Facie’s Ramblings

J will be 12 in just over a week. We decided now was a good time to get her a cell phone. The vast majority of kids in her class have a phone; some have had one for years. J never needed one until this past school year, when she joined the drama club, which sometimes resulted in play practices being cancelled, added, or ending early or late. During those occasions, she had to borrow someone else's phone, which was not so convenient, to text the hubby, who, like many of us, hates to answer his phone for a number he does not recognize. What solidified the decision was last month, when J spent a week at a Carnegie Museum day camp. I signed her up as a self-sign out, which meant, as the name suggests, that she could sign herself out each day, rather than wait for me. I had no intention of her actually doing that, but I figured if I ever ran late getting there (I was a 5-minute drive or a 9-minute walk), then I could just meet her at the entrance. Unfortunately, her very first day the...

I am a worrier. Many nights I purposefully stay up late in the hopes I will be too tired to think. Some worries are small, some are big, and most I have little to no control of. But worry, ponder, and debate I do. During my nice Christmas break, I spent more money than I should have. I am normally careful about my spending, but I decided to let loose a little, and not feel guilty for every dime I spent. (That is not to say I did not feel guilty for many of the dimes I spent.) And in the back of my mind, I pondered the what-ifs. What if our old roof went? What if one of our vehicles needed a major repair (I did replace four tires on NY's Eve)? And what if one of us lost our job? I think I can go ahead and make this generalization: Once you have been laid off, you know it can happen again, so it never leaves your mind completely. It may be tucked away, under some older memories or perhaps next to a to-do list. But it is there. And when your husband has had two pay cuts and no raises...

For about four years, J and I would visit my mom approximately every other week (not counting that bad/sad/dark period when my mom was ill and living many states away). Since I worked only sporadically and am close to my mom, it was pretty easy to have frequent visits. During that same four-year period, I would also go to multiple grocery stores most weeks, to get the best price on things. Particularly during the school year, when I had many hours most weekdays to myself, it just made sense. Plus, for some odd reason, I get a rush when I combine double coupons with a sale at one store and then price match with two or three different circulars at another store. When I went back to work full time last April, I tried to continue to do those very things. But eventually I realized that I cannot live my life as if I am home many hours during the week when I am typically out of the house at just after 7:30 a.m. and I do not return until close to 6 p.m. My mom has not taken my fewer visits...

Before I launch into a woe-is-me tale, let me tell you how bad I feel about complaining, knowing how many good things I have in my life and how much worse off others are. But I feel the need to get this off my chest. Unfortunately as much as I like my job, I find myself staying late pretty often. I had one blissful, leave-on-time week two weeks ago, which I thought was how it was going to be for the next month or so, but, well, um, no. We have deadlines. And, more than that for me/the bigger reason is I want my materials to be perfect or nearly so; I am unwilling to let pretty much anything slip past me. As a result, I find myself doing a lot of extra work/going the extra mile. So after putting my time in (and often eating at my desk), I walk the 10 minutes to my car, sit at every light imaginable (seriously, can we just computerize those babies after 5:30 or 6?!), suffer through tunnel traffic, even after 6 p.m., and I am home late (duh). Some days I eat with my family; more often...

Well, I guess I am not going to give up the blog just yet. How about if we just say I will write when I feel like it, which will probably be between two and four times a month? Stop by on occasion if you are so inclined. :-) Today's post is brought to you by my personality, which can best be described as indecisive. I would almost go so far as calling myself commitment-phobic, but I have been married for 14 years and have lived in the same house for 11 years. And I have lived in western PA my entire life. But I guess that really just proves my point about my being indecisive; I can't seem to decide anything else. It is easier to just leave things as status quo (try not to read into those examples too much). My indecisiveness is why it took me over a year (maybe two) to buy an HD TV. It is the reason I have been looking into smart phones since last fall and still have not made the plunge (though because I get a discount with my employer, this waiting turned out to be a good ...

Although I don't like creepy, crawly things, I am not afraid of them and am perfectly able to kill them when I see them. I like the dark, heights don't bother me too much (though I don't love them), and ghosts don't concern me (not sure if they are real, but have not ruled them out either). So what worries me and sometimes keeps me awake at night (or infiltrates me dreams)? This first one is really, really strange, and kind of gross: overflowing toilets. This goes back to a time when I was in high school, and upon flushing the toilet in the "big bathroom" of our house, the water starting pouring over the seat. I freaked out! I can still picture it happening and my subsequent panicking as water flowed onto the floor. I don't recall who was at home who came to my rescue and, presumably, turned the water off. What I do recall is being afraid to flush the toilet when I was home alone after that for weeks if not longer. Fortunately, I have never overflowed a...

I wanted to get a quick post in, mostly so I could upload a picture of our "Good Things" box that I referenced in my last post. So far, I have managed to find at least one positive thing to put in every day, and some days I have had more than one. Truth be told, I could come up with at least a half dozen if I really wanted to, but I am going for quality, not quantity. A few other things: I wish hockey season would start. I have a glimmer of hope, but it is tiny. Regardless, it was nice to see Team USA beat the Swedes today in the world junior hockey championships. I had never watched a hockey game at 8 a.m. but glad that today changed that. Worth noting is that four of Team USA's members hail from western PA. Equally as nice for me was watching those guys (kids, to me) enthusiastically sing the National Anthem after they had been awarded their gold medals. You just don't see that often. Today we "de-decorated." I feel a little bad about this because no...

As the Christmas season is fully upon us (no denying it now that Turkey Day is out of the way), I am faced with dilemma of not only what to buy for others but also what to tell people to buy for me. A big part of me wishes we could completely take presents out of the equation and focus on what the season is really about (or what it should be, for us Christians). But that won't happen. And besides, I do obtain some joy in buying for others, though that good feeling mostly lies in my shopping for the giving tree at church, where I can feel reasonably secure that whoever is getting my gift wants and needs what I have bought. But most of the rest of us? Do we really need anything? I have lamented about my being under-employed for years and how we sometimes struggle. But I know that compared to so many others, my family and I have it good. We have a roof over our heads, cars that run, closets and drawers full of clothes, food in our kitchen, a new oven to cook that food in, an HD TV (...

In Thursday's edition of the P-G, there was this article about a former borough manager who had stolen money from Braddock, a financially strapped community just outside the city limits. This woman has been repaying her debt very little by little (in about 1.5 years' time, she has paid $30 out of the $170k) because she has had trouble finding suitable employment, thanks to her felony conviction. That dilemma was quite timely for me as just over a week ago I posted a blog about giving people (criminals) second chances. In that post, I wondered if someone had redeemed himself, should he get another chance? And I had questioned, mostly seriously, if someone could not go on to get a job after prison, then what was the point of getting out of prison. But this woman's owing so much and paying so little was not what really struck a cord with me. Rather it was this sentence: "If she can't pay Braddock back in dollars, she should pay it in community service," Mr. Fett...

As J and I were pulling away from after-school care on Wednesday, she pointed out something tucked underneath the passenger side wiper blade. There appeared to be two slips of paper flapping about, and, of course, my first reaction was it/they must be a parking ticket. As I was driving away, afraid to stop the car for fear of sticker shock, I tried to recall if there were street sweeping signs that I had missed. I have been working on the South Side for about six weeks, though not with much regularity until recently, so it was possible, and quite likely, that when I first started, I could have noticed a street sweeping sign, but did not pay much attention to it since I was there only about once a week. Then I thought back to how the block did seem a little less crowded that morning, so that had to be it. I spent the 10 minutes home wondering how much this ticket was going to set me back, hoping there was only one ticket, and listening to J beg me to stop so we could see what it wa...

Right now I am sitting here waiting for two HVAC companies to give me revised quotes. We originally met with four different companies, one of which was our current one, another was recommended by a friend, and the other two we found via the Monroeville Home Show. This process is nothing like when we got new windows two years ago, which was challenging enough for me. We have received quotes for five different brands (Carrier, Comfortmaker by Carrier, Bryant, Lennox, and Trane). And the varying options are almost dizzying (single-stage or two-stage, 95 or 96 percent efficient, ECM or some other motor, 13 SEER or 16 SEER). Prior to last week, I had no idea there were so many variances. Last month, during our annual furnace inspection, we found out that our heat exchanger was cracked, something that happened when we first bought the house. Since our furnace is 21-plus years old, over-sized, hardly efficient (80 percent, which furnace people say is really much lower due to the age and...

Unfortunately, this year January does not mean a deep run into the playoffs for the Steelers, as has been noted in an earlier post. January usually means snow, although so far, a little over halfway into the month, the weather has been anything but usual. Sunny and 18 degrees one day, rainy and 55 the next, and snow squalls a few days later. Kind of makes your head spin. But I digress. What I am talking about is tax time. Oh, how I hate it. The gathering of the papers and receipts. Trying to guess at the value of donated items. Lamenting over the few dollars we made in savings this year (though, looking on the bright side, that means giving less to the government). But mostly just trying to figure out how we can get as much money back as possible. I read in the AP News yesterday (and in a few other places today) that Romney pays taxes close to the 15 percent tax rate, which is higher than most. But the thing is, he has made most of his money on investments....

I consider myself to be extremely self-aware. It is more than that really; unfortunately, I just don't know the correct, most applicable adjective to describe how obvious all my short-comings are to me. I am long-winded. Obviously, I ramble on and on (and on and on) in most posts on this blog. I have little doubt that most of you who read my blog skim it, rather than reading every single word. It's tiring just writing the posts! And I know that I talk too much (and sometimes interrupt people as a result of my talking so much). However, when I am around people whom I don't know well, I am actually pretty good at letting others take over the conversation. At a neighbor's party two weeks ago, I spent about one and a half hours talking to a woman I had just met. Actually, I talked about 15 minutes; my "new friend" pretty much monopolized the rest of the conversation, which was fine by me. I get bent out of shape about things I probably should not. Last week, m...

There is no one thing at the top of my noodle, so here are some random ramblings about things I should probably know more about than I do. I keep vacillating about privatizing the state liquor stores . PA is one of the few (maybe two?) states that operates this way. The prices are high. The selection is minimal, though for someone like me whose buying consists of one box/cube of margaritas every month, I don't notice it as much (well, I have noticed that my usual brand has been MIA the last two times). And the service I have received at my local store is rather lacking. For those reasons, I have supported privatization for years. Yet now that it seems as if we are getting closer, I can't help but think that a year or two after the state gets the initial windfall from selling off the licenses (which you just know will be spent ASAP), PA will be in really bad shape. Won't the state be missing that revenue that comes for all the sales? I don't think the sales tax will b...

I have about 15 things on my mind right now, but I have decided to blog about something most of us can relate to and need to do, saving money. I am going to share a handful of my grocery-related suggestions. I would love to hear what all of you do and how you feel about my ideas. Here goes! Double coupons  I shop at Giant Eagle and take advantage of double coupons as much as possible. Thanks to doubled $.50 and $.75 coupons, I have gotten things like toothpaste (Crest or Colgate), toothbrushes, shaving cream, and rice for free. I have paid $.50 for yogurt multi-packs and soup. And I have paid far less for some items than I ever would have had I bought them at the dollar store, a warehouse club, or Aldi's. My strategy is to hold on to the big coupons until the item goes on sale. If it is a product I regularly use and the coupon is about to expire, then I will probably end up using it regardless, because I am still saving money. I have not had much luck with BOGO coupons. Inevit...

I sent Jordan to school today (Friday) with turkey pepperoni. A smarter, less controversial parent would not have done so, but my kid wanted the pepperoni, and she is not doing anything wrong! And now that the kids know the Lenten guidelines, they really should leave her alone. Will they? Well, I guess we will find out. To follow up from earlier this week, the girls at Jordan's table (including Jordan) did meet with the principal on Monday, although no one admitted to taking the sandwich or seeing anything. Regardless, I consider the issue closed, and I hope whoever took it will learn something from this. One of the moms did email me asking what went on, as her kid was apparently upset by the principal confrontation. I emailed her back what I knew, saying that most parents would be concerned if their kid's lunch was taken. I also said it was good for the kids to hear the correct guidelines (of course, Jordan brought in the guidelines and shared them with the kids at lunch pri...

I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas. If yours was anything like mine, you may still be in some sort of a food coma. I started eating a lot of cookies Christmas Eve and since then have stopped eating (not just cookies) only when I was at church, in the car, or sleeping. A lot of my pants are too big anyway... Anyway, now that the secular season is winding down, I wanted to share some observations: Even though I have been listening to Christmas songs since the 19th of November (Light-Up Night is the "official" start of the season in the Burgh), I am not ready for the radio stations to stop playing the jolly tunes. This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Christmas songs on two stations, but I am guessing that is for us Church folk, who are still in the Christmas season.  I like to think that I have finally accepted that no matter how many times I ask my MIL not to buy Jordan a lot of gifts and/or spend a lot of money on her for Christmas (and birthday, for tha...

This holiday season (for the record, I am referring to it as the holiday season because Christmas does not start until December 25 and it seems a little too narrow to refer to it as Advent), I am doing just what I said I would not. Well, I am doing what I said I would a few weeks ago, which is embracing the season . I listen to Christmas music every day in the car (mixed in with some sports radio, of course). I am trying my best to be extra pleasant to people while waiting in long lines. More often than usual, I let cars in traffic get in front of me. I have worn my various Santa hats (PSU, Steelers, red) several times , including yesterday during lunch duty. I bought a gift for the angel tree at church and have given a donation to the food bank. And I finished my Christmas cards before Thanksgiving and painstakingly waited to send them out until November 29 (just could not wait until December 1). The thing that I did not want to do was get caught up in the presents, which is exact...

Well, I waited a day to pen my latest rant, so without further delay, here it is: Some people kind of suck. Let me start off by saying that I am not perfect; I have many faults, most of which are readily apparent to those who know me. But I really make an effort to treat those around me--family, friends, and strangers--just as I want to be treated. With kindness and compassion. I try to give a little. And I truly believe if people treated one another better, if they focused more on others and less on themselves, we could solve a lot of the world's ills. But lately it seems as if every time I open up the paper, read a magazine, or go online, I am bombarded by the transgressions of some celebrity (music, TV, movie, sports or otherwise) or politician. I sometimes wonder if it is not so much that people have gone downhill, but more that thanks to technology, we just get to find out about every bad deed five minutes after it happened. Or have we as a society become so self-centered,...

Ah, home-ownership. Can someone please remind me what is so great about it? We are estimating our roof is about 30 years old. Our windows are a little older than that. Their old age and condition combined with the crazy snow we had this winter pretty much leaves us no choice but to replace both. When you are under-employed, the thought of spending this kind of money is painful. Well, the price tag would be tough to swallow even if both of us were working full time. When we put our house on the market three summers ago (and then again two summers ago), we knew the windows would be a detriment. Most of them are foggy, having gotten moisture in them some time ago. And when we bought our house eight years ago, the inspector said we should probably replace our roof within a few years. I know I was happy that the furnace guy did not fall through the roof this week when he was putting a cap on (although he did say it was pretty spongy)! So it's time. Because we have been dutifu...