Our Country has a Spending Problem...

So. This blog started out as a PF blog, and I was planning to return to it's roots with today's entry. I was going to ask a bunch of questions and hope against hope that someone out there would hear my pitiful plea and answer some of them. But, I talked to my friend over at American Judgment and we ended up having a 30-minute conversation about everything I wanted to rant/ask about.

So instead, I'm going to quote from American Judgment's most recent post - he asked the question that has been in the forefront of my mind ...

Explain how it is mathematically impossible to bailout the banks, spend $800 billion (plus interest) to stimulate the economy, Nationalized Health care, increase education, refinance mortgages, lower taxes for 55% of Americans (95-40% in #8), give welfare checks to 40% of Americans, and cut the deficit in half using only the savings from reduced Iraq operations and eliminating the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers. Seriously, how can anyone think that is possible? Just writing that list pissed me off....

I Agree. HOW are we supposed to do all of that at once? On borrowed money? Do these other countries know we aren't going to pay them back this century? Now, as I have said before, I'm just an English major...so if someone can explain this to me, PLEASE do! (And please, a little more in-depth than M's explanation - "we print the IOUs, so we can do it.")

Mmmk. I am going to try to be zen and happy, because really, what can we do about all this? To combat the lack of hope being reported in the media, QuarterLife Finances has followed Well-Heeled's lead and listed five things to be thankful for. I think I'll end on a similar note. =)

1. Our cat seems to be much better! No more throwing up in the middle of the night. Whew.
2. Book Club was super fun last night, and we picked an interesting book for next month - I'm excited to start.
3. I started going to the gym again, and I'm really really enjoying it (for once)!!
4. My husband is awesome.
5. Even though my current job situation kinda sucks (just an FYI, waiting tables is MUCH HARDER than my old cushy desk job), we are still OK. We can pay our rent, and eat and even do a fun thing or two. We are very very blessed.

What are you thankful for at the moment?? Leave some love and let me know!

Post-Oscar Ramblings

- I really really really want to see Slumdog Millionaire
- Jessica Biel needs to fire her hairstylist/stylist. She looked AWFUL - sorry M (he LURVES her)
- I wish I had a personal stylist...and somewhere to wear pretty clothes/makeup (I dressed up to got brunch with my mom and aunts on Sunday - first time I've worn my "pretty" clothes since the layoff...)
- I also wish it was summer and I could get a tan and highlights (at least fake ones...) - I think I am all about the warm weather because it is FREEZING HERE TODAY. Sheesh.
- Reece Witherspoon is usually my fave - but that blue eyeshadow has GOT to go.
- Umm hi Robert Pattinson. Please come to my house and speak to me in your British accent while you glower at me under those eyebrows. Yum. I need to reread the Twilight books...
- Dear Hugh Jackman, I love you. Are you sure you aren't gay? Because you do the musical thing REALLY WELL...and you're hot. Like with two t's hott.
- WHY were Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgensface at the Oscars? I know they sang and danced...but was that reaaaaaaallly necessary? Also...ummm Beyonce, were you lip syncing? Or was that supermusicalmegamix just that oddly put together? (Sorry Baz)

Mmmmk. What did you all think of the Oscars??

Case of the Mondays

It's amazing that I can still get a "case of the Mondays" - even without a corporate job. I had to wake up this morning and take M to work, since his car is STILL at a friend's house (the Oscars were just too stimulating to miss last night). Anyway, I feel like the walking dead.

Our cat, Deacon, has recently started throwing up randomly. We have no clue what it is - bad treats? The fact that he likes to drink the leftover shower water? Is he eating something random? I don't know. All I do know is that I was up throughout last night cleaning up cat puke - on our bedroom floor (x2) and my freaking PILLOW (x2) - Deacon likes to sleep near/on my head...so you can imagine how wonderful it was to wake up to cat retching. Sigh. I am NOT ready for kids.

So, I was going to drop M off this morning and gym it up (I can't decide whether the gym is worth the $72 a month or not), but like I said, case of the Mondays, walking dead, etc.

I guess I'll drink some coffee and recharge...get my stuff together for the day and gym it up after work?? We shall see.

Happy new week everyone. =\

Frugal and Fabulous?

If you have been hiding under a rock (or you didn't read my last post), you may not know that it's New York Fashion Week. Now, I ALWAYS love clothes and shoes and makeup, but when EVERYONE online is continually talking about all of the above, I get a little obsessed. So, to appease my wandering eye, I went to Forever 21's online store. Sigh. Now those of you out there that won't step into a Forever 21 - SHAME on YOU. It's a recession people, and Forever 21 may not have the best quality items...but how many times were you really going to wear that skanky little Saturday night number? Hmmm? That is what I thought.

So I was once again soothed by prices under $20...and I promptly reminded myself to set aside a $20 bill next shift - a gift to moi for not completely losing my shit over all these frakkin' changes that have gone down. So there - I will reward my saneness with frugal fashion. PS - how funny is the word "recessionista?" I LOVE it...and peeps are throwing it around like there is no tomorrow.

On another note - how sad is it that Disney is going to be laying people off??? I actually have a friend who is currently living her dream by performing at Disney World as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I think it's hilarious - but I hope she gets to keep her dream job!!

Lastly - ummm does ANYONE in government pay their taxes?? Those kinds of stories suck the patriotism right out of me. It's bad enough that M and I have a taxes date on Sunday night...but that article just makes me all sorts of mad.

Oh well - I'm off to volunteer! Anyone having a fab Thursday?? Has anyone else fallen in love with Forever 21??

I feel Stuffed and Twitchy

Stuffed and twitchy? Yes.

It started with the fact that I have been running around on half-empty all day, NAY, week - school, work, money...blech. So today I felt dead. And exhausted. Dead AND exhausted, and I really wanted a cookie. Not just ANY cookie mind you, but the yummy cookie confection that they offer at my current place of work. It's DELIGHTFUL - pretty much a cookie in a skillet with ice cream and caramel sauce.

So, I bought a tube of cookie dough. And after I got home from lab tonight, I made a giant cookie, topped it with ice cream and sat down in front of all my fashion blogs. Joy! So there. That is why I am stuffed - I gorged myself on chocolate chip goodness.

Now for twitchy. I was reading fashion-y blogs, right? And it's New York fashion week, right? So LOTS on clothes and designers and models and hair and makeup. So I'm reading along and they are talking about smoky eyes - no biggie...I've been doing this as long as I could pick up an eyeliner. Line the bottom inner rim of your eye...check. BUT WHAT IS THIS ABOUT LINING THE INNER UPPER RIM OF YOUR EYE?? I didn't know such a thing was POSSIBLE.

So I tried it. And now my left eye is all twitchy, after watering for a good 45 seconds. But I like the result - darker that usual...a closer line. Me gusta.

Now I just need the twitching to stop.

Instant Coffee?? Seriously Starbucks?

I realize that companies have to roll with the punches and chase after that next big market - but I just don't think that the behemoth that is Starbucks can really change their core audience - peeps that like to pay too much for coffee/treat themselves with expensive coffee. People want to take time out of their day and enjoy the experience - that is one of the reasons Starbucks can charge so much money per cup.

Those people (umm, I was one when I worked downtown near THREE Starbucks) love to go in and smell the aroma, wait in line, use the Starbucks lingo and get a treat. It is NOT something that can be achieved with instant coffee. Has anyone else read this artcle? Does anyone ese get a gross visceral raction to the words "instant coffee," or is that just me? It just makes me think of my grandma's house...not yummy Starbucks.

Anyways, what do y'all think? I'm about to curl up with a book and go to BED - I've worked four shifts at the restaurant (yes, I decided to do the waiting-tables-relying-on-tips-thing ... at least for now) since Friday night - so I am a little pooped.

Happy Sunday!

Glamour Shot

Like I said in an earlier post...I have gotten better aquainted with my cat since I've been home. Mostly, this involves him running around like crazy, and then plopping down next to me for a tiny nap. I heart him!

Anyway, just so you can enjoy his supreme cuteness, I've included a recent picture of the little (OK, not little - he is well over 12 pounds) bugger. Here is a "glamor shot"of him that M and I took one afternoon...


Yeah. He's a hottie. =) He had been rolling around in some of M's shirts that we were attempting to iron - and we wonder why there is always cat hair everywhere. Although my friend says I anthropomorphize him WAY too much, I DO think he knows when I am happy, excited, depressed or anxious... and he is always up for a snuggle. Yay cats!

ABC's - 'Cause It's All Over Facebook...

A
- Available: nope
- Age: 25
- Annoyance: racism
- Animal: Deacon!!!

B
- Beer: Red Oak
- Birthday: 12/03
- Best Friend: friendS is more like it...
- Body Part on opposite sex: back
- Best feeling in the world: falling asleep in bed
- Blind or Deaf: would I rather be??? Deaf
- Best weather: fall
- Been on stage?: Choir, chorus, drama - I was Mary!
- Believe in Magic: yesh
- Believe in Santa: yesh!

C
- Candy: Sour Patch Kids
- Color: blue
- Chocolate/Vanilla: chocolate
- Chinese/Mexican Food: Mexican
- Cake or pie: I LOVE PIE
- Continent to visit: Europe...again

D
- Day or Night: night
- Dancing in the rain: Depends on the partner

E
- Eyes: Greenish
- Everyone's got: A soul
- Ever failed a class?: sorta...I begged for a passing grade in Organic Chem II

F
- First thoughts waking up: I hate my alarm clock
- Food: ANY

G
- Greatest Fear: bugs
- Goals: nursing, motherhood, traveling, money...
- Gum: I heart gum
- Get along with your parents?: yesh

H
- Hair Color: brown
- Height: 5'2.5''
- Happy: sometimes
- Holiday: Thanksgiving
- How do you want to die: in my sleep...when I'm 109 and M is 112

I
- Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk. Or Raspberry Sherbet.
- Instrument: I wish I could play the piano

J
- Jewelry: wedding rings, watch and earrings
- Job: waitress and perpetual student

K
- Kids: not yet
- Kickboxing or karate: karate
- Keep a journal?: sporadically

L
- Love: my husband
- Letter: The letter D?
- Laughed so hard you cried: only with Sarah

M
- Milk flavor: skim!
- Movies: anything but scary
- Motion sickness?: on spinning rides
- McD’s or BK: mcd's
-Music: anything but trance...hahaha j/k Nan

N
- Number: 9
- Noodles: Any and all

O
- One wish: Dad's health
- Octopus: has umm 8 legs? And is creepy?

P
- Pepsi/Coke: coke
- Perfect Pizza: Soooo many types and combos
- Piercings: 2 in each ear

Q
- Quail: is tasty?

R
- Reason to cry: there are so many
- Reality TV: hate hate HATE
- Regrets: not many
- Radio Station: anything that is actually playing MUSIC - i hate morning shows and commercials
- Ring size: huge - 6.5...or was it 5.5? IDK...tiny.

S
- Song: Circus
- Salad Dressing: balsamic vin
- Sushi: yummmmmmm
- Skinny dipped?: nope
- Strawberries/Blueberries: Both please...with cool whip

T
- Tattoos?: i wish
- Time for bed: way too late
- Thunderstorms: love them so much

U
- Unpredictable: try to be...but not really
- Vacation spot(s): beach, mountains, far far away...I'm not picky

W
- Weakness: sweets and the internet
- Wine: Drinking it right now
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: Ummm several do in different ways...Sarah, Megan, Bethany and Katie - you know!
- Worst feeling: disappointment over a ruined plan
- Wanted to be a model: yesh - it's that cindy crawford mole, dang it!
- Worst Weather?: hot and humid...UGH.

X
- X-Rays: mouth, right knee, chest, abdomen

Y
-Year it is now: 2009
-Yellow: sunshine

Z
- Zoo animal: lion!

Reading While Unemployed

Just a small note - I read four books in the first three weeks of January (when I had a job)... and I haven't finished one since I lost the job.

I'm working on a thick one...but haven't finished. It's just odd.

Ring in the New Year

Umm hi. Happy Thanksgiving! Oh, and Merry Christmas!! And BTW, HAPPY 2009!

Yeah I'm a bit behind. It seems that my last post came in OCTOBER - which is nutty, and inexcusable. But oh well. I had gotten a little over the whole blogging thing - school was a joke, my job was in a HUGE rut and I seemed to be endlessly waiting about nursing school. So I stopped writing! I kinda thought I had nothing to say.

However, 2009 has been very...exciting, to say the least. Three weeks ago, I went to my Microbiology Lab, knowing that my letter from Nursing School was sitting at home. I had to wait three hours before I could go home and open it -> and I got in!!! I was soooo excited that I finally reached that initial goal of just getting in. It is so hard to get in these days...and I could feel a downward spiral coming if I hadn't - work was blah and I was tired of these pre-req classes.

That weekend, I visited Philly (during that ARCTIC BLAST weekend) with my bestie to see another bestie. It was a crazy crazy weekend, and super cold. Umm, and that next Wednesday at work - I was laid off! Talk about craziness. I got a severance package, which rocked...but suddenly I was staring down endless days with nothing to do.

I cleaned the apartment hardcore, I reacquainted myself with the cat. I grocery shopped and cooked and went to the YMCA with all the soccer moms and retirees. I also felt really lame. Yeah I "had a plan" (nursing school in MAY)...but I didn't want to think about that plan because it's new concreteness was scary. And there was still going to be two months between the severance ending and school beginning.

That brought up another point. I had been thinking and talking about Nursing School for a little more than a year now...and always knew that I would probably have to re-enter the service industry in order to work part time while I was at school. But actually doing that...not having a real paycheck and only bringing home tips? Scary. Everything felt big and bad and grown up.

No me gusta.

Well, I'll give you an update on me trying to grow up and that whole service industry thing soon, but not now. I've written enough for today! And, my cat is acting insane. Again.

Toodleloo!
-Dani (yes, yes, yes...it's DANI, not Doris. That name was for the whole "blogging at work" thing that I was doing on the sly...)

=)