing that she does that with me, so how could I refuse? Princess decided she was tired too and she wanted Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on. That required moving out into the living room which Little Missy Thang was not at all happy about.  I got her to calm down by giving her big hugs and rocking her while humming.

Two hours later they were both passed out on the couch, and I had about a half hour of quiet time before Little Missy Thang woke up. Oddly enough, I missed the clinging and grouchiness, so I was a little relieved. We sat together and she had her afternoon snack.

When Princess woke up, she was not at all happy to be awake. She was more grouchy and whiny than she had been when she passed out.  We had a few tantrums and time-outs later on, but all in all it was a good day.

Like I said, I love those girls! I love being an auntie. I didn't get all of my things done, but the time spent with the littles was well worth the procrastination.

Why Can't People Just Leave It Be?

A funny thing happened on the way to blog...

Life!

So a lot has happened since I last blogged...obviously, since it has been well over a month since I last wrote. Much happiness and many frustrations.  I should have enough material to write about in the WEEKS to come.  Thus begins another entry...

--<--{@}-->--

It amazes me how some people always feel they have a solution to YOUR problem. I may be guilty of this also, I can admit that, but if someone tells me they're done, I'm done. No more probing or prodding, I just stop.  This is not the way of others and it gets a bit ridiculous.

I've told people over and over again that I am done. D.O.N.E. DONE! There's nothing I can do that won't cost me money that I really don't have.  Yet, numerous people just keep coming at me with a "solution". I've seen the solutions. I am a research geek! If it exists, I can find it.  I've done all the reading on the subject. Checked my financial resources and it just is not possible.

I've told people over and over that I have given in. I can't go any farther on the matter, so we're just living life as it has been handed to us.  I accept my role in life, and I am dealing with it to the best of my ability.  I sometimes crack under the pressure of someone else's announcement, but that is to be expected.

Have I completely confused you yet?

Let me ask this...
Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you've looked down every single avenue and all of their side streets and cracks in the walls that you could think of or find?  Gone to great lengths, even done some things that made you personally uncomfortable or scared?  Anything and everything just to get to where you so desperately want to be?

I have. I spent the better part of eight years, exhausting myself and my husband.  We finally sat down two years ago and discussed our next step. There was none. We decided to end the stress and accept it. We are fine with our decision, but our families just won't quit. If it were just one or two people, maybe I could deal, but it's coming from all sides and it's just not right.  We'd told EVERYONE. We are not interested in talking about the subject anymore.  Subject closed.  THE END.

Hey there Einstein! Why is it so difficult for you to get the picture?  The solution exists, yes, but it can not be done at this time. Which, given the time-frame we have to work with...

It's not happening. Sorry to disappoint, but can we please move on and cut the bull?

Weight and the Act of Fluctuation

"With fame, you know, you can read about yourself, somebody else's ideas about you, but what's important is how you feel about yourself--for survival and living day to day with what comes up."

~Marlyn Monroe

I don't like talking about weight.  Why?  Because it's depressing.  It's not a real number. The reason I say that is because weight's only consistency is that it fluctuates.  Whether you're thin, overweight, or obese it's always changing.

I know I gained weight last year. It wasn't much (twelve pounds), but I was already overweight to begin with.  Okay, let's be honest.  According to the BMI (Body Mass Index), I am obese. I know what my "ideal" weight is, but if I am to have muscle tone and not look sick, I'd rather be about ten to fifteen pounds higher than that.

Fat DOES NOT weigh more than muscle.  When people exercise to lose weight and get used to seeing the number drop when they step on that scale, when the number goes up again, a part of them gets discouraged and they want to give up.

Without consciously thinking about it, I gave up on focusing on lowering the fat content in my cooking.  I also decided to stick with soy milk since I haven't had any stomach issues since switching away from milk. It's also a decent enough creamer substitute, should I run out of the non-dairy liquid creamer--I hate the powdered crap.

Small change like this, and I've already lost six pounds this year.  It's odd.  I stopped caring about it and I'm dropping. It may not seem like much considering how much I really need to lose, but it's a step in the right direction and that is truly what matters.  It's a positive and that's what I should focus on.  I know once I pick up the pace on the exercise front, it'll drop quicker. Anyway...

I know all these diet gurus tell you to use non-fat this and non-fat that, but why?  What are you really getting out of it? More preservatives? More chemical balancing? I have some older cookbooks from the forties and fifties and none of them call for fat free anything.

A majority of women from the twenties through the seventies weren't overweight.  They were curvy or voluptuous.  They were sexy.  Don't get me wrong some were overweight, you can't completely escape the fat cell, but curvy was sexy...not fat.

Example: Marilyn Monroe - Curvy,  "Stacked",  Beautiful

She didn't have her ribs showing or poking through her clothing.  She had meat on her legs and arms.  She had a gentle puff to her cheeks.  She often said that people called her "the lady with shape"--well duh!  Now, by media standards...she's considered overweight.

The media, however, loves thin women.  By "thin" I'm talking bone thin.

Example: Keira Knightley--thin, but considered sexy.

Don't get me wrong, I adore Keira Knightley, and this picture is of her at her thinnest.  Her body type has her consistently thin, but at times like this picture--in my humble opinion--I think she's just too thin.  If your ribs are showing, that's not a good thing.  You look malnourished, sick.  Sick is not sexy--no matter how much make-up you put on.

I'm not advocating that being overweight is a good thing, it really isn't.  It makes our heart work harder, we have a hard time breathing, and it can cause skeletal issues.  What I am a believer in, however, is being a healthier me.  

Me...me...me...me...me!  What will make me happy?  Finding a way, of my choosing, to be a healthier me. 

Play Time

Now wait a minute!  It's not what you think...I know some of you have a dirty mind.  Don't look shocked...you know who you are.

Or maybe it is what you think, because you have a pure mind. O.o
Whatever!

Anywho...

Games people! I'm talking board games, card games, and puzzles!  It's a lot more fun when you are teamed up with someone or are part of a small group of someones.  Why?  The gloat factor is much richer!

Gloat?  Who gloats? My husband, his father, his brother, and all their friends. They win a competition against the women and they gloat for months!  They lose and it's whining for even longer.

"You cheated."  

"You table-talked."

"You win one time, and you're proud of that? Let's see if you win the next one!"

"We let you win because we felt sorry for you."
"You lose so much, we had to let you win this one."

The next get together, they've forgotten they lost the last round.  I swear we need to keep a log somewhere of the times we win--but then they'd just accuse us of doctoring the log.

If you don't have a game night with family and friends--I'm talking AWAY from all the technology here people--DO IT!  You'll never laugh harder in your life!  It can create conversations, and you're having a good ol' time with people you love.